“The World’s 50 Best” has historically published rankings of the world’s best restaurants and the world’s best bars, and the rankings have always been highly respected by their respective industries and the public.
In 2023, the organization started publishing annual rankings of the world’s best hotels. While I don’t usually put too much weight into these kinds of rankings, it’s still always interesting to take a look, and the latest list has just been published.
“The World’s 50 Best Hotels” list for 2026
“The World’s 50 Best Hotels” list has just been released for 2026. Here’s the full list, and next to each of the 50 winners I noted how the hotel was ranked in 2025, if at all:
- Rosewood Hong Kong, Hong Kong (2025: #1)
- Capella Bangkok, Thailand (2025: #3)
- Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, Thailand (2025: #2)
- Atlantis The Royal Dubai, UAE (2025: #6)
- Passalacqua Lake Como, Italy (2025: #4)
- Rosewood São Paulo, Brazil (2025: #24)
- Mandarin Oriental Qianmen Beijing, China (2025: #14)
- Upper House Hong Kong, Hong Kong (2025: #10)
- Chablé Yucatán Chocholá, Mexico (2025: #8)
- Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Thailand (2025: #7)
- Aman Tokyo, Japan (2025: #25)
- Four Seasons Florence, Italy (2025: #9)
- Claridge’s London, United Kingdom (2025: #16)
- Hôtel de Crillon Paris, France (2025: #23)
- Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab Dubai, UAE (2025: #20)
- Capella Sydney, Australia (2025: #12)
- Raffles Singapore, Singapore (2025: #5)
- Casa Maria Luigia Modena, Italy (2025: #18)
- Le Bristol Paris, France (2025: #19)
- Cheval Blanc Paris, France (2025: #21)
- Desa Potato Head Bali, Indonesia (2025: #18)
- San Ysidro Ranch Santa Barbara, United States (2025: not ranked)
- One&Only Mandarina Riviera Nayarit, Mexico (2025: #39)
- Bulgari Tokyo, Japan (2025: #15)
- Las Ventanas al Paraíso Los Cabos, Mexico (2025: #44)
- Royal Mansour Marrakech, Morocco (2025: #13)
- Four Seasons Astir Palace Athens, Greece (2025: #17)
- Raffles London at The OWO, United Kingdom (2025: #31)
- Copacabana Palace Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2025: #11)
- The Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai, India (2025: #38)
- The Peninsula Istanbul, Türkiye (2025: not ranked)
- Bulgari Rome, Italy (2025: #22)
- Patina Osaka, Japan (2025: not ranked)
- Mount Nelson Cape Town, South Africa (2025: not ranked)
- Nihi Sumba, Indonesia (2025: not ranked)
- Badrutt’s Palace St. Moritz, Switzerland (2025: not ranked)
- Park Hyatt Kyoto, Japan (2025: not ranked)
- Hôtel du Couvent Nice, France (2025: #27)
- Portrait Milano, Italy (2025: not ranked)
- Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monaco (2025: #36)
- Plaza Athénée Paris, France (2025: not ranked)
- Hotel Sacher Vienna, Austria (2025: #49)
- Estelle Manor Witney, United Kingdom (2025: #47)
- Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc Antibes, France (2025: not ranked)
- Amangiri Canyon Point, United States (2025: not ranked)
- The Peninsula Hong Kong, Hong Kong (2025: not ranked)
- Maroma Riviera Maya, Mexico (2025: #33)
- Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, Thailand (2025: not ranked)
- The Connaught London, United Kingdom (2025: #29)
- San Domenico Palace Taormina, Italy (2025: not ranked)
As you can see, 14 properties on the list weren’t ranked last year, but were ranked this year. That also means that 14 properties fell off the list in 2026. Here are the properties that fell off the list in 2026, along with their 2025 rankings:
- Hotel Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole, Italy (2025: #26)
- Soneva Fushi, Maldives (2025: #28)
- La Mamounia, Marrakech, Morocco (2025: #30)
- The Emory, London, United Kingdom (2025: #32)
- The Calile, Brisbane, Australia (2025: #34)
- The Lana, Dubai, UAE (2025: #35)
- Singita Kruger National Park, South Africa (2025: #40)
- Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, Hong Kong (2025: #41)
- Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles, United States (2025: #42)
- The Mark, New York, United States (2025: #43)
- The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon, Japan (2025: #45)
- Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, Japan (2025: #46)
- Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Croatia (2025: #48)
- Mandapa, Bali, Indonesia (2025: #50)
It’s interesting to note the top ranked hotel in each continent:
- In Asia it’s Rosewood Hong Kong (#1)
- In Europe it’s Passalacqua (#5)
- In South America it’s Rosewood São Paulo (#6)
- In North America it’s Chablé Yucatan Chocholá (#9)
- In Oceania it’s Capella Sydney (#16)
- In Africa it’s Royal Mansour Marrakech (#26)
It really shows you how Asia and Europe are spoiled with amazing hotels, as the regions have a vast majority of the top properties.
How the top hotel rankings are decided on
Whenever you see a list like this, one logical question is what methodology is used to award these rankings. There’s no perfect way to go about ranking things, but I have to give the organization credit for at least putting a lot of thought into how it goes about this, and being transparent.
Long story short, this list is created by The World’s 50 Best Hotels Academy, which “comprises more than 800 members, each selected for their expert opinion of the international hotel scene, with a 50/50 gender balance.” The panel consists 40% of travel journalists, 30% of hoteliers, and 30% of seasoned luxury travelers. A minimum of 25% of the panel is renewed every year.
The globe is divided into 13 geographical regions, and each region has a chairperson appointed for their knowledge of their section of the hotel world. These chairs select a voting panel, consisting of hoteliers, journalists, and experienced luxury travelers.
Each member has seven votes, and needs to list the top seven hotels they have stayed at in the past two years, in order of preference. They must have spent at least one night at each property, and press trips, complimentary room nights, and those achieved through loyalty schemes, are valid for consideration. Each voter can only list up to three hotels within the same hotel group.
When it comes to choosing which properties they like most, this is super open-ended. There’s no criteria, so they can vote for whatever hotel they deem worthy.
My take on the world’s top hotel rankings
I always enjoy these kinds of lists, though I don’t put too much weight on them. Personally I view this more as a list of 50 great hotels, rather than a ranked list of the world’s 50 best hotels. To state the obvious, comparing Passalacqua to Atlantis The Royal is just something that can’t reasonably be done, because they’re such different experiences.
I do find it strange that the top four hotels are all city properties, since at least personally, I enjoy an amazing resort a lot more than an incredible city hotel.
There’s no denying that the people ranking these hotels have stayed at a lot of great properties over the years, though:
- They’re limited to ranking hotels they’ve stayed at within the past two years, and ultimately there are only so many properties you can stay at over that time
- I think some hotels make big pushes with inviting “travel journalists” partly to get onto lists like this, so you’ll find that hotels often put a lot of effort into media outreach when they hope to be ranked in this way
- As you’d expect, a lot more people will be invited to stay at a luxury hotel with hundreds of rooms, vs. a small boutique property with a dozen rooms
In many ways, I appreciate just how random this list is, and how so many of these hotels can’t be compared. You have everything from the 24-room Passalacqua, to the 795-room Atlantis The Royal. At least the Tokyo EDITION Toranomon was taken off the list, so there’s some justice in the world!
I find it noteworthy how there’s not a single Airelles property in the list. It’s my favorite hotel brand, and the company has some amazing properties. So why don’t they make a list? Well, they’re all small properties that are in high demand (many open seasonally), so I imagine the committee that rates hotels just doesn’t get a lot of comped stays there.
The thing I really don’t like about these lists is the extent to which they drive up rates at the top properties. People love to show off and feel like they’ve stayed at the “it” place, so of course everyone wants to visit “the best hotel in the world.” It almost has a White Lotus-esque impact.
Ranking on these kinds of lists is great for business, but it’s less good when it comes to affordable rates and availability at these hotels.
Bottom line
“The World’s 50 Best Hotels” list has been published for 2026. It’s always fun to look at to get a sense of what hotels are good, but I wouldn’t trust the relative rankings too much, given how the rankings are decided on. Anyway, Rosewood Hong Kong is the best hotel in the world for a second year in a row, followed by Capella Bangkok, followed by Four Seasons Bangkok.
What do you make of this new list of the best hotels in the world?
wait - the list must be a sham since ‘the world’s only seven stars hotel’ i.e., burj al arab isn’t on it! (/sarcasm)
like all rankings...they are a pay to play.....look at QR/skytrax......
"800 anonymous industry experts" (Voters list their top seven hotel stays from the past two years, with no rigid quantitative score criteria, allowing voters to weigh their choices subjectively. They are not paid, supposedly.) Is that they best ranking system?
Meanwhile, Michelin, the tire/food people, award 1-3 Keys, don't do an overall ranking, and their paid inspectors say they operate anonymously, 'pay their own way,' and do not allow 'pay-to-play' placement fees, etc. They...
"800 anonymous industry experts" (Voters list their top seven hotel stays from the past two years, with no rigid quantitative score criteria, allowing voters to weigh their choices subjectively. They are not paid, supposedly.) Is that they best ranking system?
Meanwhile, Michelin, the tire/food people, award 1-3 Keys, don't do an overall ranking, and their paid inspectors say they operate anonymously, 'pay their own way,' and do not allow 'pay-to-play' placement fees, etc. They do get paid by tourism boards, earn booking commissions. Is that a better, more objective rating? They haven't done me wrong on food, but hotels, eh.
Agreed on Michelin. I appreciate that it's not a ranked list approach, but I find their hotel awards to be perplexing sometimes. I've been to exceptional hotels with no keys and some 3 key hotels feel indistinguishable from 2 key or 1 key hotels at times.
There's no perfect system though so I appreciate all of these lists more for discovery than anything else.
This is pointless.
The best hotels are independent and do not marketing or lists.
This is pointless.
The best chain hotels started as independent and do not marketing or lists.
I appreciate that there is no fee for hotels to participate, though how is the whole thing funded?
The requirement to have stayed in the hotel, as the only selection criterion, introduces a huge bias toward bigger properties: more beds => more voters staying there. Probably explains why there are so many city hotels.
Yeah these lists are useless. It doesn’t make sense how heavily tilted it is to city hotels.
I like how you put it - a list of 50 very good hotels. It's absolutely a pay-to-play organization. I was on a recent FAM trip with several travel journalists who were discussing the "50 Best". All were participants in it, but two no longer contributed because they didn't like the criteria and how it is all about who is comping/paying. At the end of the day it's subjective and just because it's a great hotel doesn't make it the right property for you.
50 hotels with the highest marketing budget is more accurate.
Atlantis the Royal? 😂. It’s not even in the top 10 in Dubai.
These lists are absurd, and I feel pity for anyone who lets themselves be influenced by them.
People assume the list reflects closer to reality.
The methodology, if it's even followed, favors a lot more city locations than resorts in remote locations.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if half the (real vote result) list would be from Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand.
It would be fun to have all the " academy " submissions listed so one could customize results by individual priorities. What I find compelling is unlikely to be someone else's top attraction
Flawed list.
Hotels like Capella Bangkok are super overrated. If you ask me in 2 years about my Capella stay, would be hard pressed to remember. Don't get me wrong. It was a great stay but nothing memorable about it. Nothing that wows you. Nothing that is stunningly beautiful. But there are stays that one would remember forever. Hotels that are stunningly beautiful. That would be a lifelong memory. And those hotels are surprisingly not here.
So true. I just stayed at the Siam and the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, guess which one I will remember and want to go back in 2 years!
I haven’t paid any attention to the hotel list, but I will say I do use their 50 Best Bars (mainly their regional lists) to find good cocktail bars to visit on my travels. I understand the list can be bought, so I have no illusions, but I do have to say, more often than not, a bar I’ve visited on one of the lists has been exceptional.
Based on my own experiences at many of these hotels, it seems like hotels that are more focused on marketing and influencers seem to do disproportionately well on this list.
Aman also seems to have made a big PR push.
It is reassuring that properties that threaten reviewers with arrest didn’t make the cut. That’s a black eye that sings for a long time to come to serve as a reminder of what NOT to do.
That’s a brand new hotel. I expect they’ll be be in the 40s next year.
To be taken with a grain of salt. For example two of my all time fav hotels would be The Oberoi Udaivillas and The Leela Palace Jaipur - both ultra luxury properties with impeccable service and products. The Taj Palace Mumbai is a far cry. However, they just don’t appear on the list since the Taj is popular.
In addition, my second fav brand after The Oberoi is The Anantara - never on the...
To be taken with a grain of salt. For example two of my all time fav hotels would be The Oberoi Udaivillas and The Leela Palace Jaipur - both ultra luxury properties with impeccable service and products. The Taj Palace Mumbai is a far cry. However, they just don’t appear on the list since the Taj is popular.
In addition, my second fav brand after The Oberoi is The Anantara - never on the list even though they are superior to many of the properties ranked.
The best use of the list by far is an indication of popularity and where to avoid since costs and hype will be inflated, and the lobby will be bustling.
The problem of hotels in India is you have to go to India.
Tell me you have never been to India without telling me you have never been to India.
Never take Eskimo personally. They have never travelled anywhere. One can tell easily by their ignorance and asinine comments. Well known on the blog as the court jester.
The village idiot would be more accurate….
These are not hotels that Americans would stay at, so not many people will understand here.
If there ain't a Hyatt, Marriott or Hilton, Americans dont think other hotels exist.
I rather think it's the opposite, Anna. There are loads of mega-luxury brands that Americans would gravitate towards on this list. Americans who travel on this level aren't traveling to most Hyatts, Marriotts or Hiltons unless they they are small luxury hotels jacked into their systems or "crown jewel" type properties (ie Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Hôtel du Palais Biarritz, Gritti Palace, Roma Cavalieri, etc). There are good properties on here, but some are perplexing.
...I rather think it's the opposite, Anna. There are loads of mega-luxury brands that Americans would gravitate towards on this list. Americans who travel on this level aren't traveling to most Hyatts, Marriotts or Hiltons unless they they are small luxury hotels jacked into their systems or "crown jewel" type properties (ie Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme, Hôtel du Palais Biarritz, Gritti Palace, Roma Cavalieri, etc). There are good properties on here, but some are perplexing.
Amangiri should be nowhere near any of these lists. It is a beautiful property, and the outside people that they contract with for experiences are great, but I've had better service at roadside motels than at Amangiri. Why is Amangiri on here and not Aman Venice or Amandari, two other Aman properties that deliver stunning locations AND classic Aman service? Influencers, yada yada yada, who knows...
So, eh, a lot of insta-spots and some good ones. IYKYK
Agreed. I’ve been to the hotels mentioned here by the original poster. I’m an American and find more the majority of guests at such hotels to be from the U.S. and the UK followed by Indians. Of course as you would expect, only a certain class of foreigners pay for $800/night hotels. As mentioned earlier, most of the hotels on The 50 Best have always disproportionally favoured more frequently visited (note urban) properties. As long...
Agreed. I’ve been to the hotels mentioned here by the original poster. I’m an American and find more the majority of guests at such hotels to be from the U.S. and the UK followed by Indians. Of course as you would expect, only a certain class of foreigners pay for $800/night hotels. As mentioned earlier, most of the hotels on The 50 Best have always disproportionally favoured more frequently visited (note urban) properties. As long as you are aware of that, the list can be used. Let’s also be clear that American tourists generally fall into two categories - the young college-age adventurer staying mostly at affordable places or the well healed upper class, if at all they leave the country. Most Americans rarely move away from their birth place.