Montana’s best hotels and resorts feel wonderfully distant from the sparse aesthetic and formal feel found in similar caliber properties in cities like New York and Los Angeles. In Montana, even the most high-end properties feel casual and friendly — in fact, you might even find yourself dropping a “howdy” from time to time. The landscape, which is wild and vast, drives the day. Will you spend the morning on horseback? Hike in solitude? Or spend an afternoon on your private deck with a mountain view and a new book?
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 165,000 T+L readers completed the 2023 survey, an increase of nearly 25 percent over pre-pandemic voting levels. A total of more than 685,000 votes were cast across over 8,500 unique properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).
Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, 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.
Courtesy of Triple Creek Ranch
What Readers Loved
There’s a reason why the most discerning travelers return to Montana year after year. The pace of life feels slower here, and the air clearer, making this outdoor sanctuary of a state an actual escape — especially if you snag a room at one of Montana’s best resort hotels. In the end, three properties rose to the top. All were recognized in last year’s WBA and the No. 1 pick for 2023, the Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, is a WBA Hall of Fame honoree, meaning it has been recognized as a WBA winner for the past 10 consecutive years.
Whether you find your home away from home at Sage Lodge (No. 3), The Resort at Paws Up (No. 2), or Triple Creek Ranch, you’ll be in good hands.
The Winner
Triple Creek Ranch: Darby, Montana
Courtesy of Triple Creek Ranch
The Triple Creek Ranch bills itself as a hideaway — and those who’ve found it say they can’t wait to go back. The ranch is set in a 50-acre valley that’s surrounded by national forest land. The landscape lends itself to horseback riding, hiking, skiing, mountain biking, and fly fishing — all of which are rolled into the all-inclusive rate. There’s even opportunities to join a cattle drive and make your own cowboy hat. The stand-alone log cabins and ranch houses provide ample privacy, especially when you’re curled up next to the fireplace or enjoying your personal hot tub. At mealtime, guests gather at the lodge for what has become, to many, a highlight of the stay. Fresh ingredients and distinctive flavors are artfully set on plates and paired with a selection of house wines — or a premium vintage from the wine cellar. One reader raved, “The food was fantastic and the service made it even more enjoyable. The drinks are included and are top notch.”
T+L Reader
Triple Creek Ranch is the most luxurious, comfortable, personalized, and welcoming resort we have ever experienced.
— T+L Reader
The Full List
1. Triple Creek Ranch: Darby, Montana
WBA Hall of Fame honoree. Reader Score: 97.21
2. The Resort at Paws Up: Greenough, Montana
Reader Score: 90.06
3. Sage Lodge: Pray, Montana
Reader Score: 89.40