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. Thatโs why itโs worth paying attention to the latest results from the long-standing Boutique Hotel Awards, a publication that has been successfully highlighting the worldโs 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 Worldโs Best Romantic Hotel and Worldโs 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 โleading travel experts.โ Itโs 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 โemotional impact.โ
By that token, itโs a huge shock that the epic Forestis in The Dolomites didnโt 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 Queenstownโs The Carlin Hotel which takes top honours as the Worldโs 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 worldโs most romantic atmosphere.
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See below for the full list of winners
Worldโs Best Boutique Hotels 2022
- Worldโs Best Boutique Hotel: San Ysidro Ranch, California, USA
- Worldโs Best Beach Hotel: Velaa Private Island, Maldives
- Worldโs Best City Hotel: Sun Street Hotel, Shoreditch, London
- Worldโs Best Chic Hotel: Hotel TwentySeven, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Worldโs Best Classic Hotel: Grand Dedale Country House, South Africa
- Worldโs Best Fine Dining Hotel: Hyakuna Garan, Okinawa, Japan
- Worldโs Best Design Hotel: Akademie Street Boutique Hotel, Franschhoek, South Africa
- Worldโs Best Honeymoon Hotel: Drake Bay Getaway Resort, Drake Bay, Costa Rica
- Worldโs Best Relaxation Retreat: Hotel Barriere Le Carl Gustaf, St Barthelemy
- Worldโs Best Romantic Hotel: San Ysidro Ranch, California, USA
- Worldโs Best New Hotel: The Carlin Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand
- Worldโs Best Spa Hotel: Green Spa Resort Stanglwirt, Going am Wilden Kaiser, Austria
- Worldโs Best Hotel With A View: Pimalai Resort & Spa, Krabi, Thailand
- Worldโs 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
