Britain’s best hotels revealed
The grand dames are still reigning, in The World's 50 Best Hotels awards
Last week, I had a very glamorous assignment, to cover the second The World’s 50 Best Hotels awards. The prestigious awards, held in London’s Guildhall, recognises the best hotels from all around the globe and the hoteliers were all represented at the event, thrilled by their accolades.
This year’s overall winner went to Capella Bangkok, which knocked Italy’s Passalacqua, off the top spot, to number two. Capella is a 101-room boutique hotel overlooking Thailand’s Chao Phraya River, which opened in 2020 and last year, won best new hotel of the year at the inaugural awards.
As for Britain, it received four awards this year, none in the top 10.
Top of the British hotels was Claridge’s, which came in at 11.
It was followed by new entry, Raffles London at The OWO, which came in at 13. Read my review of the new giant in London’s hotel scene, here.
Gleneagles, which celebrates its 100th birthday this year, also came in at 41.
And finally, London’s The Connaught ranked at 46.
So it was good news for the grand old hotels, which were all praised for their service and customer experience. The World’s 50 Best Hotels awards organisers use a voting “academy” of 600 industry experts to pick the winners. Hotels do not nominate themselves or pay to enter, so it throws up some surprises for the hotels and the media.
It does get you pondering what makes the best hotel in the country, or world. I think it’s all down to the experience you have when you visit, no matter the level of the hotel. If your visit feels really special and you enjoy lots of little touches to make your stay just perfect, then you’ll come back again and again.
Personally, I would have expected Peninsula London to feature, along with Claridge’s and The Connaught’s new sister hotel, The Emory. Having stayed at Peninsula London, I would honestly rank their service as the most impeccable I have ever experienced. While Raffles has much more history and I just loved the building, my dinner at Peninsula’s two-Michelin-starred Brooklands by Claude Bosi was out of this world and one I would recommend, over and over again. Read my review here.
And special mention goes to One Aldwych, who hosted me for the night in an absolutely beautiful corner suite, which felt more like staying in an apartment than a hotel. I loved it and the hotel’s beautiful recent refurbishment, plus its fabulous location in Covent Garden and theatre land. A full review will follow soon.
To see all the winners, visit theworlds50best.com