For travelling alone on purpose.

Hotels are built for couples and families. The solo traveller is treated, in most properties, as a billing irregularity. The hotels in this list are different. They are built around the assumption that the most interesting guest in the room may be sitting alone at the bar with a book, and they are built to make that experience excellent.

What you want from a solo retreat: a single room that does not feel like a discount, a bar with seats at the bar (not just tables), a pool you can swim laps in, and a concierge who takes you seriously. That is harder to find than it should be. The hotels below find it.

Each pick is scored on the same weighting, and each comes with the thing we would warn a friend about before they book it alone.

Scores are our editors' independent judgement on the weighting above, not guest review averages. Read the full HotelsForKings methodology.

Skip the resort that charges a single supplement and seats solo guests by the kitchen. The best solo hotels price a room, not a couple, and have a bar or communal table where eating alone is easy. Ask about the single-diner setup before you book, because it tells you everything.

Skip the remote lodge for a first solo trip if you want company. A walkable city base like Rome, or a sociable island like Santorini or Mykonos, makes meeting people effortless. Save Bhutan, Sedona and the deep-retreat addresses for when rest, not conversation, is the point.