There are brilliant hotels everywhere, offering innovative design, creative use of historical buildings, jaw-dropping locations or outstanding service.
But sometimes there’s no one thing that makes you remember a hotel – it just gives you a feeling. And that’s what the Condé Nast Traveler editors have decided to showcase this year, in the publication’s 31st annual Gold List.
‘We highlight [these hotels] not only for their beauty, comfort, or impeccable service, but also because we’ve developed deeply emotional relationships with them: these are the hotels and cruises we recommend to our friends, that we tell stories about later,’ reads the website.
So, which hotels have these editors formed ‘deeply emotional relationships’ with? The list is divided into several regions, showcasing the best of the best hotels from each. In Africa you have the likes of Ellerman House, a gorgeous Edwardian mansion on Cape Town’s coast, while Oman’s Six Senses Zighy Bay, made up of 82 villas, was one of the picks for the Middle East.
The Suján Jawai in India’s Rajasthan state was included for Asia, and The Brando in French Polynesia, made up of 35 thatch-roofed huts dotted around the main island, was a pick from Oceania.
In Europe, Paris’s landmark hotel Le Bristol, which brags glamorous interiors and a Michelin-starred restaurant, got the nod. Chable Yúcatan in Chocholá was one of the picks from Mexico and Central America, a hotel located in the jungle between Merida and the Maya site of Uxmal.
Lastly, The Woodstock Inn, a quintessential New England-style mansion in Vermont, which looks like it belongs on the front of a Christmas card, was one of the inclusions for the US and Canada. There are plenty more where those came from – have a look at the worldwide list below.
Africa and the Middle East
- Ellerman House, Cape Town, South Africa
- Singita Ebony Lodge, Sabi Sand, South Africa
- Kasbah Tamadot, Asni, Morocco
- andBeyond Mnemba Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania
- Jack’s Camp, Botswana
- Matetsi Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- Six Senses Zighy Bay, Oman
- Jumeirah Burj Al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Asia
- Gangtey Lodge, Bhutan
- Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad, India
- The Dwarika’s Hotel, Kathmandu, Nepal
- Aman Kyoto, Japan
- Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
- Narendra Bhawan Bikaner, India
- The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, Japan
- Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Vietnam
- Suján Jawai, Rajasthan, India
- The Leela Palace Jaipur, India
- The Peninsula Hong Kong
- Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi
- Bvlgari Resort Bali, Indonesia
- Capella Bangkok, Thailand
- The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India
- Trisara, Phuket, Thailand
Australia and New Zealand
- Bullo River Station, Northern Territory, Australia
- Lizard Island Resort, Queensland, Australia
- The Brando, French Polynesia
Europe and the UK
- Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris, France
- Palazzo Margherita, Bernalda, Italy
- Severin’s Resort & Spa, Sylt, Germany
- The Connaught, London
- Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten Hamburg, Germany
- Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin
- Adare Manor, Ireland
- Canaves Ena, Santorini, Greece
- Cap Rocat, Mallorca, Spain
- Ett Hem, Stockholm, Sweden
- Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, Florence
- Gran Hotel Inglés, Madrid
- Gstaad Palace, Switzerland
- Hotel Castello di Reschio, Lisciano Niccone, Italy
- Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens
- Hotel Santa Caterina, Amalfi, Italy
- Kalesma Mykonos, Greece
- La Posta Vecchia Hotel, Ladispoli, Italy
- Le Bristol Paris
- Les Roches Rouges, Saint-Raphaël, France
- Lime Wood, Lyndhurst, United Kingdom
- Marbella Club, Spain
- Splendido, a Belmond Hotel, Portofino, Italy
- The Fife Arms, Braemar, United Kingdom
Mexico, Central, and South America
- Tierra Patagonia, Chile
- Hacienda AltaGracia, Auberge Resorts Collection, Costa Rica
- Caiman, Pantanal, Miranda, Brazil
- Turtle Inn, Placencia, Belize
- Chable Yúcatan, Chocholá, Mexico
- Mashpi Lodge, Pichincha, Ecuador
- One&Only Mandarina, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico
United States, Canada, and the Caribbean
- The Ritz-Carlton New York, Nomad
- Zero George, Charleston, South Carolina
- Colony Palm Beach, Florida
- San Ysidro Ranch, Santa Barbara, California
- Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee
- Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland, Canada
- Four Seasons Resort Hualālai, Big Island, Hawaii
- Mandarin Oriental, New York
- Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California
- The Woodstock Inn, Woodstock, Vermont
- Wynn Las Vegas
- Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
- Rockhouse Hotel & Spa, Negril, Jamaica
- Rosewood Little Dix, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
You can read all about each of these dazzling hotels on Condé Nast Traveler’s page.
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