While luxurious hotel groups like Six Senses, W and Capella are expanding like never before, the love of boutique hotels is still widespread in the world of hospitality. These individualised properties glow with distinction and, for many, are much more memorable than when a brand cuts and pastes itself onto a location. That’s why it’s worth paying attention to the latest results from the long-standing Boutique Hotel Awards, a publication that has been successfully highlighting the world’s finest stays for over a decade now.
For its 12th annual edition, the Boutique Hotel Awards have run through and curated a fairly diverse and surprising list of the current best boutique hotels in the world, across various categories like World’s Best Romantic Hotel and World’s Best Fine Dining Hotel.
The winners of the Boutique Hotel Awards were, for 2023, chosen from over 300 nominees in over 70 countries by a panel compromising 35 “leading travel experts.” It’s fashioned as the only independent hotel awards of its kind where every property considered is visited by a personal judge who rates these hotels predominantly on dining, design, concept, facilities, location, services and “emotional impact.”
By that token, it’s a huge shock that the epic Forestis in The Dolomites didn’t get a nod here, but then again the property is now over two years old. Many of the ones selected below are much newer than that, including Queenstown’s The Carlin Hotel which takes top honours as the World’s Best New Hotel.
The only hotel to take out top honours in two separate categories is San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, California. Originally opened in 1892 and purchased by American billionaire toy manufacturer Ty Warner in 2000, the ranch has for the past few years been one of the top locations for Hollywood stars with 41 luxury cottages and, if these awards are to be believed, the world’s most romantic atmosphere.
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See below for the full list of winners
World’s Best Boutique Hotels 2022
- World’s Best Boutique Hotel: San Ysidro Ranch, California, USA
- World’s Best Beach Hotel: Velaa Private Island, Maldives
- World’s Best City Hotel: Sun Street Hotel, Shoreditch, London
- World’s Best Chic Hotel: Hotel TwentySeven, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- World’s Best Classic Hotel: Grand Dedale Country House, South Africa
- World’s Best Fine Dining Hotel: Hyakuna Garan, Okinawa, Japan
- World’s Best Design Hotel: Akademie Street Boutique Hotel, Franschhoek, South Africa
- World’s Best Honeymoon Hotel: Drake Bay Getaway Resort, Drake Bay, Costa Rica
- World’s Best Relaxation Retreat: Hotel Barriere Le Carl Gustaf, St Barthelemy
- World’s Best Romantic Hotel: San Ysidro Ranch, California, USA
- World’s Best New Hotel: The Carlin Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand
- World’s Best Spa Hotel: Green Spa Resort Stanglwirt, Going am Wilden Kaiser, Austria
- World’s Best Hotel With A View: Pimalai Resort & Spa, Krabi, Thailand
- World’s Best Family Hotel: Rockfig Lodge Madikwe Game Reserve, Madikwe, South Africa
- Wine Pairing Excellence: Tenuta Montemagno Relais & Wines, Montemagno, Italy
- Best Rooftop City Views: The Lumiares Hotel & Spa, Lisbon, Portugal
- Best Lake View Hotel: Al Molo 5, Lake Como, Italy
