Condé Nast Traveler announced the results of its annual Readers’ Choice Awards on October 7, 2025, with Santa Fe holding the #2 spot in the category of “Best Small Cities in the U.S.” for the third consecutive year. Santa Fe was also honored in the publication’s UK version, Condé Nast Traveller, with the #5 place on the list of the 20 “Best Cities in the World.” The only other American city to rank on the worldwide list was New York in 14th place.
An internationally beloved travel destination, Santa Fe has finished in the top ten in the Condé Nast Traveler award’s best U.S. Cities categories for more than 30 years, making it one of the most awarded cities by the magazine’s readers. To determine the 2025 results, 757,109 Condé Nast Traveler readers submitted responses rating their recent travel experiences. For the Condé Nast Traveller UK awards the results are based purely on votes from their UK readership.
Several Santa Fe hotels and resorts ranked highly in various award categories. In the category for “Best Destination Spas in the US & Around the World,” Ten Thousand Waves Japanese Spa Resort was honored in the #30 spot. In the rankings for "Top 20 Destination Spas in the US," Ten Thousand Waves ranked #13 and Ojo Santa Fe Spa Resort ranked #19. On the “Top 10 Hotels in the Southwest and West,” Santa Fe’s Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi placed #9. The list of the “Top 10 Resorts in the Southwest,” included Bishop’s Lodge, Auberge Collection at #9 and Four Seasons Rancho Encantado Santa Fe at #10.
“The awards and recognition for Santa Fe just keep on coming,” said Santa Fe Mayor, Alan Webber. “These two new accolades continue our strong performance as a place that people not only want to come to, they need to come to if they want to experience something special. Way to go, Santa Fe!”
"What an honor to learn that savvy travelers of the world continue to rank Santa Fe at the top of these best city lists, and today, it's especially exciting to see that Condé Nast Traveller UK readers selected Santa Fe in their top 5 cities in the world," said Randy Randall, executive director of TOURISM Santa Fe. "This annual reader's choice poll is a valuable reference which potential visitors use to make their travel plans for the coming year and our ranking means Santa Fe is top of mind."
The 2025 Readers' Choice Awards are published now on Condé Nast Traveler's website at www.cntraveler.com/rca and will be celebrated in the forthcoming November 2025 issue of Condé Nast Traveler US and UK print editions.
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Media Contact:
Joanne Hudson, Public Relations Manager
TOURISM Santa Fe
Cell: 505-231-4947
jghudson@santafenm.gov
