Properties along the Gulf Coast, including a family-owned inn, topped the Florida resorts list in our annual "World’s Best Awards" survey for 2025.

Florida is where Americans go to vacation, according to an April 2025 release from the state’s governor. The warm-weather state, which is best known for its soft, white quartz sand, has surprisingly diverse landscapes—take the vast, untamed expanse of the Everglades for example, or its rolling pine forests and crystal-clear freshwater springs.

And for a state with so much to see and do, there is a matching number of exceptional resorts. Travel + Leisure’s intrepid readers chose their favorites in the 2025 “World’s Best Awards” survey, calling out intimate inns alongside sprawling hotel complexes with private beaches, golf courses, pools, and spas.

How Voting Works

Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe—to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 180,000 T+L readers completed the 2025 survey. A total of more than 657,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).

Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, inn, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on the criteria below:

Rooms/facilities
Location
Service
Food
Value

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

What Readers Loved

A majority of the reader-voted resorts in the state are located in Southwest Florida along the Gulf Coast—including the No. 1 and No. 3 picks. But there are also winning properties located far north on Amelia Island, in landlocked Orlando, and all the way down to the Florida Keys.

In the Keys, readers loved the Little Palm Island Resort & Spa on Little Torch Key (No. 5), which took home the No. 1 spot in 2024 and 2023. “From the moment you arrive (greeted with a specialty cocktail) to the moment you depart (sadly), everything you encounter is first class,” said one reader. “Between the great cocktails and wine list, the delicious food for all meals, the private beach dinners, the friendly deer; this was awesome.”

While most of the winning Florida resorts are owned by major hotel chains known for their consistent service—there are two Four Seasons and two Ritz-Carltons on the list.

The Winner

The Gasparilla Inn: Boca Grande, Florida

While it has not made T+L’s World’s Best Awards since 2021, The Gasparilla Inn made a comeback this year. Family-owned by a select few since 1964, the property has retained a distinct Old Florida charm that dates back to the inn’s opening in 1913.

As one reader shared, “There truly is no place like The Gasparilla Inn. Its unique character and historic charm create an elegant atmosphere that is fast disappearing from most, if not all, other hotels and resorts.”

The Gasparilla Inn is located on a barrier island in southwest Florida in the community of Boca Grande, which is known for its fishing, stunning coastline, and nearby undeveloped islands. And there’s no shortage of activities available on the property, too: It has pristine golf courses, a spa, and a beach club—the latter of which was recently restored following the damage from Hurricane Helene.

"There truly is no place like The Gasparilla Inn. Its unique character and historic charm create an elegant atmosphere that is fast disappearing from most, if not all, other hotels and resorts."