Capella Bangkok, overlooking Thailand’s majestic Chao Phraya River, takes the top spot on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024 list, to also clinch The Best Hotel in Asia 2024 title.
Hotels in Asia feature prominently in the ranking (19), followed by Europe (13), North America (9), Africa (4), Oceania (4) and South America (1).
Bangkok solidifies its reputation as a global travel hub, boasting four hotels on the list: Capella Bangkok (No.1), Mandarin Oriental Bangkok (No.12), Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River (No.14) and The Siam (No.26). Further enhancing Asia’s presence, Japan has three hotels featured including Aman Tokyo (No.7), Bulgari Tokyo (No.22) and Park Hyatt Kyoto (No.27).
Europe boasts 13 of The World’s 50 Best Hotels, with France, the UK and Italy each featuring four properties on the list. Some of the high-ranking entries include Cheval Blanc Paris (No.4) and Hôtel de Crillon (No.15) in Paris, Claridge’s (No.11) and Raffles London at The OWO (No.13) and Four Seasons Firenze (No.19) in Italy.
North America is home to nine winning properties: Maroma (No.18) is one of four hotels in Mexico to make the ranking, including Chablé Yucatán (No.16), One&Only Mandarina (No.29) and Hotel Esencia(No.48). In New York, The Carlyle enters at No.30, while Aman New York is No.37.
Africa now boasts four hotels on the list: new entry Mount Nelson (No.28) in Cape Town, La Mamounia (No.31) and Royal Mansour (No.38) in Marrakech, and Singita – Kruger National Park (No.44).
Here is the Top 10:
1. Capella Bangkok
Capella Bangkok is a masterclass in serenity and calm, from the clean-lined, Japan-esque design to the seemingly semi-psychic service that anticipates guests’ every need. Space and light are integral features of all the 101 rooms, suites and villas that are impressively spacious with separate living rooms and immense bathrooms, The villas all have private gardens with a private jacuzzi plunge pool and sala lounge.
The Capella’s team of personable Capella Culturists can create bespoke experiences for guests around food, art, culture and gardens. Starting Rate: $600
2. Passalacqua, Lake Como
Set in an 18th-century villa amongst spectacular terraced gardens on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como, Passalacqua is a boutique hotel with just 24 rooms. The hotel’s rooms are spread across three buildings: the main villa, the eight-room Palazz and the four-suite Casa al Lago down by the lake.
The pool terrace is dotted with vibrant parasols that add a modern, fashionable flair to the otherwise classic opulence. Starting Rate: $1,300
3. Rosewood Hong Kong
When Rosewood Hong Kong opened in 2019, its 65-storey tower became an unmistakable feature of the city’s skyline. It’s the Rosewood Hotel Group’s seventh location to open in Asia, delivering its signature luxe hospitality style against the stunning backdrop of Victoria Harbour.
All 413 rooms in the hotel offer an aesthetic designed to encourage a state of total zen, rounded off by the floor-to-ceiling windows replete with unparalleled vistas of the surrounding city. Starting Rate: $650
4.Cheval Blanc, Paris
From its home in the landmark La Samaritaine building alongside the city’s famed Pont Neuf, Cheval Blanc – the first urban Maison from luxury group LVMH Hospitality – boasts colourful interiors, a Dior Spa, the world-renowned Plénitude restaurant and the longest indoor swimming pool in Paris.
While almost all the 72 light-filled guestrooms (which includes 46 suites) overlook the Seine, these views are best enjoyed from the suites with a sunlit winter garden, which have floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the river with Notre Dame to the left and the Eiffel Tower to the right. Starting Rate: $3,000
5. The Upper House, Hong Kong
It’s a case of onward and upward at this 117-room hotel, which sits loftily above Admiralty’s Pacific Place. Sizeable rooms and studios rival the average square footage of a Hong Kong apartment. The peaceful experience begins with paperless check-in that forgoes a registration desk.
Inside the rooms, each lodging is a restorative space with floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing the city beyond. The hotel also features art in every corner with over 400 pieces of artwork. Starting Rate: $650
6. Raffles Hotel, Singapore
The grand, white, neo-Renaissance building that hosts Raffles Singapore is iconic across the city-state and beyond. It was completed in 1899 and hailed as one of the most beautiful and innovative of the century – it even featured Singapore’s first electric lights and fans, and home to the world-famous Singapore Sling cocktail. It offers 115 suites and its tropical gardens occupy almost half of the entire estate.
The fabled Raffles Butlers are the hotel’s ambassadors who received specialised training and have pioneered a style of service that countless around the world have tried to emulate. Starting Rate: $2,000
7. Aman, Tokyo
The hotel became Aman’s first urban outpost when it opened in 2014, spanning the top six floors of a shiny 38-storey skyscraper in the Otemachi financial district. The hotel’s spacious, light-filled 84 rooms evoke more a sense of a deluxe residence than a guest room. The deep window-side stone bathtubs offer one of the best bath-with-a-view experiences in Tokyo.
The Spa spills across two floors, complete with inventive treatments rooted in Japan’s healing traditions, ranging from traditional kampo herbs to Shinto misogi purification rituals. Starting Rate: $1,800
8. Soneva Fushi, Maldives
Soneva Fushi is only accessible by a 40-minute seaplane ride. Once guests arrive, footwear is removed and shipped to villas, only to be reapplied on departure from the Maldives. There are 63 private villas, each with their own personalised 24/7 Barefoot Guardian service.
On check-in, guests are given a bicycle, which is the singular mode of transport to access the Balinese-inspired spa, pool complex, tennis courts, library and a gym. Soneva Fushi pioneered the outdoor bathroom experience, which is now a hallmark of quality Maldivian resorts. Starting Rate: $2,800
9. Atlantis The Royal, Dubai
Home to 795 rooms and suites, 17 restaurants and bars, 17 boutiques, a 32,300 sq ft wellness space, and no fewer than 90 swimming pools – including Cloud 22 perched high on top of the sky bridge – this is where to stay if you want an all-out bling Dubai experience.
The hotel’s lavishness steps up with the suites and the penthouses, where 44 come complete with their own glass-sided swimming pools so you can swim in the sky. Starting Rate: $460
10. Nihi Sumba, Indonesia
Nihi Sumba sits on 567 acres of largely untouched jungle on the remote western coast of Sumba Island in eastern Indonesia, and an hour’s flight from Bali. The 27-villa resort is located on the steep hills above a private beach, home to one of the world’s most renowned surfing breaks, Occy’s Left.
All the villas have private infinity pools, indoor and outdoor bathrooms, teak and marble finishes and a dedicated host. The resort features a spa at a spectacular second clifftop site with open-air treatment rooms with ocean views and a chocolate factory, a beachfront infinity pool and an organic garden. Starting Rate: $1,300
The full list is can be viewed here
