Luxury, as the travel industry now defines it, is no longer about gold-plated faucets or bellhops who memorise your dog’s name (though, to be clear, hotels still absolutely do this). It’s about ease, serenity, and the sense that someone has anticipated your needs before you’ve had a chance to articulate them. That’s why The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2025 list has become something like fashion month for the hospitality world: a global scoreboard of who’s doing luxury with intelligence and who’s simply doing it with chandeliers. Rosewood Hong Kong, which takes the No.1 spot this year, is a masterclass in contemporary Asian hospitality—sleek, quiet, obsessive about detail, and very good at making guests feel like the protagonists in a film directed by someone with a fondness for marble and natural light.
Meanwhile, London continues its run as the city that can’t stop winning at hospitality. Claridge’s, Raffles at The OWO, The Connaught, and The Emory all landed on the list, as if the capital collectively decided it would monopolise the top hotel experience in every possible architectural style. Even beyond the M25, the much-Instagrammed Estelle Manor secured a place, confirming that countryside luxury is no longer about floral bedspreads but about moody lighting, discreet wellness programs, and the knowledge that someone will bring you a flawless martini no matter how far you venture from London. As always, this year’s list reflects more than rankings—it tells us where luxury is headed, and whose lobby you’ll see all over your feed next month.
1. Rosewood
Hong Kong
If a hotel could be a thesis on modern Asian luxury, Rosewood Hong Kong would be it. Opened in 2019 as the flagship of the fast-expanding Rosewood group, the 400-room tower has become a definitive lesson in how to scale hospitality without losing soul. In a city where skyscrapers gleam like polished jewellery, Rosewood still manages to feel singular—anchored by its minimalist design language, its emphasis on spaciousness (rooms start at 53 sq.m., which is basically a penthouse in Hong Kong terms), and a level of service calibrated to make even the most seasoned traveller pause and say, “Oh… they really thought of everything.” After two years hovering in the podium positions, it finally takes the crown as The World’s Best Hotel 2025.
2. Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River
Bangkok
Set along the Chao Phraya River, this Four Seasons property feels more like a waterside resort than a city hotel—and that’s precisely the point. With 299 contemporary rooms that unfold in soothing neutrals, it’s designed for decompression. The brand, which also secured the Ferrari Trento Most Admired Hotel Group Award, leans into a relaxed, luminous style here that Bangkok didn’t know it needed until it arrived.
3. Capella Bangkok
Bangkok
Capella Bangkok is what you book when you want Bangkok without the… Bangkok. Its 101 river-facing rooms are built around light, space, and serenity, each designed to function as a cocoon against the city’s buzz. The Capella Culturists elevate the stay further—essentially concierges with anthropology degrees, they orchestrate bespoke itineraries that make the city feel both intimate and newly discovered.
4. Passalacqua
Lake Como
The world’s most photographed lake gets yet another showstopper in Passalacqua, an 18th-century villa once home to Pope Innocent XI. With only 24 individually styled rooms—each dripping in historical detail—the hotel reads like a love letter to Italian craftsmanship. It returns this year as both The Best Hotel in Europe and Best Boutique Hotel, a deserved accolade for a place that makes Como’s already romantic landscape feel cinematic.
5. Raffles Singapore
Singapore
Raffles Singapore isn’t just a hotel; it’s a mood, a genre, maybe even a belief system. Opened in 1899 and still maintaining its pristine white façade, iconic Sikh doormen, and famously attentive butler service, it’s one of the few properties where you can genuinely time travel without leaving the lobby. The Singapore Sling was invented here, of course, but its charm isn’t nostalgic—it’s enduring.
Atlantis The Royal - Dubai
A study in maximalism: 795 rooms, 16 restaurants, 17 boutiques, and 90 swimming pools. Bold, bright, and unapologetically Dubai, it takes Best Hotel in the Middle East 2025 and the Lost Explorer Best Beach Hotel Award.
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok - Bangkok
A 150-year-old institution with nearly 400 rooms and a star-studded guest list. It remains one of the city’s most beloved riverside stays—classic, polished, and culturally significant without trying too hard.
