In Best of the Best, we honour the brands and people behind the most covetable products. Here are the yachts that earned a spot on our 2026 list
Best Gigayacht: Leviathan
Oceanco’s Leviathan marks a change in how superyachts are conceived, built, and used. The 364ft vessel is among the largest in the shipyard’s fleet, with a volume of 4,970 gross tonnes and accommodation for 26 guests and a crew of 37. Rather than focusing solely on size, owner Gabe Newell insisted on a human-centric brief, with input from the crew and shipyard that influences everything from layout to operational flow. The exterior emphasises a forward-leaning silhouette, expansive glazing for clear lines of sight, and stylish, prismatic shapes.
With the crew in mind, the Mark Berryman interior eschews shiny metals for low-maintenance leather surfaces and honed-stone finishes as well as natural-wool carpets. Low-noise engineering and a diesel-electric propulsion system enhance on-board comfort. A medical centre, 3D-printing facility for spare parts, and 15-station gaming lounge all meet the owner’s requirements for living aboard full-time, while a laboratory fulfills Leviathan’s second mission: scientific research. Newell, who acquired Oceanco last August, envisions this latest project as a platform built around how people live and work at sea. His longer-term goal is to identify new technologies, prototype them, and move them into production by using yachts like Leviathan as test beds in real-world conditions.
Amor à Vida
Built by CRN and designed by Nuvolari Lenard, this 222ft custom build blends classicism and contemporary flair, with a plumb bow, extensive glasswork, and hybrid propulsion. This feat is carried through the Venice studio’s exceptional interior, where casual elegance hides the clever use of materials—from elaborate stonework on the main salon’s walls and ceilings to customised furniture to meticulous concentric-circle patterns on the sycamore floors that match the lift floor when its glass door opens. To evoke nautical rope at the bar, the team replicated its weave in cork, an effect discernible only by touch.
Elsewhere, this same motif is recreated from plaster casts of marine rope alternating with teak inserts. The full wellness centre at the stern is a highly engineered retreat with a lounge, gym, sauna, steam room, treatment areas, and fold-out terraces. The yacht is structured around shared spaces: a master barbecue catering to the 16-seat outdoor dining table on the upper deck, multiple lounge areas, and both a pizza oven and teppanyaki grill on the aft bridge deck. Rather than being a showcase of isolated features, Amor à Vida operates as a cohesive whole, with design, technology, and layout aligned around how guests spend time at sea.
Best Megayacht: Juno’s 7
Juno’s 7 opens a new chapter in Benetti’s history as both the first hull in the Italian yard’s Class 44M line and its largest composite vessel. Making optimal use of the 144ft, 7-inch length, Cassetta Yacht Designers and naval architect Pierluigi Ausonio created an exterior that feels classic at first glance but is unmistakably contemporary in execution thanks to expanses of glass and the slender, raked bow. Details like the black hardtop on the upper sundeck add a sporty edge.
The design’s classic-modern juxtaposition continues inside, particularly in the light-filled main salon. Antique-elm floors and striped-ash walls complement the extensive glazing, which provides abundant natural light and a generous sense of space. The wood is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council—a thoughtful, eco-minded touch. The semi-custom layout includes six staterooms instead of the standard five, among them a private full-beam owner’s suite on the main deck. The upper-foredeck lounge, with a pool, is just one of many generous exterior areas. More than a dozen units of the Class 44M have already been sold, proving the appeal of fresh thinking in yachting’s most competitive category.
Best Residential Yacht: Four Seasons I
The 679ft Four Seasons I joins a field that includes offerings from Aman, The Ritz-Carlton, and Orient Express, but it arrives with several significant differentiators, chief among them the Funnel and Loft suites. The former is particularly impressive: a four-storey 9,975-sq-ft complex that can be divided into different suites. It faces forward for panoramic views and features the largest single pane of glass on any yacht. The nearly 8,000-sq-ft Loft Suite, facing aft, is distinguished by its massive terrace. Designer Prosper Assouline has created spaces that are contemporary, private, and decidedly residential.
That sensibility carries through the ship’s 95 suites as well as its 1:1 staff-to-passenger ratio, which reinforces the intimate, lower-density experience. Life on board is closer to a floating resort than a traditional superyacht. A 20m swimming pool anchors the outdoor areas, while a transverse marina along the sides allows direct access to the sea. Dining follows a rotating chef-in-residence programme drawing talent from Four Seasons’ Michelin-starred restaurants, and the itineraries include secluded ports of call where cruise ships are forbidden. For devotees of the brand, this unusual vessel is less about reinventing yachting than refining it into something that is elegantly familiar.
Best Sailing Yacht: Aquarius
This 212ft custom yacht is the successor to Aquarius (now Apsara), which Royal Huisman launched in 2018. After five successful years of cruising and racing that 186-footer, the owners wanted a stretched version that preserved the original look while adding a larger cabin, fourth stateroom, gym, and an expanded galley. One important caveat came with the extra size: enhance its racing prowess.
Aquarius’s extra 26ft of length translate into 45 per cent more interior volume, allowing for larger social spaces and a bigger engine room. But the higher volumes required technical advances, including a retractable 7.62m-long keel, a hybrid power-management system, and a towering 67m main mast and 61m mizzen to handle enormous sail areas. Operational control is first-rate thanks to Rondal’s high-tech carbon rig and integrated sailing system, along with Doyle’s sails and Royal Huisman’s internal build expertise. The beauty of this technology is its versatility. Aquarius can race any superyacht regatta with a crew of 30 or cruise under the command of the captain and a handful of crew.
Best Crossover: Sanlorenzo SX120
The SX120 makes a persuasive case that a yacht need not choose between the generous comfort of a flybridge and the adventurous capability of an explorer. At 120ft, it is the largest model in Sanlorenzo’s crossover range, measuring 26ft across and offering an interior volume of 270 gross tonnes. Despite its considerable proportions, the SX120 is conceived not as a fixed arrangement of rooms but as a sequence of fluid, adaptable spaces.
Its defining feature is the stern. The beach area expands from 40sqm to 70sqm when its folding side terraces are deployed, opening onto a broad waterside platform for swimming, lounging, and launching toys. At its centre, a retractable pool disappears beneath the deck through a lift-and-slide mechanism, allowing the same footprint to shift easily between aquatic playground, social hub, and open terrace, and deepening the connection between those on board and the sea around them.
This spatial flexibility runs throughout the yacht’s four decks. On the main deck, a light-filled saloon flows aft into a dining area for as many as 14 guests, and forward into the owner’s suite, which opens directly onto a private bow lounge.
The SX120 is also the first composite superyacht fitted with Volvo Penta’s IPS Professional Platform. Four 1,000hp D13 engines drive steerable pods, while the compact installation shrinks the engine room and frees up more volume for living and leisure. By combining flybridge-like comfort, explorer-style utility, and an intelligent use of space, the SX120 turns crossover design into a coherent, progressive way of living at sea.
Best Family Cruiser: Sunseeker Manhattan 56
How do you upgrade an icon? If Sunseeker’s Manhattan 56 is any indication, the answer lies in sharpening the qualities that made it work in the first place. Unveiled at Boot Düsseldorf in January, the 56ft 6-inch flybridge yacht builds on the popular Manhattan 55 with a cleaner exterior profile, uninterrupted main-deck glazing, and more adaptable living spaces. The underlying priorities remain unchanged: generous volume, confident performance, and a layout that’s manageable enough for owner operation.
This adaptability shows most clearly at the stern, where a newly configured aft cockpit uses modular seating to shift between an outdoor dining area, a relaxed lounge, and a full-beam sunpad. The space flows naturally towards the bathing platform and beach club, forming a waterside hub for swimming, water sports, or simply watching the day unfold. Above, the flybridge offers a second, substantial social zone, letting different generations spread out without losing the sense of togetherness that defines life on board.
Inside, the open-plan saloon, dining area, galley, and helm are united by expansive windows and an easy visual connection to the sea. Positioning the galley on the main deck frees up space below for three cabins and two bathrooms, including a full-beam owner’s suite with standing headroom around a curved king-sized bed. Up to six guests can be accommodated, with optional quarters for one crew member.
Best Motor Yacht: Falcon
Palm Beach Motor Yachts’ new PB85 flagship combines refined, timeless design with an advanced hull shape and composite lay-up. Unlike most 90-footers, it employs the yard’s signature warped semi-displacement hull, a geometry that reduces drag while increasing lift and stability, allowing the yacht to reach planing speeds with unusual efficiency. Its advanced composite construction—incorporating lightweight carbon fibre and E-Glass—is more commonly associated with offshore racing boats.
The first PB85, a low-slung sedan named Falcon, features a handcrafted interior centred on Burmese teak, though wood, fabric, and finishes can, of course, be tailored to each owner. The main salon is a study in balance, pairing the warmth of the teak with large, elegantly upholstered lounges and sizeable windows that flood the space with light. It’s a classic-looking motor yacht, edging into superyacht territory, but engineered with the agility and innovation of a much smaller vessel. Falcon is powered by twin 1,000hp Volvo Penta IPS engines, delivering a top speed of 26 knots.
