747_not_777

Using the combined power of the forum, wouldn�t mind harnessing some opinions on your top three favourite hotels (not destinations) in the world. Useful for us all when booking a weekend break or a longer summer holiday. After all, got to do something exciting with the 2for1 every year.

So � name your trop three, and a sentence or two maximum on why it�s your favourite.


Here�s my starter for ten�

1. Lilianfels Blue Mountain Resort & Spa, Katoomba, NSW, Australia
   Luxury retreat overlooking the blue mountains, with amazing views (when it�s not foggy) and the best Wagyu steak I have ever tasted in my entire life, at a reasonable price. Bedrooms wonderful and full of charm.
   
2. The Signature at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV, USA
   A great way to do Vegas if you want to retreat away from the madness of it all at the end of the day, and if you don�t want to queue to check-in, queue for taxi�s etc etc. Closed to non-residents and awesome bedrooms.
   
3. Inver Lodge Hotel, Highlands, Scotland
   Small hotel perched on a hill top overlooking the small fishing village of Lochinver. Amazing views from every room, quiet, friendly, great food and surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery in the world. Only ruined by the fact BA don�t fly to INV any more

macabus

.
1. Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
Stayed in the Rudyard Kipling Suite at this 100+ year-old hotel perched on the shore. Built by two brothers who started the Orient Express and currently ranked the #1 historic hotel in the world.

2. La R�sidence Phou Vao Hotel, Luang Prabang, Laos
Another Orient Express hotel built into a historic colonial mansion overlooking this ancient temple town in the lush mountains of N. Laos. This is a full "Aman resort" experience in an amazing UNESCO World Heritage village.

3. Adamis Majesty Suites, Fira, Santorini, Greece
Historic mansion converted into a 7-suite boutique hotel in the center of Fira. Absolutely the best place to stay on Santorini with jaw-dropping sunsets and a level of luxury not found elsewhere on the island.

kered

Mmmm, very interesting question......


1. The Inn at Spanish Bay � Pebble Beach
Just love the place. It was where we got engaged & then returned to for the first few days of our honeymoon, back in �07. A morning walk by the seashore is second to none ^

2. The Bellagio � Las Vegas
Lake View room, watching the fountains in the comfort of our room, with the music piped through the entertainment system. Doing this while enjoying a truly wonderful room service meal, is one of our fondest memories

2. The Ritz Carlton � Powerscourt
Our favourite �weekend getaway from it all� a couple hours drive from home.
The Gordon Ramsey restaurant being an added bonus ^

seville

1. Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville Fantastic, as is the city. Lots of happy memories, including honeymoon etc. Some years ago, I stayed here in a fabulous room, immediately following Brad Pit - wife most impressed!

2. Hotel Villa Igea, Venice Simply a lovely little hotel in a great location; five minutes stroll to St Marks Square, yet a peaceful haven, even though it is less than 30 seconds from the canal.

3. Monasterio San Miguel Hotel, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz Nothing special, but a haven; slow pace, sunshine, fino and seafood.

Happy days.............

Djlawman

I assume they have to be hotels in locations served by BA?

Raffles

I have stayed in a fairly large % of what are generally regarded as the 'best' hotels in the world. The list below is therefore more of an emotional one and ignore places like Reethi Rah in the Maldives, Four Seasons Florence etc.

1. Four Seasons Hampshire
This is almost certainly the best run hotel in Britain, and the fact it is 70 minutes drive from our house makes it ideal for a getaway. We came here often before we had the little one, and we've been 3 times in the 14 months since as the pool is great for kids, the restaurants serve free food to under 2's and they have babysitters. Food, spa, rooms, staff are all exceptional. My only niggle is the lack of junior suites - the standard rooms sound big at 45 sq m but are a bit of a squeeze with a cot because the bathrooms are so huge, and the next level up is a full suite at twice the price. However, once you've been here you might as well give up travelling in the UK because you won't better it - and I include Chewton Glen, Whatley Manor, Tresanton and Endsleigh in the list of places not as good.

2. IC LeGrand, Paris
Yes, weird choice, I know - especially as it will never win awards for food or staff. However, this is a truly beautiful property and Royal Ambassadors are always treated well (although free club access has just been dropped). The location cannot be bettered for tourism and it works OK for our French office as well. There is nothing I like better than getting a Eurostar about 4pm, hitting the hotel about 8pm, having an hour or so in the club lounge knocking back the champers and snacks then heading down to my unfailingly beautiful and usually huge room to raid the (free for RA's) mini-bar for more champagne and watch a (free) movie. On leisure trips, the location also allows you to nip back to the lounge for a light lunch and afternoon tea. If you've never stayed here in one of the big rooms (standard rooms are laughably small) or had club access its hard to understand why it works so well, but it does.

3. Mandarin Oriental Chiang Mai, Thailand
We've been here twice. The Four Seasons is arguably better overall but the MO is a lot nearer the city. Until you go here you cannot even begin to understand the astounding level of craftsmanship in the architecture and the amazing working paddy fields throughout the estate. We've also had good upgrades on both visits when booking through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts into the huge villas - far, far bigger than our house, including a grand piano last time! I could happily go back here once every couple of years - shame its so far away.

rtah100

I'm going to exclude properties in luxury chains (Peninsula, Aman) from my answer because they are in my mind the answer to a different question, what is the best hotel group in the world?

I'm also going to answer twice, once for money-no-object and once for paying-the-rent.

@seville, we have very similar taste in cities and hotels. Cadiz and Seville, I could happily live there! I've not stayed in the Alfonso XIII but I have stayed in Los Reyes de Baeza, and I plotted to stay in the Monasterio Santa Maria but ended up in a dive in Cadiz for logistical reasons.

But you've missed out the best hotel in Spain and possibly the world:

Hotel Benazuza http://www.elbullihotel.com
Fabulous super-luxury Spanish country house hotel (with 40ft high tiled ceiling bedrooms) run by El Bulli. The restaurant serves the Greatest Hits of El Bulli (rather than the latest inventions) but it is much easier to get into since guests get an automatic booking. And best of all, in summer (when no Spaniard would touch Andalucia and they all come to London for the charming rain), they have great offers (e.g. gastronomic weekend including the El Bulli 21-course tasting meal for 400Euros pp).

Also on the list has to be a Ryokan. I'm just not sure which one! I think because of meal they gave us (Ryokan is half-board: girlfriend had the kaiseki banquet, including octopus heads; I'm allergic to fish and got a Kobe beef steak, no questions asked!) and because it is in Kyoto, it has to be the Yoshida Sanso http://www.japanican.com/hotels/Shis...32061&ryokan=1

Finally, closer to home: Combe House in Devon.http://www.thishotel.co.uk/
It's a beautiful Elizabethan manor house with a great restaurant and the sort of natural, unstuffy devotion to guests that one normally has to go Asia or the better parts of Europe to find.

If you're feeling frugal, the list would be slightly different as the hotels start to win on the things money can't buy:

1) The restaurant with rooms Sa Carmen on Ibiza at Cala d'Hort. Every room has a stunning view of Es Vedra in the middle of the bay, you get to the beach long before the rest of the islands (and you can take the secret walk to the lost City of Atlantis) and you have one of the best paella joints on the island right beneath you. All for ~50 Euros a night.

2) The Cerulean Towers, Tokyo. A reasonably priced 4* hotel in trendy Shibuya and the best value-for-money hotel in Japan, in terms of service and, if you get a high corner room, for having a view of Mount Fuji from your bed and from your bath!

3) La Sablonnerie, Sark. Elizabeth Perre is unique, they don't make family hoteliers like that anymore. Sark is beautiful, especially in spring when the island is carpeted in wildflowers (so many bluebells everywhere, on the open grass, it appears blue from the sea!). The hotel is reasonable value (but not cheap, given it is a converted farmhouse) if you stay half board but, as the food at La Sablonnerie is excellent, it takes a lot to resist breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner in the hotel. If you don't, you will get fat while your wallet gets thin, as the extras charges will kill you. NB: Payment in cash or cheque only (may have modernised since)!

arpiuk

W Maldives - heaven on Earth

Mandarin Oriental - Tokyo

Can I list 4 hotels? I cannot make my mind up which one should be in 3rd and which in 4th place?

The Knightsbridge - London

The Gresham in Budapest, part of Four Seasons

To be honest, any Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental hotel is a safe bet, except the MO in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. They are sooooo dated and should not be part of MO

raffles, thanks for the tip on FS Hampshire. Never thought of it, and it is so close to us too.

rtah100

How about an additional question, while we're at it: what is the best hotel (or top three) that you have always wanted / been curious to stay in, but have never managed to yet?

Mine are:

1) Hotel Riffelalp, Zermatt. It sits halfway up mountain with its own railway stop, it has a perfect terrace overlooking the Zermatt and the Matterhorn where you can sit with a rug over your knees and drink hot chocolate and it just looks like a precision Swiss watch. Every time I skied past it badly, I wished I was staying there rather than down in the town.

2) Hotel Cipriani, Venice. It has a lot of scathing reviews for being tired and over-priced but what a location!

3) The hotel in Morocco where Churchill like to paint the view of the High Atlas. I can't remember its name, though!

rtah100

Three more (sorry!) that this time belong to hotel groups (but again, no Aman, Peninsula etc. allowed):

1) Neemrana Fort Palace hotel, south of Delhi. Amazing nine-storey fort carved into a hill with a roof terrace swimming pool and its own amphitheatre. I stayed for a wedding so we had it to ourselves. Stunning building, characterful rooms, OK food, rubbish service.

2) The Chedi, Oman. Oman is an amazing country to visit and the Chedi is a beautiful hotel. The design is almost flawless, but make sure you get a sea view room above the main foyer rather than in the distant ends of the hotel or around an inner courtyard. Food is good but safe - might be become boring after a while.

3) Kohama Golf Resort (or preferably their new spa resort on Iriomote-jima). We stayed here accidentally (I let the girlfriend book part of our trip ) and, once we got over the shock of being in a golf resort (and the cost), we loved it. The staff found it a little strange that we never played any golf (since that's why all the Japanese were paying through the nose) or signed up for the golf-widow tours and activities but the service was great, even by Japanese standards, and the hotel is really laid back - like all the Yaeyama islands.

There is a hotel within a hotel built around a lagoon and spa but to be honest the sea view rooms in the main hotel are better, since they have a view of the lagoon and the sea. Kohama is a quiet, flat island in the Yaeyama chain, mostly covered in pasture and golf course. We went back to a neighbouring island this year and stayed in a guesthouse (budgeting!) and learned that the same group has opened a spa and onsen resort on Iriomote, the big, wild, volcanic jungle island. Will definitely give this a try!

johnaalex

Hotel la Mamounia in Marrakech? - Currently shut for refurbishment but a worthy contender from what I recall. Had a great evening there in the company of Ronnie Corbet :-:

My three

1) Ellerman House, Cape Town. Small hotel, fantastic friendly and personal service. Room 1 has a great sea view. http://www.ellerman.co.za/

2) Gran Hotel La Florida, Barcelona. Overlooks the city. Great swimming pool and sun deck area with views of the city. http://www.hotellaflorida.com/

3) Le Hameaux Des Baux, between the Baux de Provence and Saint-R�my-de-Provence. Not as old as it looks, nice rooms, great setting. First class food and service. http://www.hameaudesbaux.com/index.php?lang=2

missdona

Conrad Hong Kong - On my third visit, they greeted me curbside and escorted me straight to my room, Brangelina style. The staff remembers me and greets me by name, and they truly understand service excellence.

Conrad Centennial Singapore - Rooms not as spacious as the Conrad HK, but the executive lounge service is being looked after by family.

And Bellagio Las Vegas, is where I spent my first nights married and my "wedding photo" is under their gorgeous Chihuly ceiling. Even though the service doesn't even touch the Conrads, it will always be special.

where next

I only have one favourite hotel, its very exclusive, and you have to be in the know as to its whereabouts.

There are no early or late checkin charges. The food in the restaurant is always excellent, some time formal, but most of the time not. The drinks, mainly beer and wine, are always complementary and free flowing. The hotel laundry is available 24hrs, and also foc, although the ironing service can be a little slow, and shirts never comeback folded as requested.

There is no name for the above establishment, its my mums house. Its always a joy to visit, especially when one needs to raid a biscuit tin.

Sixth Freedom

These are not the nicest of the hotels I have stayed in but they are the ones where I feel most at home.

1. RD in BAH: superb pool which is based on what they call a 'lagoon' concept with great food - they do a really good bacon buttie

2. IC in CHI: another splendid pool (pools are important for me), cool decoration in the first five or six floors of the old tower and a perfect location (for me) by the river and close to W. Ontario St with all the associated delights I enjoy there.

3. Hotel upper deck, any room with a bed and a view .

HIDDY

Grand Garden View - Beijing

Balmoral Plaza - Montevideo

NH Schiller - Amsterdam

Not luxury but left me with 10* star memories.