BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 26, 2026--
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection (“Curator”) proudly announces that 30 of its distinguished members have been recognized in top 10 rankings of the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Hotels Rankings. And, many member hotels and resorts were also honored in the Forbes Travel Guide Awards. These prestigious accolades celebrate Curator’s membership which is comprised of independent properties offering authentic experiences and exceptional hospitality across its growing portfolio.
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The 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Hotels Rankings evaluate properties based on a comprehensive methodology that combines industry awards, hotel star ratings, and guest reviews to identify the top hotels and resorts across the United States. Forbes Travel Guide Awards are determined through anonymous, in-person inspections evaluating service excellence, facility quality, and overall guest experience, recognizing properties that consistently deliver exceptional stays.
“We are incredibly proud of our members for earning recognition from both U.S. News & World Report and Forbes Travel Guide,” said Jennifer Barnwell, President of Curator Hotel & Resort Collection. “These awards reflect the passion, individuality, and dedication to excellence that define Curator properties. From coastal resorts to mountain lodges and vibrant urban retreats, our members continue to set the standard for independent hospitality.”
Curator Members Recognized in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Hotels Rankings
Best Hotels & Resorts in Islamorada, FL
#3 – Amara Cay Resort: A relaxed island retreat in the Florida Keys offering waterfront accommodations, private beach access, and effortless access to world-class fishing and diving.
#5 – La Siesta Resort & Villas: A tranquil oceanfront hideaway featuring private villas, lush tropical grounds, and direct access to the turquoise waters of the Florida Keys.
Best Hotels & Resorts in Key West, FL
#2 – The Marker Key West Harbor Resort: A vibrant harborfront resort steps from Duval Street, featuring expansive guest rooms, multiple pools, and a lively island ambiance.
#7 – Ocean Key Resort & Spa: Located at the edge of Mallory Square, this colorful waterfront resort blends sunset views, upscale dining, and indulgent spa experiences.
Best Fort Lauderdale Resorts
#3 – Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort: A laid-back oceanfront escape inspired by coastal living, complete with multiple dining venues, pools, and live entertainment.
#5 – Pelican Grand Beach Resort: A classic beachfront resort known for its private stretch of sand, oceanfront dining, and timeless Florida charm.
Best Miami Beach Resorts
#9 – Eden Roc: An iconic oceanfront resort blending mid-century glamour with modern luxury along Miami Beach’s Millionaire’s Row.
Best Naples Hotels & Resorts
#4 – Inn on Fifth: An elegant downtown Naples hotel known for its personalized service, rooftop pool, and prime Fifth Avenue South location.
#6 – LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort: A beachfront sanctuary delivering Gulf-front luxury, championship golf, and elevated coastal dining experiences.
Best Baltimore Hotels
#4 – Hotel Revival: A boutique property celebrating Baltimore’s artistic spirit with thoughtfully designed rooms and a rooftop restaurant overlooking Mount Vernon.
Best San Diego Hotels & Resorts
#4 - L’Auberge Del Mar: A refined seaside escape offering coastal-chic accommodations, ocean views, and relaxed Southern California sophistication in the heart of Del Mar.
Best San Francisco Hotels
#5 – 1 Hotel San Francisco: A waterfront urban retreat blending sustainable design, natural materials, and sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay.
Best San Jose Hotels
#7 – Hotel Los Gatos: A Mediterranean-inspired sanctuary in Silicon Valley offering refined accommodations and a tranquil courtyard setting.
Best La Jolla Hotels
#1 – Estancia La Jolla: A hacienda-style coastal retreat offering lush gardens, award-winning spa experiences, and refined Southern California hospitality.
Best Santa Cruz Resorts
#1 – Chaminade Resort & Spa: A hilltop resort set on 300 acres overlooking Monterey Bay, offering spa experiences, outdoor activities, and serene coastal vistas.
Best Santa Monica, CA Hotels
#9 – Viceroy Santa Monica: A stylish coastal retreat steps from the Pacific, offering modern design, poolside relaxation, and vibrant dining.
Best Bakersfield Hotels
#1 – Padre Hotel: A restored historic landmark blending vintage character with contemporary comfort in downtown Bakersfield.
Best West Hollywood Hotels
#8 – Montrose at Beverly Hills: An all-suite boutique hideaway featuring a rooftop pool and tennis court in a quiet residential enclave.
#9 – Chamberlain West Hollywood Hotel: A residential-style boutique hotel offering spacious suites, a rooftop pool, and a prime location near Sunset Boulevard.
#10 – Le Parc at Melrose: A chic, all-suite hotel offering spacious accommodations and a serene rooftop setting near Melrose Avenue.
Best Mackinac Island Hotels & Resorts
#1 – Grand Hotel: A historic luxury resort known for its world-famous porch, timeless Victorian charm, and classic summer traditions overlooking the Straits of Mackinac.
Best Kansas City Hotels
#4 – The Fontaine: A sophisticated Country Club Plaza retreat featuring European-inspired design and a rooftop pool with sweeping city views.
Best Jackson Hole Resorts
#4 – Teton Mountain Lodge & Spa: A slopeside alpine lodge offering rustic elegance, spa amenities, and year-round mountain adventure.
#5 – Hotel Terra Jackson Hole: A contemporary mountain retreat combining sustainable design with luxury amenities at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort.
Best Oregon Resorts
#8 – Salishan Coastal Lodge: Nestled along the Oregon coast, this nature-inspired resort offers forested seclusion, golf, spa treatments, and ocean access.
Best Newport, RI Resorts
#3 – Newport Harbor Island Resort: A waterfront escape delivering classic New England charm, marina access, and panoramic harbor views.
Best Richmond Hotels
#4 – Quirk Hotel Richmond: A design-forward boutique hotel celebrating art, creativity, and local culture in a historic department store building.
Best Detroit Hotels
#3 – Royal Park Hotel: A refined English manor-style hotel offering classic elegance and attentive service just outside Detroit.
Best Colorado Springs Resorts
#3 – Garden of the Gods Resort & Club: A scenic retreat overlooking the iconic red rock formations, offering refined accommodations, wellness experiences, golf, and sweeping views of Pikes Peak.
Best Jekyll Island Hotels & Resorts
#3 – Jekyll Island Club Resort: A storied coastal retreat blending Gilded Age elegance with modern comforts, set among lush grounds and oceanfront views on Georgia’s Jekyll Island.
Curator Members Recognized by Forbes Travel Guide (Recommended)
Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa – Nestled on 10 acres in coastal La Jolla, Estancia blends hacienda-style architecture with lush gardens and tranquil courtyards. The property features an award-winning spa, seasonal California cuisine, and refined residential-style accommodations, offering a serene retreat just minutes from the Pacific Ocean.
Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa – Set amid the dramatic red rock canyons of western Colorado, Gateway Canyons delivers a one-of-a-kind luxury adventure experience. Guests enjoy expansive casitas, a world-class spa, farm-to-table dining, and curated outdoor excursions—from UTV tours to stargazing—immersed in breathtaking desert landscapes.
Inn on Fifth – Located in the heart of downtown Naples on Fifth Avenue South, Inn on Fifth offers sophisticated accommodations paired with personalized service. Guests can unwind at the rooftop pool, indulge in spa treatments, and explore upscale shopping, dining, and nearby Gulf Coast beaches just steps away.
Little Palm Island Resort & Spa – An adults-only private island escape in the Florida Keys, Little Palm Island delivers barefoot luxury at its finest. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the resort features thatched-roof bungalow suites, oceanfront dining, and an intimate spa, creating an exclusive, secluded sanctuary surrounded by turquoise waters.
The Marker Key West Harbor Resort – Overlooking the historic Key West harbor, The Marker offers spacious guest rooms, three pools, and vibrant island-inspired design. Just steps from Duval Street, the resort balances lively local culture with tranquil harborfront relaxation.
Viceroy Santa Monica – A modern coastal retreat located moments from the Pacific Ocean, Viceroy Santa Monica pairs sophisticated design with relaxed beachside energy. Guests enjoy stylish accommodations, two outdoor pools, and elevated dining, all within walking distance of the Santa Monica Pier and vibrant Ocean Avenue.
For more information on Curator Hotel & Resort Collection and its award-winning members, visit www.curatorhotelsandresorts.com.
About Curator Hotel & Resort Collection
Curator Hotel & Resort Collection is a distinct collection of small brands and independent lifestyle hotels and resorts. Curator provides access to a wide breadth of program offerings to enhance the guest experience, improve employee engagement, provide additional marketing support, and drive incremental revenue, all while allowing the properties to retain their unique individuality. In addition, Curator offers the benefits of associating with other unique lifestyle hotels, resorts, and small brands while participating in best-in-class operating agreements, services, reporting, and technology. Visit www.curatorhotelsandresorts.com and follow us @CuratorHotelsResorts.
Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa (top left); Little Palm Island Resort & Spa (top center); Inn on Fifth (top right); Viceroy Santa Monica (bottom left); The Marker Key West Harbor Resort (bottom center); Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa (bottom right)
Iran and the United States are talking in Geneva for a third time on Thursday as President Donald Trump seeks to delay Tehran's nuclear program while threatening it by deploying a massive number of aircraft and warships to the Middle East.
U.S. special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and friend of Trump, will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an effort to convince his country to halt its enrichment of uranium, a key step to building a nuclear bomb, and curtail or stop its production of long-range missiles.
Iran has maintained that it will continue to enrich uranium even as its program sits in ruins following a U.S. attack in June on three of its nuclear sites. If an American attack happens, Iran has said all U.S. military bases in the Mideast will considered legitimate targets and has also threatened to attack Israel.
The latest round of negotiations is the third since Israel's 12-day war with Iran last year, and their failure could again lead to a regional war across the Middle East.
Here’s the latest:
Iran’s foreign ministry says delegates from the country and the United States have exchanged “very constructive” proposals so far in their third round of nuclear talks in Geneva.
Talks have briefly paused and are set to continue around 1630GMT Thursday as “both delegations needed to hold consultations with their respective capitals,” the ministry’s spokesperson Esmail Baghaei added.
He said they discussed proposals regarding Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions relief, but did not provide details.
Tehran and Washington’s indirect talks in the Swiss city included Oman’s foreign minister and the head of the International Atomic Agency, the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog. It is seen as a last chance for diplomacy. The U.S. has gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who has been mediating the negotiations, said the two sides have been exchanging “creative and positive ideas” and will resume talks after a break.
Al Busaidi said he is hopeful that more progress can be made later Thursday when negotiations resume.
Convoys believed to be holding the Iranian and U.S. delegations left the Omani residence in Geneva after several hours of indirect negotiations starting Thursday morning.
A convoy believed to be carrying U.S. diplomats left an Omani diplomatic residence in Geneva that was hosting indirect talks with Iran over its nuclear program.
Iranian state television reported Thursday that indirect talks with the United States will resume later in the day after both sides take a break.
It wasn’t clear what the reason for the break was. The two sides had been having indirect talks for hours mediated by Oman
Both the Iranian and the American delegations had been at the residence for hours.
A prominent advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader has suggested that Iran could reach an immediate agreement in talks with the U.S. if they focused solely Iran’s commitment not to develop nuclear weapons.
“If the main issue of the negotiations is Iran’s non-development of nuclear weapons, this is consistent with the Supreme Leader’s fatwa (religious declaration) and Iran’s defense doctrine, and an immediate agreement is within reach,” Ali Shamkhani wrote on X on Thursday.
He added that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has “sufficient support and authority” to come to a final agreement in the talks.
Shamkhani was wounded in the 12-day war between Israel and Iran earlier this year.
Oman has presented Iran’s proposals to U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Thursday during the third round of nuclear negotiations taking place in Geneva, the Omani Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
The ministry published a photo of Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi with Witkoff and Kushner, signaling indirect talks are underway. The Foreign Ministry said al-Busaidi went over the U.S. inquiries and requests regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the necessary guarantees to achieve a deal, and said the talks were continuing in a “constructive” way.
Oman’s Foreign Ministry published images of U.S. special Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Bader al-Busaidi.
The location appeared to be the Omani diplomatic residence in Geneva along the shores of Lake Geneva. An Associated Press journalist earlier saw two convoys believed to be carrying Iranian and U.S. diplomats arrive there.
Iran and the U.S. are meeting in Geneva for nuclear negotiations, talks viewed as a last chance for diplomacy as America has gathered a fleet of aircraft and warships to the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Iran’s State TV that negotiations, as in previous rounds, will focus solely on the nuclear issue.
He added that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency may also be present, similar to previous negotiations. “Our positions are clear: the lifting of sanctions and the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Baghaei said.
A convoy believed to be carrying American diplomats arrived Thursday to the Omani residence in Geneva for indirect talks with Iran.
An Associated Press journalist saw the convoy enter the compound.
Oman’s foreign minister met Thursday with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Badr al-Busaidi’s meeting with Rafael Mariano Grossi of the IAEA comes as Iran and the United States hold indirect negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Oman’s Foreign Ministry announced the meeting, saying it came as “part of consultations and the exchange of views on technical matters related to the Iranian nuclear dossier and the new ideas currently under negotiation between the Iranian and American sides.”
The IAEA did not immediately acknowledge the meeting. The IAEA is the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, which likely would be the inspectors both countries would rely on in any possible deal.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a hardliner regarding U.S. policy on Iran, insists Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium to any degree, and said he was in favor of regime change.
“If media reports are true that there is a consideration of allowing Iran to have very small enrichment of uranium for face-saving purposes: screw that,” the Republican senator said in a post on X late Wednesday.
Accusing Iran’s government of being “the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” the senator from South Carolina said he “could care less about efforts to save face for this regime. I would like to see the people of Iran change the regime – it’s long overdue.”
Just before leaving for the third round of nuclear negotiations with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told India Today on Wednesday that he believes a “fair, balanced, and equitable deal” is possible based on foundations built during the previous talks. But he added that Iranians are approaching these talks with more caution, after Israel launched an attack during U.S.-Iranian nuclear negotiations last June, and the U.S. also attacked multiple Iranian nuclear sites.
“The wounds of that aggression is still alive in our minds,” he said. “This time, we are obviously more careful.”
Araghchi added that rumors Iran was developing a missile capable of reaching the U.S. are “fake news” and that the country had capped its missile capabilities at a distance of 2,000 kilometers (1250 miles) for defensive purposes only.
He also stressed that Iran’s red line is that it will not give up its ability to enrich uranium, which he said the country does for peaceful purposes. Iran can offer permanent “confidence” that its program is peaceful in exchange for the total termination of sanctions, he said.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, left an American naval base in southern Greece Thursday after a brief stopover of a few days while on its way to the Middle East, where the U.S. has amassed a large number of warships and aircraft as tension with Iran spikes.
Tugboats towed the aircraft carrier away from the Souda Bay naval base on the island of Crete as talks between Iran and the United States were due to begin in Geneva.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Iran will not have nuclear weapons because the country’s religious leader has said the country does not plan to pursue nuclear weapons. ““The religious leader of a society can’t lie,” Pezeshkian said on state television on Thursday in Sari, northern Iran, as the third round of nuclear negotiations with the U.S. are about to take place in Geneva. “When he announces that we won’t have nuclear weapons, it means we won’t. Even if I want to do that, I can’t, because of my beliefs."
Oman’s foreign minister flashed a thumbs up to an Associated Press journalist on Thursday who shouted a question about whether he was hopeful about the talks.
Badr al-Busaidi was leaving a hotel in Geneva on Thursday morning. He sped away in a sedan guided by a police escort.
Oman said Thursday it had received “views and proposals” from Iran on the ongoing nuclear talks.
In a statement on the state-run Oman News Agency, it said Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi received the information in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Al-Busaidi “is expected to meet with the American negotiating team this morning to convey the Iranian perspective and, in turn, listen to the ideas and proposals put forward by the American side,” the agency said.
From there, further indirect talks will take place.
A new AP-NORC poll found that many U.S. adults continue to view Iran’s nuclear program as a threat, but few Americans have high trust in President Donald Trump’s judgment on the use of military force abroad.
The survey was conducted Feb. 19-23, as military tensions built in the Middle East between the United States and Iran.
It found that about half of U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” concerned that Iran’s nuclear program poses a direct threat to the United States, but only about one-quarter of Americans say they have high trust in Trump on relationships with adversaries or the use of military force abroad.
Read more here.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi after arriving in Geneva on Wednesday night. The men “reviewed the views and proposals that the Iranian side will present to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, based on the guiding principles agreed upon in the previous round of negotiations,” a report from the state-run Oman News Agency said.
These latest talks in Geneva are again being mediated by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that’s long served as an intermediary between Iran and the West.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said just ahead of the talks that Iran is “always trying to rebuild elements” of its nuclear program. He said that Tehran is not enriching uranium right now, “but they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”
Rubio also told reporters late Wednesday in St. Kitts, where he was attending a regional summit with Caribbean leaders that Iran is “trying to achieve intercontinental ballistic missiles.”
Oman's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, right, holds a meeting with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, centre, and Jared Kushner, as part of the ongoing Iranian-American negotiations, in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday Feb. 26, 2026. (Foreign Ministry of Oman via AP)
