The great hotels of the world

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Burj al-Arab

Tom Wright’s sail-shaped tower on its own island off Jumeirah Beach, an all-suite hotel since 1999.

Since 1999

Mumbai, India

Taj Mahal Palace Hotel

Jamsetji Tata’s 1903 palace on the Mumbai waterfront, facing the Gateway of India and the Arabian Sea.

Since 1903

Singapore

Marina Bay Sands

Three 55-storey towers carrying a 340-metre SkyPark with a 150-metre infinity pool 200 metres above Marina Bay, designed by Moshe Safdie.

Since 2010 · 2561 rooms

Chicago, United States

Trump International Hotel and Tower

Since 2009

Paris, France

Hôtel Ritz Paris

César Ritz’s 1898 hotel on Place Vendôme, set behind a listed 17th-century façade by Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

Since 1898

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

Las Vegas, United States

Bellagio

Opened in 1998 on an eight-acre lake whose fountains dance to music, with a Dale Chihuly glass ceiling of 2,000 flowers in the lobby.

Since 1998 · 3933 rooms

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Atlantis, The Palm

Opened in 2008 at the tip of the Palm Jumeirah with 1,539 rooms, Atlantis, The Palm holds the Aquaventure waterpark and an aquarium of some 65,000 marine animals.

Since 2008 · 1539 rooms

Moscow, Russia

Radisson Collection Hotel, Moscow

The former Hotel Ukraina is the tallest of Moscow's seven Stalinist skyscrapers, 206 metres to the tip of its spire, restored and reopened in 2010.

Since 1957 · 497 rooms · Events up to 300

Las Vegas, United States

Caesars Palace

Opened on 5 August 1966 by Jay Sarno, the Roman resort where Evel Knievel jumped the fountains and Celine Dion filled the Colosseum.

Since 1966

Las Vegas, United States

MGM Grand Las Vegas

Since 1993 · 6852 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

Las Vegas, United States

The Venetian Resort

Opened in 1999 on the site of the Sands with a Campanile, a Rialto Bridge and gondolas on an indoor canal; more than 7,000 suites with The Palazzo.

Since 1999

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

JW Marriott Marquis Dubai

Since 2012 · 1608 rooms

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

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

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

Pyongyang, North Korea

Yanggakdo International Hotel

Since 1995

Beverly Hills, United States

The Beverly Hilton

Since 1955 · 570 rooms

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Grand Hotel Europe

Since 1875

Taguig, Philippines

Grand Hyatt Manila

Since 2017 · 461 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 1909

Istanbul, Turkey

Pera Palace Hotel

Istanbul’s 1892 hotel for Orient Express passengers, where Agatha Christie and Atatürk had their rooms.

Since 1892

Budapest, Hungary

Four Seasons Gresham Palace

A 1906 Art Nouveau palace facing the Chain Bridge and the Danube, a Four Seasons hotel since 2004.

Las Vegas, United States

Trump Hotel Las Vegas

Since 2008

Washington, D.C., United States

Blair House

Since 1824 · 120 rooms

Nice, France

Hôtel Negresco

The 1913 Belle Époque palace on the Promenade des Anglais, crowned by its pink and green dome.

Since 1913

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Opened in 1997 in the shape of a breaking wave, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel was Dubai's first landmark resort and sits beside the Burj Al Arab and the Wild Wadi waterpark.

Since 1997

Krün, Germany

Schloss Elmau

A 1916 castle hotel in a Bavarian Alpine valley, host of the G7 summits of 2015 and 2022.

Since 1914 · 100 rooms · Events up to 300

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Hotel Astoria

Opened in 1912 on St Isaac's Square, the Astoria served as a hospital during the siege of Leningrad and has been a Rocco Forte hotel since 1997.

Since 1912

Las Vegas, United States

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Since 2004

Moscow, Russia

Hotel National

Opened in 1903 on the corner facing the Kremlin, the National housed Lenin in room 107 in March 1918 when the Soviet government arrived in Moscow.

Since 1903 · 202 rooms

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Emirates Palace

Abu Dhabi’s domed palace hotel on its own stretch of beach, opened in 2005 and run by Mandarin Oriental.

Since 2005

Las Vegas, United States

Wynn Las Vegas

Opened on 28 April 2005 behind a 614-foot curved bronze tower, the only resort on the Strip with its own 18-hole golf course.

Since 2005 · 2716 rooms

Tokyo, Japan

Imperial Hotel

Japan’s first great Western-style hotel, opened in 1890 opposite Hibiya Park and the Imperial Palace.

Since 1890

Kronberg im Taunus, Germany

Schlosshotel Kronberg

The castle Queen Victoria's eldest daughter built in 1889 to 1893 as her widow's seat, a hotel owned by the House of Hesse since 1954.

Since 1954

Las Vegas, United States

Vdara

Since 2009

Washington, D.C., United States

Washington Hilton

Since 1965

Las Vegas, United States

ARIA Resort & Casino

Opened on 16 December 2009 as the centrepiece of CityCenter, two curved glass towers by César Pelli with a public art collection by Maya Lin and Jenny Holzer.

Since 2009 · 4004 rooms

Miami, United States

Four Seasons Hotel Miami

Since 2003

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo

The Belle Époque palace on Place du Casino in Monte-Carlo, home of the restaurant Le Louis XV.

Since 1863

Cong, Ireland

Ashford Castle

A castle founded in 1228 on the shore of Lough Corrib, enlarged by the Guinness family, a hotel since 1939.

Since 1939 · 83 rooms

Taplow, United Kingdom

Cliveden House

Charles Barry’s 1851 country house above the Thames, once home of the Astors, now a hotel in a National Trust estate.

London, United Kingdom

The Dorchester

The 1931 Park Lane hotel facing Hyde Park, whose concrete structure made it a wartime refuge.

Since 1931 · 250 rooms

Vancouver, Canada

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

Begun in 1928 and finished in 1939 for the royal visit of King George VI, the green copper roof of the Castle in the City.

Since 1939

Macau, China

MGM Macau

Opened on 18 December 2007 on the Macau peninsula, a facade of three undulating waves in gold, silver and rose around a glass-roofed Lisbon square.

Since 2007

Moscow, Russia

Hotel Metropol

Opened in 1905 opposite the Bolshoi, the Metropol carries a Mikhail Vrubel mosaic on its facade and a stained-glass dome over its main restaurant.

Since 1905 · 365 rooms · Events up to 450

Las Vegas, United States

Fontainebleau Las Vegas

Since 2023 · 3600 rooms

Las Vegas, United States

Delano Las Vegas

Beverly Hills, United States

Beverly Wilshire

The 1928 Italian Renaissance hotel at the foot of Rodeo Drive, run by Four Seasons since 1992.

Since 1928

Paris, France

Hôtel Lutetia

Built in 1910 by the Bon Marché for its customers, the only grand hotel on the Left Bank of Paris, reopened in 2018 after four years of restoration.

Since 1910 · 184 rooms

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Copacabana Palace

Joseph Gire’s 1923 white palace on Copacabana beach, the address of Rio’s grand balls and film stars.

Since 1923

Hong Kong

Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

The 1963 Central landmark that gave its name to a hotel group, with Man Wah on the 25th floor and the Captain's Bar still pouring beer in silver tankards.

Since 1963 · 501 rooms

Hong Kong, China

The Peninsula Hong Kong

Hong Kong's oldest hotel still in business, open since December 1928, with a fleet of green Rolls-Royce cars and a rooftop helipad.

Since 1928 · 297 rooms

Paris, France

The Peninsula Paris

The 1908 Hotel Majestic on avenue Kléber, where the 1973 Paris Peace Accords were signed, reborn in 2014.

Since 1908 · 200 rooms

Dublin, Ireland

The Shelbourne

Dublin’s hotel on St Stephen’s Green since 1824, where the Constitution of the Irish Free State was drafted.

Since 1824

Ottawa, Canada

Château Laurier

The 1912 railway château beside Parliament Hill and the Rideau Canal, at the heart of Ottawa.

Since 1912

Hong Kong, China

Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong

A 56-storey hotel above Pacific Place whose atrium holds a 16-storey Chinese silk painting, said to be the largest of its kind.

Since 1991 · 565 rooms · Events up to 1000

Mysore, India

Lalitha Mahal Palace

A palace built in 1921 by the Maharaja of Mysore to lodge the Viceroy, with a dome modelled on St Paul's Cathedral, a hotel since 1974.

Since 1974 · 54 rooms

Washington, D.C., United States

The Willard

Washington’s 1901 Beaux-Arts hotel two blocks from the White House, where Martin Luther King Jr. worked on his 1963 speech.

Since 1901

Jaipur, India

Rambagh Palace

The former residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur, set in its gardens and run as a hotel by Taj.

Beverly Hills, United States

The Beverly Hills Hotel

The 1912 Pink Palace on Sunset Boulevard, with its bungalows, its Polo Lounge and its banana-leaf wallpaper.

Since 1912

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

The Balmoral

Edinburgh’s 1902 railway hotel on Princes Street, whose clock tower runs three minutes fast.

Since 1902

New York City, United States

The Carlyle

The 1930 Art Deco tower on Madison Avenue, home of Bemelmans Bar and the Café Carlyle.

Since 1930

Stockholm, Sweden

Grand Hôtel

Opened in 1874 on Blasieholmen facing the Royal Palace, host of the Nobel Banquet in its Hall of Mirrors from 1901 to 1929.

Since 1874

Coronado, United States

Hotel del Coronado

An 1888 wooden Victorian resort on the beach across the bay from San Diego, among the first hotels lit by electricity and the set of Some Like It Hot.

Since 1888

Banff, Canada

Fairmont Banff Springs

Opened by the Canadian Pacific Railway on 1 June 1888, the Castle in the Rockies rebuilt in Rundle stone inside Banff National Park.

Since 1888 · 724 rooms

Helsinki, Finland

Hotel Kämp

Helsinki's grand hotel since 1887, where Sibelius and the Symposion circle met, rebuilt behind a replica of its 1887 facade.

Since 1887 · 179 rooms · Events up to 500

Chennai, India

ITC Grand Chola

A 600-key hotel in Chennai built in the carved-granite manner of Chola temples, with LEED Platinum certification and space for 3,000 guests.

Since 2012 · 522 rooms · Events up to 3000

Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

Grandhotel Pupp

A spa hotel descended from the Saxon Hall of 1701, rebuilt by Fellner and Helmer, and the Casino Royale of the 2006 Bond film.

Since 1896 · 228 rooms

Paris, France

Le Meurice

A Paris hotel since 1815, on rue de Rivoli facing the Tuileries, where Salvador Dalí spent his winters.

Since 1815 · 160 rooms

Hanoi, Vietnam

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Hanoi’s French colonial hotel since 1901, where Charlie Chaplin honeymooned and Graham Greene stayed.

Since 1901 · 364 rooms

Zurich, Switzerland

The Dolder Grand

The 1899 castle hotel above Zurich, extended by Foster + Partners and filled with modern art.

Since 1899

Paris, France

Four Seasons Hotel George V

The first hotel in Europe to hold three Michelin-starred restaurants under one roof, behind a 1928 Art Deco facade on avenue George V.

Since 1928 · 244 rooms

London, United Kingdom

The Langham, London

Opened in 1865 as Europe's first purpose-built grand hotel, where Conan Doyle and Wilde dined in 1889 and each left with a commission.

Since 1865 · 380 rooms

Gleneagles, United Kingdom

The Gleneagles Hotel

A 1924 railway hotel on 850 acres of Perthshire that hosted the 2005 G8 summit and the 2014 Ryder Cup on its own course.

Since 1924 · 205 rooms

Kolkata, India

The LaLiT Great Eastern Kolkata

India's oldest operating hotel, opened in 1840 as the Auckland Hotel and reopened in 2013 after an eight-year restoration.

Since 1840 · 215 rooms

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Angleterre Hotel

The Angleterre is the hotel where the poet Sergei Yesenin died in 1925, demolished in 1987 amid the city's first preservation protests and rebuilt by 1991.

Since 1889 · 193 rooms · Events up to 100

Hong Kong, China

Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

The first hotel in the world to hold two three-Michelin-star restaurants, Lung King Heen and Caprice, above the IFC on the Central waterfront.

Since 2005 · 399 rooms

San Francisco, United States

Fairmont San Francisco

Opened on 18 April 1907, one year to the day after the earthquake, the Nob Hill house where the United Nations Charter was drafted in 1945.

Since 1907 · 606 rooms

Montreal, Canada

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth

The Montreal hotel above Central Station where John Lennon and Yoko Ono held their Bed-In for Peace in Suite 1742 in 1969.

Since 1958 · 950 rooms

London, United Kingdom

Brown's Hotel

Opened in 1837 by Lord Byron's former valet and often called London's first hotel; Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone here in 1876.

Since 1837 · 115 rooms

Greater London, United Kingdom

St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel

George Gilbert Scott's 1873 Midland Grand Hotel, closed for 76 years and reopened in 2011 with its grand staircase and painted ceilings intact.

Since 1873 · 207 rooms

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Alvear Palace Hotel

The grand hotel of Buenos Aires since 1932, a French-style palace on Avenida Alvear in Recoleta with 207 rooms and La Bourgogne.

Since 1932 · 207 rooms · Events up to 400

White Sulphur Springs, United States

The Greenbrier

A West Virginia springs resort receiving guests since 1778, redecorated by Dorothy Draper in 1948 and built over a secret Cold War bunker for Congress.

Since 1858

Honolulu, United States

The Royal Hawaiian

The Pink Palace of the Pacific, opened on Waikiki Beach in 1927 by the Matson steamship line and still painted coral pink.

Since 1927

Marrakech, Morocco

La Mamounia

Opened in 1923 inside eight hectares of eighteenth-century royal gardens, La Mamounia is the hotel where Winston Churchill came to paint the Atlas each winter.

Since 1923

Taipei, Taiwan

The Grand Hotel, Taipei

A 14-storey Chinese palace with a golden-tiled roof on Yuanshan hill, built in 1973 for Taiwan's state guests and still the city's banquet landmark.

Since 1952 · 500 rooms

Beijing, China

Beijing Hotel

The hotel on Chang'an Avenue where the People's Republic held its first state banquet on 1 October 1949, with a 1917 French-designed wing still in use.

Since 1900 · 600 rooms

Dresden, Germany

Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski

Augustus the Strong's palace for Countess Cosel, a ruin from 1945 to 1992, rebuilt as a hotel beside the Zwinger in 1995.

Since 1995

Brussels, Belgium

Corinthia Grand Hotel Astoria

The Hotel Astoria of 1910, closed for 17 years, reopened by Corinthia in 2024 with its Palm Court and its railway-carriage Pullman Bar restored.

Since 1910

Zagreb, Croatia

Esplanade Zagreb Hotel

Built in 1925 beside the station for Orient Express passengers, with an Emerald Ballroom that has received Josephine Baker and Orson Welles.

Since 1925 · 208 rooms

Jakarta, Indonesia

Hotel Indonesia Kempinski

Indonesia's first international hotel, built by President Sukarno for the 1962 Asian Games on the roundabout that bears its name.

Since 1962 · 289 rooms

New York City, United States

The Pierre

A Schultze & Weaver tower on Fifth Avenue facing Central Park, opened in 1930, bought by J. Paul Getty and the scene of the 1972 jewel robbery.

Since 1930 · 189 rooms

Warsaw, Poland

Raffles Europejski Warsaw

Warsaw's first grand hotel of 1857, rebuilt after 1944, closed in 2013 and reopened in 2018 by Raffles with several hundred works of Polish art.

Since 1857 · 106 rooms

Lausanne, Switzerland

Beau-Rivage Palace

The Lake Geneva palace at Ouchy where the 1912 Treaty of Lausanne was signed and the 1923 treaty negotiated, in a four-hectare lakeside park.

Since 1861

Singapore

Capella Singapore

A Foster + Partners resort on Sentosa built around two 1880s British Army buildings, and the venue of the Trump-Kim summit on 12 June 2018.

Since 2009 · 112 rooms

Nairobi, Kenya

Giraffe Manor

A 1932 manor in Nairobi's Langata suburb where a herd of endangered Nubian giraffe puts its heads through the breakfast-room windows.

Since 1932 · 12 rooms · Events up to 50

Coral Gables, United States

The Biltmore Hotel

A 1926 Coral Gables resort with a tower copied from Seville's Giralda and a 700,000-gallon pool, a military hospital for 26 years before its revival.

Since 1926 · 98 rooms

Paris, France

Le Bristol Paris

A 1,200 square metre garden inside a Faubourg Saint-Honoré block and a rooftop pool built like a yacht's deck, in the first French hotel named a Palace.

Since 1925 · 190 rooms

Copenhagen, Denmark

Hotel d'Angleterre

Copenhagen's grand hotel since 1755, on Kongens Nytorv, reopened in 2013 after a restoration that closed it for two years.

Since 1755

Hong Kong, China

The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong

A hotel on floors 102 to 118 of the International Commerce Centre, the highest in the world when it opened in 2011, with a bar and a pool at the very top.

Since 2011 · 312 rooms

Bangkok, Thailand

Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Bangkok's riverside hotel since 1876, where Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham stayed and whose 1887 Authors' Wing still stands.

Since 1876 · 331 rooms

Singapore

Shangri-La Singapore

The first Shangri-La hotel, opened in 1971 in six hectares of garden off Orchard Road, and host of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue on Asian security.

Since 1971 · 792 rooms · Events up to 1000

Montebello, Canada

Fairmont Le Château Montebello

A log château of 10,000 red cedar logs raised in four months in 1930 on the Ottawa River, host of the 1981 G7 summit.

Since 1930 · Events up to 300

Cernobbio, Italy

Villa d'Este

A cardinal's villa of 1568 on Lake Como, home of Caroline of Brunswick, a hotel since 1873 with a swimming pool floating on the lake.

Since 1873 · 151 rooms

Venice, Italy

Ca' Sagredo

A 15th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal, seat of a doge's family from 1661, whose Longhi and Tiepolo decorations survive in a 42-room hotel.

Since 2007 · 42 rooms

Sintra (Santa Maria e São Miguel, São Martinho e São Pedro de Penaferrim), Portugal

Tivoli Palácio de Seteais

An eighteenth-century palace in Sintra with painted rooms attributed to Jean Pillement and a triumphal arch of 1802 between its two wings, a hotel since 1954.

Since 1954 · 30 rooms

Paris, France

Hôtel Raphael

A 1925 hotel still in the hands of its founding family, with a seventh-floor roof garden facing the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower.

Since 1925 · 83 rooms

Moscow, Russia

Carlton Moscow

Built as The Ritz-Carlton Moscow in 2007 on Tverskaya Street, the Carlton's rooftop bar looks straight down onto the Kremlin and Red Square.

Since 2007 · 334 rooms · Events up to 350

Geneva, Switzerland

Beau-Rivage Geneva

A family-owned hotel on the Quai du Mont-Blanc since 1865 where Empress Elisabeth of Austria died after her assassination in 1898.

Since 1865 · 52 rooms

London, United Kingdom

The Goring

Owned by the Goring family since 1910, granted a Royal Warrant in 2013, and the Middleton family's base on the eve of the 2011 royal wedding.

Since 1910 · 69 rooms

London, United Kingdom

The Connaught

A Mayfair hotel rebuilt in 1897 whose carved mahogany staircase leads to a dining room with three Michelin stars and the bar twice named the world's best.

Since 1897 · 121 rooms

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hotel Continental Saigon

Saigon's oldest hotel, open since 1880 beside the Opera House, where Graham Greene set scenes of The Quiet American.

Since 1880 · 80 rooms

Aswan, Egypt

Sofitel Legend Old Cataract

Built by Thomas Cook in 1899 on a granite bluff over the first cataract of the Nile, the Old Cataract is where Agatha Christie set Death on the Nile.

Since 1899

Singapore

Mandarin Oriental, Singapore

A John Portman atrium hotel on Marina Bay, open since 1987 and rebuilt inside in 2023, with a fifth-floor pool facing the bay.

Since 1987 · 527 rooms

Grand Canyon Village, United States

El Tovar Hotel

Built by the Santa Fe Railway in 1905 of Oregon pine and local limestone, the hotel that stands a few metres from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Since 1905 · 78 rooms

Budapest, Hungary

Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel

The New York Life Insurance palace of 1894, home of the New York Café where Budapest's writers worked, a hotel only since 2006.

Since 2006 · 185 rooms · Events up to 600