Top 10 Luxury Hotels

The question I am asked most often is “what is your favorite hotel in the world?”. It’s somewhat difficult to answer that question since I prefer to rank hotels in different categories according to the experience they offer, whether it be a city break, a romantic getaway, a wilderness experience or a beach holiday. Nevertheless, there are a few luxury hotels that have left such an overwhelming impression on me that I rank them amongst my most memorable travel experiences ever. So, here you go: this is my top 10 list of the world’s most beautiful and amazing luxury hotels (and I highly recommend to put them on your bucket list as well).

There is more information (with reviews and YouTube clips) below the slideshow. What is your favorite hotel in the world? Leave a comment, or take my poll below.

10. &BEYOND MNEMBA ISLAND, ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

If you have ever harbored the secret wish of finding yourself the sole inhabitant of a beautiful tropical island, but without the effort of having to lift a finger to fend for yourself, &Beyond Mnemba Island is just the place for you. This romantic, private hideaway is an award-winning barefoot beach paradise just off the northeast coast of Zanzibar, accommodating a maximum of 20 guests at a time. Guest relax and unwind in the exclusivity of their own stretch of beachfront, where ten beachside bandas peep out onto unblemished sands from the dappled shade of the casuarina pine forest and overlook the Mnemba atoll (a scuba diver’s delight). From snorkeling, swimming, and kayaking to massages in the beach, to doing nothing at all, &Beyond Mnemba Island has something for everyone.

• Hotel website: &Beyond Mnemba Island
• Other accolades: &Beyond Mnemba Island also features in my top 10 lists of the most exclusive, private island retreats in the world, the best luxury hotels in Tanzania, the most stunning resorts in Zanzibar, and Africa’s most astonishing beach retreats.
• Review: read my review of &Beyond Mnemba Island here.

• 9. BELMOND HOTEL CARUSO, AMALFI COAST, ITALY

  Almost suspended between sea and sky, Belmond Hotel Caruso occupies a former medieval palace. Located at the highest, quietest point of Ravello, the luxury hotel overlooks the rocks and cliffs of Italy’s Amalfi Coast and the Mediterranean (or, more correctly, Tyrrhenian) Sea. With frescoed salons, arched stone vaults and just 50 highly individual rooms and suites occupying every shape and corner of the ancient palace’s architecture, it is an intimate retreat with an intriguing sense of history. But above all, with its rose arbor leading to one of the world’s most spectacular infinity pools, with sunlit or candlelit dining in the Belvedere Restaurant, and with a rich sense of its past as a retreat for presidents, writers and film stars, the hotel is almost impossibly romantic.

  • Hotel website: Belmond Hotel Caruso
  • Other accolades: Belmond Hotel Caruso also features in my top 10 lists of the best luxury hotels in Italy, the world’s most spectacular cliffside luxury hotels, the world’s most stunning hotel pools, and the best luxury hotels on Capri, Ischia & the Amalfi Coast.
  • Tip: get complimentary VIP perks when booking via Virtuoso (e.g. room upgrade, $100 USD food & beverage credit, early check-in, late check-out, and daily breakfast for two).
  • Review: read my review of Belmond Hotel Caruso here.