World's Top Hotels

World's Top Hotels

You arrive at your palace-like hotel and walk past reflection pools to your room, which has Burmese teakwood floors and rich fabrics. But the “wow” moment really comes when you step out onto your private open-air terrace, and there, off in the distance, you see the Taj Mahal. This is the experience you can have at India’s Oberoi Amarvilas, one of the world’s top 25 hotels.

The top 25 hotels are just the beginning of a larger list that includes 500 hotels—218 of which are in the U.S.—and shows that readers are interested in all sorts of experiences. Hotels at the top of the list include Triple Creek Ranch, with western-style cabins in the Montana Rockies (No. 2); California’s San Ysidro Ranch and its 41 rooms in a string of clapboard cottages in Santa Barbara’s wine country (No. 4); and Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower, set in the second-tallest building in the U.S. (No. 20). All three illustrate what travelers are looking for now: unique environments and stellar service.

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?

World's Top Hotels