World's Best Hotels 2010
The results are in for Travel + Leisure’s 15th-annual reader survey of the absolute best hotels in the world.
You’re lounging on a white sand beach, with nothing but turquoise water in front. Behind you lies the comforts of an 18th-century great house and luxurious yellow cottages with private patios, all set on a 30-acre, palm tree–filled plantation. Want to explore? A Vespa is at the ready. It’s just another day at the Nisbet Plantation Beach Club in Nevis.
It’s experiences like these that travelers crave. And it’s our mission at Travel + Leisure to help you make them happen. Which is why, every year for the past 15 years, we’ve asked our readers to vote on their absolute favorite hotels in the World’s Best Awards survey. (Nisbet came in at No. 6.)
This year, “the spirit of exploration prevailed,” says Travel + Leisure’s editor in chief, Nancy Novogrod. Out of the Top 100 hotels, 69 are located outside of the U.S. and Canada (there are eight in India, seven in South Africa, and six in Italy and France, respectively). TripAdvisor found similar results on a recent survey: 60 percent of travelers are planning to visit Europe in the next year.
A few top winners came from the most remote reaches of the globe. One example: the Fairmont Mara Safari Club in Nairobi, Kenya, which rose from No. 96 last year to No. 3 in 2010. We’re betting the high score is due to the presence of the evermore elusive Big 5 animals, which the resort’s expert trackers take guests to search for on twice-daily game drives. It’s clear that travelers are looking for “encounters with the natural world,” says Novogrod.
The Peninsula Bangkok also had a meteoric rise this year, from No. 66 in 2009 to No. 7 in 2010. We’re attributing this shift to our readers’ increased affection for Asia and Bangkok (newly anointed the 2010 World’s Best City), with its world-class hotels, shopping, restaurants, and happily, peace once again. [The survey ended before the upheaval.]
For those looking to stay close to home, this year’s list delivers plenty of ideas. Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago (No. 20) opened less than two years ago, but it has already wowed our readers with its minimalist design, stellar service, and indulgent brunch menu. Chicago also has three other hotels on the list, while perennial powerhouse New York City had only one: the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park. Are second—and smaller—cities on the rise?
Perhaps so. The Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole skyrocketed to No. 41 in the Top 100 (its score was too low to be listed last year), which illustrates that less popular destinations do have their own appeal, and also that T+L readers are looking to connect more with the outdoors.
That same get-your-hands-dirty desire brings guests to the Inn at Palmetto Bluff (there’s horseback riding, boating, and fishing on the 40-acre riverfront grounds), though the South Carolina low-country hotel fell from No. 14 in 2009 to No. 41 this year (it’s tied with Jackson Hole), helping to make room at the top for No. 2 Triple Creek Ranch, Montana’s all-inclusive rustic lodge that ranked No. 4 in 2008 before failing to make the list at all last year.
So who were the big winners in 2010? And most important, what hotel did Travel + Leisure readers vote the World’s Best? Read on for all the results. —Sarah Spagnolo
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#1Oberoi Vanyavilas (97.26)Ranthambhore, India
Rank last year: #2
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#2Triple Creek Ranch (96.76) Darby, Montana
Rank last year: n/a
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#3Fairmont Mara Safari Club (96.31)Masai Mara, Kenya
Rank last year: #86
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#4San Ysidro Ranch, A Rosewood Resort (96.17)Santa Barbara, California
Rank last year: #64
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#5Oberoi Amarvilas (95.94) Agra, India
Rank last year: #28
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#6Nisbet Plantation Beach Club (95.75) Nevis
Rank last year: n/a
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#7The Peninsula (95.69)Bangkok
Rank last year: #66
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#8Palazzo Sasso (95.17) Ravello, Italy
Rank last year: n/a
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#9Domaine des Hauts de Loire (95.00) $ Onzain, France
Rank last year: #43$ denotes Great Value (room rates of $250 or less)
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#9Four Seasons Hotel México, D.F. (95.00)Mexico City
Rank last year: n/a
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#11Jade Mountain (94.91)St. Lucia
Rank last year: #3
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#12Le Sirenuse (94.88) Positano, Italy
Rank last year: n/a
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#13Oberoi Rajvilas (94.78) Jaipur, India
Rank last year: #70
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#14Four Seasons Hotel (94.75)Singapore
Rank last year: n/a
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#15Oberoi Udaivilas (94.71) Udaipur, India
Rank last year: #8
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#16Royal Malewane (94.67) Kruger National Park, South Africa
Rank last year: #25
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#16Singita Sabi Sand (Ebony Lodge, Boulders Lodge, Castleton Camp) (94.67)Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa
Rank last year: #6
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#18Olissippo Lapa Palace (94.60)Lisbon
Rank last year: n/a
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#19Hôtel de Crillon (94.40)Paris
Rank last year: n/a
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#20Shangri-La Hotel (94.32)Singapore
Rank last year: n/a
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#20Trump International Hotel & Tower (94.32) *Chicago
Rank last year: n/a* denotes a World’s Best Debut
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#22Singita Kruger National Park (Lebombo Lodge, Sweni Lodge) (94.25)South Africa
Rank last year: #29
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#23Londolozi Game Reserve (94.18) Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa
Rank last year: #34
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#24Tortilis Camp, Amboseli (94.12)Kenya
Rank last year: #49
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#24Woodlands Inn – A Salamander Inn (94.12) Summerville, South Carolina
Rank last year: n/a
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#26The Peninsula (94.11)Hong Kong
Rank last year: #35
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#27Four Seasons Resort (93.95)Chiang Mai, Thailand
Rank last year: #21
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#28Taj Mahal Palace & Tower (93.83)Mumbai
Rank last year: n/a
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#29Hôtel de la Paix (93.75) *Siem Reap, Cambodia
Rank last year: n/a* denotes a World’s Best Debut
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#30andBeyond Kichwa Tembo Masai Mara Tented Camp (93.71)Kenya
Rank last year: #39
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#31Four Seasons Hotel (93.68) $Dublin
Rank last year: n/a$ denotes Great Value (room rates of $250 or less)
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#32Hotel Bel-Air (Reopening in 2011) (93.67)Los Angeles
Rank last year: n/a
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#33Villa d’Este (93.66) Cernobbio, Italy
Rank last year: n/a
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#34Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa (93.62)Cape Town
Rank last year: #15
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#35Rambagh Palace (93.60) Jaipur, India
Rank last year: #87
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#36Hotel Splendido (93.52) Portofino, Italy
Rank last year: n/a
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#37Jamaica Inn & Spa (93.50) Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Rank last year: n/a
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#38The Lanesborough (93.47)London
Rank last year: n/a
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#39Taj Lake Palace (93.46) Udaipur, India
Rank last year: #78
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#40Stafford London by Kempinski (93.44)
Rank last year: n/a
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#41Four Seasons Resort Jackson Hole (93.43)Wyoming
Rank last year: n/a
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#41Inn at Palmetto Bluff (93.43) Bluffton, South Carolina
Rank last year: #14
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#43Hôtel Château Eza (93.33) Èze Village, France
Rank last year: #80
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#44Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence (93.27)Egypt
Rank last year: #40
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#45Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi (93.26)Chiang Mai, Thailand
Rank last year: #89
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#46Wickaninnish Inn (93.14) Tofino, British Columbia
Rank last year: n/a
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#47Post Ranch Inn (93.13) Big Sur, California
Rank last year: #92
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#48The Peninsula (93.09)Chicago
Rank last year: n/a
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#49MalaMala Game Reserve (93.07)Kruger Area, South Africa
Rank last year: #77
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#49Post Hotel & Spa (93.07) Lake Louise, Alberta
Rank last year: #64
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#51 Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street (93.04)
Rank last year: #67
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#52Little Palm Island Resort & Spa (92.97) Little Torch Key, Florida
Rank last year: n/a
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#52Rittenhouse Hotel (92.97)Philadelphia
Rank last year: n/a
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#54Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace (92.96)Budapest
Rank last year: n/a
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#55Mandarin Oriental (92.94) *Prague
Rank last year: n/a* denotes a World’s Best Debut
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#56Esperanza, an Auberge Resort (92.91)Los Cabos, Mexico
Rank last year: #23
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#57Mandarin Oriental (92.89)Bangkok
Rank last year: #20
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#58The Peninsula (92.88)Beijing
Rank last year: n/a
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