An independent guide · 64 great hotels
The world’s great hotels, documented.
Palaces, grand hotels and historic landmarks, selected on facts, with their history, key figures and a direct line to each events team.
Some hotels are places to sleep. Others define their city: the house where a cocktail was invented, the palace a dynasty built, the address every traveller has heard of. This guide is about the second kind.
The addresses
Documented so far
Quebec City, Canada
Château Frontenac
The 1893 railway château above the St. Lawrence River, where Allied leaders met in 1943 and 1944.
Since 1893 · 610 rooms
New York City, United States
Plaza Hotel
Henry Hardenbergh’s 1907 château on Fifth Avenue at Central Park, home of the Palm Court and of Eloise.
Since 1907 · 282 rooms
Singapore
Raffles Hotel
The colonial hotel opened by the Sarkies brothers in 1887, where the Singapore Sling was first mixed.
Since 1887 · 115 rooms
London, United Kingdom
The Ritz London
César Ritz’s 1906 Louis XVI hotel on Piccadilly, overlooking Green Park and known for tea in the Palm Court.
Since 1906
Vienna, Austria
Hotel Sacher Vienna
The family-run hotel opposite the Vienna State Opera since 1876, home of the Original Sacher-Torte.
Since 1876 · 152 rooms
Udaipur, India
Taj Lake Palace
An 18th-century white marble palace that seems to float on Lake Pichola, a hotel since 1963.
Since 1963
London, United Kingdom
Savoy Hotel
Richard D’Oyly Carte’s 1889 hotel on the Strand, where César Ritz and Auguste Escoffier made their names.
Since 1889 · 267 rooms
Paris, France
Hôtel de Crillon
An 18th-century palace on Place de la Concorde, behind Ange-Jacques Gabriel’s colonnade, a hotel since 1909.
Since 1758
Istanbul, Turkey
Pera Palace Hotel
Istanbul’s 1892 hotel for Orient Express passengers, where Agatha Christie and Atatürk had their rooms.
Since 1892
Destinations
Where to go
21 countries, from the palaces of Paris to the grand hotels of Asia, on a map or by city.
Our selection
How the guide is made
I
Selected on facts
Heritage, architecture, international renown and the standard of service. Every criterion can be checked, and no hotel pays to be listed.
II
Written by our editors
Each page is written from documented facts, never copied from a brochure, and checked against the hotel’s official website.
III
A direct line for events
Weddings, seminars, private dinners: one request reaches the hotel’s events team directly, at no cost and without commitment.
Weddings and events
A wedding, a seminar or a private dinner in a landmark hotel.
Choose an address, describe your occasion, and your request goes straight to the hotel’s events team.