The only hotels I've stayed at where I was wowed were:

• Aman i Khas, India
• Silky Oaks Lodge, Australia

The JW Marriott in Bangkok was certainly very nice, but definitely not in the same class as the above two. And really, the Aman was a few notches more amazing than Silky Oaks. But that was mainly because of our personal butler and the fact that there were only about a dozen "rooms".

Otherwise, all mainline Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, W, Westin, etc properties are all pretty interchangeable to me.

And TOTALLY agree with the above sentiment that it's the service that makes a high end hotel.