Special Awards Hotels 2023

Habitas is a true disruptor to the luxury travel market, bringing hotels that thrive on community spirit and a sense of connection to diverse locations from Tulum - the group’s first opening in 2016 - to desert, country, and coastal locations in Saudi Arabia, Chile, Namibia, Morocco, and upstate New York, with Bhutan and Costa Rica in the pipeline. Habitas provides a sense of wellbeing that money alone cannot buy, which it calls “luxury for the soul”, and nurtures guests with experiential programs of music, food, art, wellness, and adventure, along with strong commitments to conservation and supporting local communities.

Amankora from the Aman group brings a new approach to the resort concept. Its five lodges are in five different valleys, allowing guests to travel across Himalayan Bhutan and experience its varied landscapes, cultures, and customs. Amankora was the very first hotel group permitted to operate in Bhutan, and each lodge is sensitive to its surroundings; the largest has 24 rooms, the smallest just eight. The Kingdom of Bhutan is well known as the happiest country on earth; Amankora manages to translate that good feeling across the resort.

Beyoncé played the opening weekend. Kendall Jenner threw a party for her friends. Tiesto has written the hotel’s soundtrack. Atlantis The Royal is Dubai’s new landmark hotel, with 43 storeys of rooms, suites, and penthouses, eight restaurants including Dinner by Heston Blumenthal and Nobu, clubs, bars, spas, and even a pool 22 storeys into the sky. After wowing the world with Atlantis The Palm in 2008, this new Atlantis is a shrine to contemporary indulgence with every possible human desire catered for. The world’s largest waterpark is even on site, along with an aquarium where guests can swim with sharks.

A new opening on Italy’s chicest island, Capri, is always a cause for celebration. But in this case, Oetker Collection brings us a total renovation of Capri’s oldest and most glamorous hotel, La Palma. The 50 rooms and suites ooze Italian luxury with marble bathrooms, heavy linen, handcrafted furniture, inspiring artwork, and touches of aquamarine as stunning as the sea. With a restaurant by Gennaro Esposito, private beach club, and new pool deck, La Palma - Oetker’s first opening in Italy - reinvigorates the essence of la dolce vita, two centuries after it first opened.

An adults-only, all-inclusive resort that gives new meaning to the idea of sleeping under canvas, and a significant new style of opening for Four Seasons. Naviva’s 15-suite safari-style tented camp is a secluded extension of the nearby Four Seasons Punta Mita, with the feel of a private tropical oasis within the larger peninsula on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Each tent has a personal guide to arrange activities like paddle-boarding or mezcal tasting, and the spa draws on local knowledge for treatments such as a Mayan mud massage. The service is as intimate and finely-tuned as the very best hotels but on a relaxed, informal level, making Naviva welcoming, discreet, and romantic.

The tried and trusted therapeutic Lanserhof group has opened a new destination on Sylt, a North Frisian island known as The Hamptons of Germany. The rounded shape and thatched appearance of the hotel echoes the sand dunes Sylt is famous for, offering less austere, more restorative environs than fans of its world-renowned Mayr method may be familiar with. The architectural flow is said to promote self-healing, and Lanserhof Sylt is a serious health retreat underpinned by decades of medical expertise. Alongside personalized health assessments and diets, guests can enjoy exercise on the beach, health and wellbeing lectures, and classical concerts - a spellbinding health and spa opening that gives visitors a new lease of life.

Sydney’s Capella hotel may be new for 2023 but its home, an Edwardian sandstone former government building, is part of the city’s heritage. Inside, thanks to painstaking restoration, is a spectacular historic space including art that pays homage to the country’s Indigenous people and culture, and an enchanting enclosed courtyard. Look up, and you’ll see the sleek four-storey extension crowning Capella Sydney, which gives the prestige suites floor-to-ceiling views of the city. Capella’s blend of old-school service and style, contemporary luxury, and its attention to the region’s cultural and political history, sets a new standard for Sydney hospitality.

The Peninsula delivers inimitable service, style, and sophistication, as well as the best view of the city from its four buildings lining the Bosphorus. Gaze at the Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, and Hagia Sofia from the terrace, before feasting on flavours from along the Silk Road at Gallada from one of Istanbul’s best chefs, Fatih Tutak, an ‘All Things Turkish’ afternoon tea, or try a spa treatment, the Peninsula group is known for its outstanding spas. All the 177 rooms and suites are designed with discreet luxury in mind, from the deep Tai Ping rugs to the black lacquer doors and Marmara marble baths. The split-level penthouse has its own pool and hammam. The Istanbul hotel is the 11th Peninsula and the city’s most exciting opening in memory.

You can’t get more remote than a visit to the seventh continent. Operator White Desert says its new camp, Echo, is “as close as you can get to feeling like you’re off the planet without leaving Earth.” The Echo camp is made up of just six ‘sky pods’, designed to look as if they’ve been beamed down from Mars. The expansive windows give guests the best possible views of the other-worldly location: vast, moonscape-like stretches of snow and ice, and pitted rock formations. Adventures include ski-ing, fat biking, and abseiling, as well as trips to see Emperor Penguins and the South Pole. As with all White Desert camps, Echo can be dismantled, leaving no trace on Antarctica - a true hidden gem.

An intimate hideaway in the ‘Big Sky Country’ of Montana, the Green O sits in a heavily wooded corner of a huge ranch in Greenough, where guests might see elk and black bears, and go whitewater-rafting or dog-sledding. Each of the 12 individual guesthouses is a hidden gem in itself. The four styles - Green, Tree, Light, or Round ‘Haus’ - offer varying experiences of the spectacular surroundings, but in each, you can listen to the sounds of the forest from your hot tub or star gaze from the skylight above your bed. It’s almost impossible to get this up close and personal with nature coupled with the outstanding levels of laid-back luxury across the accommodation, food and service.

This one-of-a-kind floating hotel takes guests on tours of Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, visiting spots no other tourists travel to, such as Kurushima, an island with only eight residents. The three-storey boat takes all the vital statistics of a traditional ryokan and translates them onto the water into 19 wood-panelled cabins; think of it as a cross between a luxury boutique hotel and a superyacht, with the aim of introducing passengers to the remarkable lifestyle of the Setouchi region. Food is a highlight, and chefs buy from local fishermen and producers every day.

The Galapagos Islands are one of our planet’s most important and fascinating natural wonders, and the remote location of the Galapagos Safari Camp enables guests to truly connect with this magnificent region. The camp is situated on the island of Santa Cruz, far from busy tourist spots, and on the rim of an extinct volcano, with safari tent accommodation cocooned by dense forest. The land and sea safaris are tailor-made and welcome families. You might see the giant turtles, take a fishing trip, or swim on a deserted beach.

The remote shoreline of Indonesia’s Sumba Island is almost untouched, and Cap Karoso, a hotly anticipated 2023 opening, intends to leave it that way. It’s more of a refuge than a hotel, with an organic farm, chickens, and buffalo as well as beach club, spa and gym, all blessed by local Shamans and full of Sumba art, craft, produce, and history. The 67 rooms include 20 villas with secluded tropical gardens and pools, all complemented by regular short residencies from chefs, artists, and musicians. Though only an hour’s flight from Bali’s Denpasar airport, Cap Karuso is a hidden sanctuary on peaceful Sumba.

Travelling to the world’s best hidden gems can take some commitment, but as one of the wildest places on earth, Fogo Island Inn rewards anyone making the journey richly. After an international flight to Toronto or Halifax, and an internal flight to the island of Gander, off Newfoundland, Fogo is reached via a ferry. The Inn is a contemporary concrete structure perched on a cliff overlooking the brutal North Atlantic’s ‘Iceberg alley’, but, once inside, the 29 spacious rooms speak of local comfort, style, and craft. Activities include bushcraft, heli-hiking, star-gazing and heli-hiking, guided by the expertise of Fogo islanders. All operating surpluses are returned to the community.

Take a detour from Aquitaine’s big names and ho tspots to discover Les Hortensias du Lac, a 25-room surf hotel from Relais & Chateaux, which sits between lake and sea in Hossegor, north of Biarritz. The words ‘luxury’ and ‘surf’ rarely go together, but expectations are turned on their head at this boutique retreat. The 1930s building is a prime example of Basque-Landaise design, and towering pines shade the infinity pool. The relaxed Hamptons-style vibe of surf, bike ride, and board games is perfectly matched with Landes levels of hospitality from the elegant restaurant, where chef Phillipe Moreno prepares modern coastal classics.

Minaret Station is a genuine retreat from the modern world and a truly exclusive experience for anyone who visits. Its four private lodges, accessible only by helicopter, are bordered by National Parks, Lake Wanaka, alpine meadows, and glacial valleys, balancing wilderness with extreme comfort and returning a sense of wonder to even the best-travelled guests. Each lodge has a spacious bedroom and living area as well as a terrace, and its Mountain Kitchen creates menus from Central Otago’s abundant produce, including venison, lamb, and beef from Minaret’s own farm.

Only a handful of trains worldwide are known for offering luxury accommodation and a decent night’s sleep, but Kruger Shalati beats all of these, with views of lions and leopards into the deal. It’s a permanent hotel made of 24 converted train carriages, sitting high up on the disused former rail bridge spanning the Sabie River, in the Kruger National Park. This isn’t a modern affectation; back when the train and bridge were both in use, it would stop on the bridge overnight. Though refashioned to contemporary levels of luxury, the train retains the glamor of the 1920s with its art deco interiors and a sense of the excitement of pioneering travel. Adjacent to the bridge are seven further suites, the dining areas, and two pools - there’s a third on the bridge.

Take one sprawling Scottish property. Add infamous international art dealer Hauser & Wirth. The result? A wonderfully maximalist country house hotel surrounded by the Cairngorms, close to Balmoral. The Fife Arms has been synonymous with the Highland village of Braemar since Queen Victoria began to spend time at Balmoral. Of the 46 rooms and suites, the extraordinarily opulent royal suites are packed with art and antiques, and even objects once owned by royalty. The Victoriana suites reflect that era with rich textures and colours, while the Scottish Culture rooms celebrate notable natives. Owner Iwan Wirth says that everything in the hotel must have a purpose and a story, which includes commissions from contemporary artists, too, making the Fife Arms truly relevant for the 21st century.

Forget minimalism or muted tones, Villa Palladio is a beautifully bright boutique hotel in India’s Jaipur. The three-acre plot of lush manicured gardens is surrounded by a white wall, but the colour begins to pop at the grand, ruby-colored gates. Palladio’s signature red transforms the nine-room hotel into a box of precious jewels, with pattern and texture, and both contemporary and ancient shapes and motifs everywhere, as saturated and stylised as a Wes Anderson movie. The informal dining areas offer international cuisine from Italian to Rajasthani made from local ingredients, and the soon-to-open spa will focus on Tibetan healing treatments. Villa Palladio is without a doubt the Insta sensation hotel opening of the decade!

Without the Carlton, there is no Cannes. The Grande Dame de la Croisette has been at the forefront of the town’s evolution for over a century, playing host to the first League of Nations meeting, countless stars of the Cannes International Film Festival, and Barack Obama. Fresh from a two-year revamp for 2023, the Carlton’s magnificent white and gold façade has been restored for future generations. Inside, this historic Riviera landmark has undergone a careful transformation, bringing its timeless allure in line with the demands of today’s luxury globetrotters.

A tranquil desert sanctuary that blends seamlessly into its sacred surroundings, known as the ‘world’s largest living museum’. Banyan Tree’s 47 tented villas, many with private pools, are designed to complement the magic of the ancient ruins and natural wonders all around it, from dramatic rock formations and sand-swept dunes to historic dwellings and monuments holding the secrets of 200,000 years of human civilization. The interiors are similarly calming and in tune with nature. Saudi Arabia only opened up to international travel in 2019 and this is a key opening in the region and a place very few are able to visit.

It might look like the villain’s fortress from a James Bond movie, but the cone-shaped sci-fi structure at the top of Czech Republic’s Mount Ještěd is actually the country’s best-known hotel, designed by architect Karel Hubáček in the 1960s to include the hotel and restaurant, as well as a TV transmitter, hence the reinforced concrete probe extending 94m into the sky! Guests arrive by cable car - the hotel is at an altitude of over 1,000m - to explore this striking example of Eastern European design, which was named Best Czech Building of the 20th Century in 2000. Pod chairs swing in the corridors, the bar and staircases are curved, and each room has the feel of a retro futuristic cabin, with large windows, mid century lounge chairs, and chrome lighting.

A jungle retreat in Ubud with a holistic approach to sustainability. The founders of Bambu Indah dream of a world where everything used can be composted back into the earth. The hotel is plastic-free; banana leaves and papaya stems become plates and straws, used cooking oil fuels the lamps, the swimming pools are natural. There are six bamboo houses scattered along the river bank, surrounded by tamarind, cinnamon and palm trees, and four more on a verdant clifftop, including tents on raised platforms that float in the treetops. Bambu Indah is both new for 2023 and the evolution of a 20-year project guided by love for the land and everyone who visits.

Gaze at hummingbirds and toucans, hike to waterfalls, ‘fly’ through the Chocó cloud forest in an open gondola. Mashpi Lodge, just 100km from Quito, brings guests to the heart of its rainforest reserve and research station, offering a sustainable luxury adventure without compromising the precious environment. The three-storey hotel immerses guests in the forest canopy both inside and out, and was built so that ecotourism could support the reserve’s ecological ambitions, which include providing employment, and training local people in organic farming and conservation. Mashpi’s biologist has even discovered a new species of frog here!

Menorca is the must-visit Balearic isle for 2023, and a stay at new farmhouse hotel Son Blanc will challenge all of your preconceptions about the meaning of luxury travel. Instead of working out how to transform this rural farm into luxury accommodation, the founders sought to collaborate with the wild surroundings, and create a space of true human connection. The 14 rooms feature natural materials, such as stone, clay, and terracotta, while modern comforts are designed along strictly sustainable lines, with solar panels and efficient technologies throughout. The working farm follows regenerative principles and there’s a medicinal garden and orchard. Son Blanc runs a program of social and cultural events to engage and inspire guests, from forest bathing and sound healing to DJ and chef nights.

Lose yourself in this extra-indulgent spa retreat in Israel’s Negev Desert, a serene, 60-room hotel with a deeply restorative approach to the idea of a spa - think spiritual healers and aura readers as well as traditional massage, and local products such as herbal scrubs and camel milk. This Six Senses resort is so proud of its approach to sustainability that it has an Earth Lab to display its environmental principles, such as organic, well-sourced food, energy efficiency, and no plastic, alongside the social projects it supports. A true sustainability leader for spa hotels.

A family-run restaurant and hotel set in green parkland just outside Bergamo, with ten rooms, all different and full of character and comfort, in an elegant villa. Many guests visit the Relais & Chateaux property for its famous Lombardy cuisine at the Da Vittorio restaurant, but we insist you stay the night to experience the breakfast, a six-course gourmet affair with sweet and savoury courses. Vittorio’s five children now work across the kitchen and front of house, making La Dimora a family affair full of heart & soul.

The first Pig Hotel, there are now nine and counting, brought something new to the British hotel landscape. The contemporary but casual hotel in a heritage building has the faultless service and attention to detail you’d expect of founder Robin Hutson, an important champion of the UK hospitality industry, with outstanding food and wine and locally-sourced produce, much of it from the hotel’s own garden and piggies, everything else from within 25 miles. This means that each Pig can celebrate its location, from Dorset to Cornwall to Kent, and every effort is made to look after guests, whether that means a deep tissue massage or borrowing a pair of wellies.

This country inn is synonymous with DC conviviality and hospitality. Chef patron Patrick O’Connell opened The Inn at Little Washington in 1978 and is now one of the Relais & Chateaux ‘Grands Chefs’. It soon became known as the best place to eat in the region, but it also stands out for its 100% commitment to every detail that will give guests a great time, from the trad country inn decor, sumptuous suites, and kitsch touches, such as Faira the cow cum cheese trolley, to the exceedingly warm welcome. According to one review, staff are so determined to show guests a good time, that they assess the mood of each diner on arrival and make sure to get everyone up to at least a nine out of 10 before they leave.