As we prepare to wrap up another year of innovation, design and style, here are what our friends over at Condé Nast Traveller believe are the hotels to visit in 2019…
If there’s one thing we have learned in 2018, when it comes to predicting the next hotel design hotspot, it’s that location is everything. Towns, cities, villages – even islands – that evoke one-off experiences tend to become destinations that lend themselves naturally to luxury design-led hotels. We have seen this time and time again, which is why Africa for example has long been a destination that many hotel owners and chains have bookmarked for future development. The real task is designing the seamless link between the design of the hotel and its setting.
With a recent survey suggesting that 95 per cent of consumers would rather spend money on an experience over product, it’s clear that designers, architects and hoteliers need to further consider location and how the property would blend into its surroundings. In order to establish, from a consumer point of view, which hotels are at the top of their game, we have peered over the fence to understand what our friends over in London’s Vogue House believe are the best hotels in the world.
With 78 hotels ranging from game-changer Heckfield Place in Hampshire, to the romantic Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany, the nostalgic St. Regis New York and plenty to choose from in far-flung destinations, Condé Nast Traveller shines a rather bright and dynamic spotlight on the most wonderful places to stay next year with The Gold List 2019:
UK
Claridge’s, London
Covent Garden Hotel, London
The Kensington, London
Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire:
Lucknam Park, near Bath
Heckfield Place, Hampshire
Image credit: Firmdale Hotels
EUROPE
FRANCE
Hôtel de Crillon, Paris
La Réserve Paris
Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes
Les Fermes de Marie, Megève
Image credit: Oetker Collection
ITALY
Aman Venice
Belmond Hotel Caruso, Amalfi Coast
Le Sirenuse, Positano
JK Place Capri
Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli, Lake Garda
Castello di Vicarello, Tuscany
Borgo Egnazia, Puglia
Hotel Il Pellicano, Tuscany
SPAIN
Soho House Barcelona
Sant Francesc Hotel Singular, Palma de Mallorca
IRELAND
Ballyfin
GREECE
Perivolas, Santorini
CYRPUS
Anassa Hotel
DENMARK
Hotel Sanders, Copenhagen
SWEDEN
Ett Hem, Stockholm
ICELAND
Deplar Farm
NORWAY
The Thief, Oslo
AFRICA & THE INDIAN OCEAN
MOROCCO
La Mamounia, Marrakech
L’Hôtel Marrakech
TANZANIA
Singita Sasakwa Lodge, Grumeti
SOUTH AFRICA
Ellerman House, Cape Town
Image credit: Ellerman House, Cape Town
KENYA
&Beyond Bateleur Camp, Masai Mara
BOTSWANA
Jack’s Camp
MALDIVES
Amilla Fushi
Soneva Fushi
MAURITIUS
One&Only Le Saint Géran
SEYCHELLES
Six Senses Zil Pasyon
THE MIDDLE EAST
OMAN
Six Senses Zighy Bay
Image credit: Six Senses
DUBAI
Bulgari Resort Dubai
Madinat Jumeirah
ASIA
INDIA
Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur
The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur
The Leela Palace New Delhi
JAPAN
Aman Tokyo
Image credit: Aman Tokyo
THAILAND
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
The Siam, Bangkok
CAMBODIA
Song Saa Private Island
CHINA
The Upper House, Hong Kong
The Peninsula Shanghai
The Opposite House, Beijing
Image Credit: The Upper House, Hong Kong
AUSTRALASIA & THE SOUTH PACIFIC
NEW ZEALAND
The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, North Island
AUSTRALIA
Halcyon House, New South Wales
FRENCH POLYNESIA
The Brando
SOUTH AMERICA & MEXICO
BRAZIL
Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa, Trancoso
Hotel Unique, São Paulo
Image credit: Hotel Unique
CHILIE
Awasi Atacama
ARGENTINA
Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires
Image credit: Park Hyatt
MEXICO
Chablé, Yucatan
Hotel Esencia, Quintana Roo
NORTH AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
USA
The Beekman, A Thompson Hotel, New York
The St. Regis New York
The Carlyle, New York
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii
Amangiri, Utah
Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club, Miami
Hotel Bel-Air, LA
Sunset Tower Hotel, LA
The Dewberry, Charleston
The Robey Chicago
Farmhouse Inn Sonoma
Wynn Las Vegas
The Peninsula Chicago
Image credit: The Beekman, New York
CANADA
Clayoquot, Vancouver Island
THE CARIBBEAN
GoldenEye, Jamaica
Playa Grande Beach Club, Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic
The Cotton House, Mustique
COMO Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos
Bahama House, Harbour Island
Image credit: COMO Hotels & Resort
Through Condé Nast Traveller’s award-winning editorial team under Editor-in-Chief, Melinda Stevens, The Gold List 2019 provides inspiration and expert consumer advice for discerning travellers on where to stay. Hotel Designs will be following this in January with an editorial around the top hotel openings of 2019.
Main image credit: Four Seasons Hotel at the Surf Club, Miami
