What Makes A Hotel One Of The World’s 50 Best?

A recent report ten years in the making recently boldly selected The World’s 50 Best Hotels. So what makes a great hotel?

Luxury, beauty, comfort, cuisine, relaxation, privacy and service are all key. But I would argue that a truly great hotel needs to both be a destination and have a great story.

Destination can certainly mean a great hotel at an exotic destination. On the 50 Best list are many such, like the Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani in the Maldives, the One&Only Mandarina in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the Desa Potato Head in Bali, or the Amangalla in Galle, Sri Lanka. The #1 hotel on the “Best” list is the Passalacqua in beautiful Lake Como, Italy, a destination described as glamorous, luxurious, but with “a hint of bohemianism.”

But a destination hotel can also be in a bustling metropolis, a special place that travelers don’t want to leave even to enjoy the city. The 50 Best list has many such urban, urbane destinations, like the Rosewood Hong Kong, (#2 on the list, a 413-room, 65-story tower overlooking Victoria Harbor); the art-soaked Four Seasons Madrid, the Hotel del Crillon in Paris, (commissioned by Louis XIV in 1752) and the Savoy in London.

At the beach or in the city, a great hotel will be your destination, a pleasant little world to call your own for a week. It also helps if a great hotel has a great story.

The Savoy, for example, has been the choice of celebrities from the 19^th century’s Sarah Bernhardt to the 21^st century’s Taylor Swift. The late Irish actor Richard Harris (HARRY POTTER, GLADIATOR) spent $10,000 a week to live at the Savoy, so he could have someone make him a sandwich at 4AM. He famously bellowed at diners while being carried out on a stretcher shortly before his death, “it was the food!”

Similarly, the Fairmont Century Plaza, on Avenue of the Stars in Los Angeles, is famous for its own star sightings. Not on the 50 Best list, the hotel has nonetheless been the choice of the wealthy and famous since its 1966 opening and 2021 remodel. In 1974 alone, John Lennon and Mick Jagger were photographed partying there, while at a separate meeting, President Gerald Ford and future President Ronald Reagan huddled in a guestroom.

As I was drafting this story, I was invited to meet the representatives of some Small Luxury Hotels from around the world. While the hotels participating were not among the 50 Best (yet) most had both a destination and a story.

A group of Swedish surfers discovered the beach, the jungle, waterfalls and the river at Itacare in Brazil. Their passion for the place helped create the small Barracuda Hotels and Villas, built to be environmentally friendly, with more than 85% of employees coming from the area.

Similarly, arriving guests at the 37-room Nanuku Resort in Pacific Harbor, Fiji are greeted by fierce-looking but friendly Fijians dedicated to showing visitors their authentic culture. The hotel also offers a pristine beach, deluxe rooms and villas, and a 500-acre mangrove forest where you can hunt crabs. If you can tear yourself away from the pool or beach, there’s snorkeling and whitewater rafting through black volcanic walls five meters apart. According to a spokesperson, the hotel is operated by an Australian-American who grew up in Fiji and went to school with local people, whose input is important to the resort.

Celebrities have discovered such hotels, like those on The 50 Best list, because they combine excellence and privacy with destination and story.

Hotel Esencia, a beach resort near Tulum, Mexico, is 19^th on the “Best” list. People Magazine says its stunning location makes it popular with Hollywood royalty like Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, Kate Bosworth, Diane Kruger and Lupita Nyongo. As for story, the hotel, on an undeveloped beach along the Mayan Riviera where the Yucatán jungle meets Xpu-ha, was originally built as a private home for an Italian duchess.

Similarly, young STRANGER THINGS star Millie Bobby Brown posted plenty of Instagrams from the Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani in the Maldives. Each is on the 50 Best List. Brown enjoyed kayaking, swimming, sun-bathing and snorkeling there, as well as elegant dining.

The singer Joe Jonas and actress Sophie Turner celebrated their second wedding at the Soneva Fushi. It features ocean-front suites, watersports, fine dining and a waterslide, all of which the couple shared on Instagram. Unfortunately, while the hotel remains on the 50 Best List, the couple’s marriage hasn’t had the same staying power.

Hotel best lists are necessarily subjective. Modern or classic? Small or loaded with facilities? Friendly or elegant? Chain or stand-alone? Is the service too pushy, or too absent? And ratings solely on the idea of “best,” or does the concept of value for money also important?

Still, cumulatively such “best” lists usually feel right, even if you can quibble with some of the choices or their placement. For example, Skytrax, which rates the world’s 100 best airlines, generally seems on top of which carriers offer great service and which are less distinguished.

Singapore, Qatar, Emirates, ANA and Japan are among the top ten airlines again this year. Unfortunately, North American airlines typically fare dismally. In the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards Delta (whose frequent flyers recently rebelled against SkyMiles cutbacks) finished 20^th, Air Canada 38^th, United 49^th, Alaska 52nd, JetBlue 55^th, Southwest 60^th, and American Airlines 82^nd .

For the “launch edition” of The World’s 50 Best Hotels, the 50 Best brand put together a group of 580 anonymous leaders in the hotel industry. These experts were comprised of 50% travel journalists, (not me, unfortunately) 30% hoteliers, and 20% ‘seasoned luxury travelers’ from nine voting regions.

As an American, I was taken aback, if not surprised, that just two U.S. hotels made the 50 Best Hotels list. The 25^th best, Aman, and the 48^th best, Equinox, are both in New York city.

Are American hotels and airlines incapable of creating true luxury travel and destination accommodations? Or do American travelers simply refuse to pay the price?

Perhaps American airlines and hotels are better at serving mass affluence, rather than aiming for the top of the international luxury market.

Marriott, the largest hotel chain in the world, has approximately 30 brands. Five Star Alliance, which lets you book “the world’s best hotels” offers access to what it calls “The 688 Best Luxury Marriott Hotels and Resorts Hotels,” such as the Ritz Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara, CA.

A few chains (Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental) are on The 50 Best Hotels list. But in general, the list celebrates the variety and individuality of the top hotels.

Perhaps this is the opposite of what a Marriott or other chain customer is looking for. Instead, they crave the familiar comforts of the brand. When I stayed at an Embassy Suites overseas for ten days during a family emergency, I certainly clung to every bit of midlevel American-style hotel comfort I could find.

What’s the best hotel you’ve ever stayed in? Is it the best because of the high thread-count sheets and the impeccable service, or because the hotel provided both a memorable destination and an interesting story? For many of us, it’s a question that will take some thought to unpack.