2006 World's Best Awards | Travel + Leisure

In Travel + Leisure's 11th annual poll, readers name the very best in travel, from hotels to cities to islands, along with all of the operators and outfitters who make the journey possible. Here, this year's winners and what they reveal about our readers' evolving, but always exacting, standards of excellence. Below, the list of the Top 100 Hotels and, above, links to the World's Best of everything else

-Edited by Jennifer V. Cole and Amy Farley
-Illustrated by Bo Lundberg


After debuting at No. 1 in the 2004 World’s Best Awards and taking second place last year, Singita Private Game Reserve once more heads the Top 100 List—the third time that an African property has finished first. Also strong this year: Asian hotels, which claim eight of the top 10 spots.

Top 100 Hotels Overall

Rank Last Year Name 2006
Score
1 2Singita Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 97.56
2 1Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan96.11
3n/aOberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India 94.28
4 6The Peninsula, Bangkok 94.03
5 8Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay93.59
6 3Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, India 93.50
7 53Ritz-Carlton Bali Resort & Spa93.18
8 46Inverlochy Castle, Fort William, Scotland 92.86
9 11The Oriental, Bangkok 92.40
10n/aTaj Lake Palace, Udaipur, India 91.79
11 4Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai, Thailand 91.72
12 20Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii 91.71
13 29The Aerie, Malahat, Vancouver Island 91.67
14n/aFour Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace, Budapest 91.57
15 99Sooke Harbour House, Sooke, Vancouver Island 91.54
16n/aWaterloo House, Hamilton, Bermuda 91.45
17n/aCharlotte Inn, Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard 91.25
18 5Château Les Crayères, Reims, France 91.23
19 23Halekulani, Honolulu, Oahu 91.21
20 27The Peninsula, Hong Kong 91.06
21 98Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia 90.87
22 30Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, Vancouver Island 90.83
23n/aChief’s Camp, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana 90.53
24n/aMombo Camp, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana 90.39
25n/aRitz-Carlton, Santiago, Chile 90.37
26n/aFour Seasons Resort, Carmelo, Uruguay 90.25
27n/aLadera Resort, St. Lucia 90.24
28 17La Casa Que Canta, Zihuatanejo, Mexico 90.20
29n/aHotel Villa Cipriani, Asolo, Italy 90.18
30n/aAlvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires 90.12
31n/aInn at Montchanin Village, Montchanin, Delaware 90.00
32 56MalaMala Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 90.00
33 40Banyan Tree, Phuket, Thailand 89.89
34n/aFour Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong 89.89
35 18Kichwa Tembo, Masai Mara, Kenya 89.83
36n/aWaterColor Inn, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida 89.82
37n/aFour Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, Wyoming 89.82
38 15Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand 89.78
39n/aKirawira Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 89.74
40 33Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California 89.67
41 72Amanpuri, Phuket, Thailand 89.67
42n/aLa Colombe d’Or Hôtel, St.-Paul-de-Vence, France 89.66
43 36Four Seasons Hotel, Prague 89.33
44 41Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele, Lanai 89.31
45n/aPhinda Private Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa 89.25
46n/aFour Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo89.24
47 37Bauer Il Palazzo, Venice 89.23
48 10Four Seasons Hotel, Istanbul 89.21
49n/aBuckland Manor Country House Hotel, Gloucestershire, England 89.14
50 16The Point, Saranac Lake, New York 89.09
51 43Four Seasons Hotel, Singapore 89.04
52 24Cape Grace, Cape Town 89.01
53n/aGrand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli, Gargnano, Italy 88.97
54 22Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India 88.94
55 85Hotel Monasterio, Cuzco, Peru 88.81
56 59Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles 88.81
57 19The Peninsula, Beverly Hills 88.75
58 9Voyages Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia 88.68
59 57The Peninsula, Chicago 88.66
60 84Raffles Hotel, Singapore 88.62
61n/aMandarin Oriental, Hong Kong 88.62
62n/aChobe Chilwero Lodge, Chobe National Park, Botswana 88.54
63n/aFour Seasons Hotel, Chicago 88.48
64n/aSt. Regis Hotel, Beijing 88.39
65n/aAna Mandara Resort & Six Senses Spa, Nha Trang, Vietnam 88.33
66n/aRitz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek, Colorado 88.26
67n/aVilla Gallici, Aix-en-Provence, France 88.25
68n/aVilla San Michele, Fiesole, Italy 88.23
69 44Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris 88.22
70 13Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France 88.14
71 96Llao Llao Hotel & Resort, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina 88.13
72n/aLe Vieux Logis, Trémolat, France 88.06
73n/aRoyal Livingstone, Livingstone, Zambia 88.04
74 35Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge, Gold Beach, Oregon 88.03
75 48The Sukhothai, Bangkok 87.88
76n/aDromoland Castle, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Ireland 87.86
77 50Monmouth Plantation, Natchez, Mississippi 87.84
78n/aFour Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires 87.81
79100Little Nell, Aspen, Colorado 87.78
80n/aCliff House at Pikes Peak, Manitou Springs, Colorado 87.71
81n/aRitz-Carlton, Naples, Florida 87.67
82 12Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee 87.66
83n/aL’Auberge Carmel, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California 87.62
84 28Palazzo Sasso, Ravello, Italy 87.55
85n/aInterContinental, Hong Kong 87.47
86n/aRitz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes, Florida 87.34
87n/aChâteau du Sureau & Spa, Oakhurst, California 87.33
88n/aChâteau Eza, Èze Village, France 87.33
89 94The Ritz, Paris 87.27
90n/aBlancaneaux Lodge, Mountain Pine Ridge, Belize 87.27
91 38Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea87.24
92n/aHotel Kämp, Helsinki 87.17
93 25Hôtel de Paris, Monte Carlo 87.17
94 90Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas87.13
95n/aAshford Castle, Cong, Ireland 87.05
96 76Auberge du Soleil, Spa du Soleil, Rutherford, California 87.04
97n/aInn at Thorn Hill & Spa, Jackson, New Hampshire 87.00
97 34Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 87.00
99n/aRitz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation, Greensboro, Georgia 86.99
100n/aOne & Only Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico 86.98

* "N/A" means that the property was not among the top-ranked in this category last year.

Throughout the World’s Best Awards, scores are rounded to the nearest hundredth of a point; in the event of an exact tie, properties, companies, or destinations share the same ranking.