‘50 Best’ announces World’s Top Hotels for 2024

Stays

The World’s 50 Best Hotels for 2024 have been revealed, and two Aussie favourites have also managed to make the list. Find out which local gems are shining on the global stage and what sets them apart from the rest.
Capella Bangkok - Tea Lounge (Lobby) 01

The number one hotel in the world, Capella Bangkok, Tea Lounge

Capella Bangkok

Capella Bangkok, overlooking Thailand’s majestic Chao Phraya River, takes the top spot on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024 list, climbing 10 places from No.11 in the 2023 list, to also clinch The Best Hotel in Asia 2024 title. Opened in 2020, the contemporary Capella Bangkok is surrounded by lush gardens and exudes the elegance of a grand dame property combined with the intimacy of a boutique hotel. The dramatic, layered architecture ensures all 101 rooms face the water, while riverside villas and suites also include their own private pool.

Passalacqua exterior

Passalacqua, Lake Como

Passalacqua

The No.2 spot goes to Passalacqua (number 1 last year), set in an 18th-century villa amongst spectacular terraced gardens on the shores of Italy’s Lake Como. The hotel is additionally awarded the Carlo Alberto Best Boutique Hotel Award 2024. This award is given to the hotel that places highest on the list and fits all the criteria of a boutique property. 50 Best defines a boutique hotel as having fewer than 50 rooms and not being part of a large chain or group, showcasing personalised service and idiosyncratic features unique to its destination. The towering Rosewood Hong Kong in the city’s Victoria Dockside arts and design district takes the No.3 spot.

Bangkok, Riverside Area, Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Author’s Wing of the historic Bangkok hotel which took number 12 in the World’s 50 Best Hotels

getty

Asia leads the way in The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024 with 19 ranked hotels in total, while 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).

Raffles London Facade

Raffles, Whitehall, London was number 13 in The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2024

John Athimaritis

Europe has 13 of The World’s 50 Best Hotels, with France, the UK and Italy each featuring four properties on the list. Among the high-ranking entries are 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) in the UK capital and Four Seasons Firenze (No.19) in Italy.

The Carlyle room

Rosewood Carlyle Hotel, New York The Carlyle in New York at No.30 is the top American hotel on the list.

Durston Saylor

The Carlyle in New York at No.30 is the top American hotel on the list. North America is home to nine winning properties: Maroma (No.18) is one of four top hotels in Mexico including ChabléYucatán (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. Four Seasons at The Surf Club in Florida and LA’s Hotel Bel-Air are new additions for 2024, ranking No.34 and No.35 respectively. Eden Rock in St Barths, meanwhile, has climbed five places to claim the No.36 spot on the list.


The Top Hotels by Continent
Mount Nelson

Mount Nelson (No.28) in South Africa wins The Best Hotel in Africa 2024.

Mount Nelson

The highest-ranked hotel in each continent is named The Best Hotel in that respective destination: Capella Bangkok (No.1) in Thailand wins The Best Hotel in Asia 2024. Passalacqua (No.2) in Italy wins The Best Hotel in Europe 2024. Chablé Yucatán (No.16) in Mexico wins The Best Hotel in North America 2024. Rosewood São Paulo (No.24) in Brazil wins The Best Hotel in South America 2024. The Calile (No.25) in Australia wins The Best Hotel in Oceania 2024 and Mount Nelson (No.28) in South Africa wins The Best Hotel in Africa 2024.

Place de la Concorde and Obelisk, with (in background from left) Hotel de Crillon, Church of the Madeleine, Hotel de la Marine.

Hotel de Crillon, Paris, was named number 15 in The World’s 50 Best Hotels

getty


The Top 50 Hotels for 2024

1.Capella, Bangkok

2.Passalacqua, Lake Como

3.Rosewood, Hong Kong

4.Cheval Blanc, Paris

5.The Upper House, Hong Kong

6.Raffles, Singapore

7.Aman, Tokyo

8.Soneva Fushi, Maldives

9.Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

10.Nihi Sumba, Sumba Island

11.Claridge’s, London

12.Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

13.Raffles London at The OWO

14.Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

15.Hôtel de Crillon, Paris

16.Chablé Yucatán, Chocholá

17.Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes

18.Maroma, Riviera Maya

19.Four Seasons Firenze, Florence

20.Borgo Santandrea, Amalfi

21.Desa Potato Head, Bali

22.Bulgari, Tokyo

23.The Lana, Dubai

24.Rosewood, São Paulo

25.The Calile, Brisbane

26.The Siam, Bangkok

27.Park Hyatt, Kyoto

28.Mount Nelson, Cape Town

29.One&Only Mandarina, Riviera Nayarit

30.The Carlyle, New York

31.La Mamounia, Marrakech

32.Four Seasons, Madrid

33.Capella, Singapore

34.Four Seasons at The Surf Club, Surfside

35.Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles

36.Eden Rock, St. Barths

37.Aman, New York

38.Royal Mansour, Marrakech

39.Amangalla, Galle

40.Le Bristol, Paris

41.Gleneagles, Auchterarder

42.Castello di Reschio, Lisciano Niccone

43.Suján Jawai, Rajasthan

44.Singita, Kruger National Park

45.Six Senses Zighy Bay, Zaghi

46.The Connaught, London

47.The Brando, Tetiaroa

48.Hotel Esencia, Tulum

49.The Tasman, Hobart

50.Kokomo Private Island, Yaukuve Levu Island


About the Awards
Chable Yucatan room

Chablé Yucatán, Chocholá

Chable Yucatan

The World’s 50 Best Hotels list is created by The World’s 50 Best Hotels Academy, an influential group of more than 580 independent leaders overseen by a group of nine industry-leading Academy Chairs. Each voter is selected for their expert opinion of the international hotel scene, a mix of hoteliers, travel journalists, educators and seasoned luxury travellers. Any hotel worldwide is eligible to be voted for; it does not have to fit any criteria or tick any pre-ordained boxes to be considered. The awards are not “pay to play” meaning the venues themselves do not have to pay to enter the awards or invest any fiscal sum in the nomination process.

The first edition of the list was launched in 2023 with Passalacqua in Moltrasio, Lake Como, Italy, chosen as number one.

This story was originally published on forbes.com.

More from Forbes Life

Avatar of Joanne Shurvell