The problem with the World’s Best hotels

Hey, it's Nikki. Is the No. 1 hotel in the world really the best there is? [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Bonjour! It’s [Nikki Ekstein](, Pursuits travel editor, still reeling from a dizzying, delicious trip to Paris, where I had the enviable pleasure of staying at the newly minted 29th-best hotel in the world, [Le Bristol](. Le Bristol was one of four Parisian palaces to rank on the [first-ever World’s 50 Best hotels list](, published this week. It’s not hard to see why this particular spot was recognized: In a city typically short on space, it feels like a sprawling resort. Downstairs in an atelier, chefs mill their own wheat in single-varietal batches to make all the bread served in house; they also age their own cheese, churn out chocolates and pasta, and make jams to spread on lavish breakfasts that are best enjoyed—in my opinion—from the privacy of your room’s garden-facing terrace. Resort vibes at Le Bristol in Paris. Photographer: Nikki Ekstein/Bloomberg But is Le Bristol necessarily a better choice in Paris than [Cheval Blanc]( (No. 34) or [Rosewood’s Hôtel de Crillon]( (No. 50)? That’s entirely subjective. Having been to all three—and many other hotels on the list—I could stack up their pros and cons, and they might come out evenly matched. That’s only one thing that makes it complicated to rank the best hotels in the world—which 50 Best [is not alone]( in trying to do. For the inaugural list, publisher William Reed Business Media, which owns the 50 Best lists (including the [World’s 50 Best restaurants](), asked a global jury of 580 “hotel experts”—largely travel agents, hoteliers, general managers and journalists—to rank the seven best hotels they had stayed in in the last two years, anywhere in the world. And as it turns out, we industry folks follow somewhat predictable patterns. The view from the Rosewood Hong Kong, which took No. 2 on the list. Source: Rosewood Many were desperate return to Asia, where several key borders remained shut long into 2022. The [Rosewood Hong Kong](, which opened just before the pandemic, was clearly still a top priority to check out—and clearly it did not disappoint, coming in at No. 2. It was one of 17 hotels in Asia to rank among the 50; another 21 were in Europe, leaving just 12 slots for the entire rest of the world. To figure out how we got to that level of inequity, let’s look closer at No.1: [Passalacqua in Lake Como](, a property that I genuinely believe is deserving of that honor, but for whom I didn’t expect it to come so soon. It opened in June 2022 with an incredibly smart marketing blitz: Owner Valentina De Santis hand-wrote notes with sentimental stories about her family recipe for quince jam to accompany a fabric-topped jar of the stuff made with fruit from the property’s grove. Anyone lucky enough to be on the receiving end of those jars knew: This would be a spectacular, soulful spot, fashioned with impeccable taste. Everyone who could booked plane tickets right away. (I sent a writer; [read her coverage here]( on why the buzz was justified.) Passalacqua, named the world’s best hotel, is on Lake Como in Italy. Source: Passalacqua Voters for the 50 Best list were allowed to choose properties where they had stayed for free—a common industry practice that Bloomberg does not allow. I asked William Drew, director of content at William Reed, whether that could affect the results. He said votes are anonymous and therefore honest. For the sake of not opening too many cans of worms, let’s say he’s right. Anonymous voting still doesn’t solve the problem that people in the industry necessarily prioritize places that are new and buzzy, or those that won’t charge them $1,800 per night—if they’re paying themselves. That often means passing over the timeless icons that have been setting the bar for years—and those that are harder to reach. I’m guilty of this myself. When I’m leaving my kids at home, I have to prioritize efficiency—the contours of my life make it far easier to go tour six hotels over two days in Paris, than to transit 72 hours each way to see one epic bolt hole in French Polynesia. Checking out a posh spot on Lake Como will always be easier than getting to a [stunning eco-lodge]( on the Argentine side of Iguazu Falls, some 750 miles north of Buenos Aires. And how often do people treat themselves to a safari? Not, typically, more than once in the voting window of two years, which probably is why ultra-rarified spots like [Wilderness’ Bisate Lodge]( in Rwanda or [Angama Mara]( in Kenya aren’t on the list. Only one hotel in all of South America ranked, and one in sub-Saharan Africa. Angama Mara in Kenya arguably deserved to be named one of the top 50 hotels in the world. Photographer: Stevie Mann There’s brand bias, too. When visiting a destination like Sri Lanka, where tourism is still nascent, are you more likely to end up at a gold-standard brand like Aman, whose [Amangalla]( ranked No. 38, or a [highly ambitious cluster of lodges]( owned by a posh Sri Lankan family? Trust me, the latter deserved a spot here, too. Drew told me there were two subjective ways he’d gauge the success of World’s 50 Best hotels: How much conversation the list drummed up, and how much it spurred cultural discovery. At least on the second front, I’d say the list falls devastatingly short, serving only to perpetuate the biases and inequities that already run deep in travel. Here’s my proposed solution: Let the jury vote for their top seven stays. But take those 4,000 votes and put them on a sort of bell curve correcting for geographic diversity, allowing for no more than two hotels per city or 15 per continent. Does the list need four places in Paris or London or Bangkok, as it had this year? I’d argue there’s no use in that for anyone. And the very best in the world, like Passalacqua, will still rise to the top.  Our Coverage of the World’s 50 Best Hotels Winners The list may be flawed, but the World’s 50 Best hotels really are fabulous. Here’s what we’ve had to say about some of the winners. [No. 1: Passalacqua Is Proof That a Remake Can Live Up to the Original]( [No. 25: NYC’s Most Expensive Hotel Is Now Aman New York. Here’s a First Look]( [No. 34: At $1,500 a Night, Cheval Blanc Paris Is LVMH’s Newest Bauble]( [No. 30: The Most Peaceful Place on Earth May Be the Hoshinoya in the Middle of Tokyo]( [No. 40: How Desa Potato Head Is Helping Solve Bali’s $40 Million Trash Problem]( [No. 44: What It’s Like to Stay at Atlantis the Royal, Dubai’s Most Ultraluxury Hotel]( What I Can’t Stop Thinking About I try to never take my travels for granted, but the days I spent in Paris last week felt like more of a privilege than usual. The truth is I was originally scheduled to go to Marrakech, where I was eager to meet with some 60 travel outfitters and independent hotel owners as part of the annual [Pure Life Experiences]( travel conference. Hours before my flight was set to depart, [a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck]( Morocco’s High Atlas, reducing [mud-brick mountain villages to rubble]( and rocking hotels and homes in the Red City. The damage—and the immense loss of life, now estimated at [nearly 3,000 deaths](—wasn’t immediately clear as I navigated whether to stay or to go; Paris became my pivot as it became obvious that Marrakech needed first responders, not travel editors, on its inbound flights. The conference [ended up being canceled](. Collapsed buildings in Asni, Morocco. Photographer: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg How lucky I felt to narrowly avoid the disaster, and to wind up in the lap of luxury. I haven’t stopped thinking about the [far-less-fortunate circumstances]( of the Moroccans directly affected by the quake since. These causes, in particular, are great ways to help them, if you can. - [Education for All Morocco](: The goal of this philanthropic organization is to build housing facilities near secondary schools so that teenage girls can afford to continue their education, even when it’s far from home. EFA’s boarding houses all crumbled in the quake; funds will go towards rebuilding, replacing the homes’ contents, and supporting the girls’ families as they overcome the crisis. - [Travel Link Foundation](: The longstanding partner of Pure Life Experiences, which has helped many travel editors like myself experience the culture and hospitality of the High Atlas, is now one of the forefront organizations delivering supplies and helping to rebuild the 11 most affected villages throughout the region. - [Intrepid Foundation](: The travel outfitter is matching donations to Education for All and waiving all administrative costs along the way. So, You Had Some Questions... We put out the call for questions [weekly on our Instagram account](. Here’s what you were dying to know about this time around. What are some hidden gems in Thailand? — @[pwowr]( I really see you with this question, because right now, all eyes are trained on the newfound glitz and glam of the capital, Bangkok—with its new [Capella]( and [Four Seasons]( hotels among those recognized in this week’s aformentioned [list](. I was surprised not to see island hotels on there—especially Phuket’s beloved [Amanpuri](, where [the rumor mill]( says the next season of White Lotus will be set. But that’s not exactly a secret spot, either. If you love elephants, may I suggest heading north, to Chiang Rai? The [Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp]( is one of the most spectacular places I’ve been. It often gets overlooked for the Four Seasons nearby, but I found it to be more distinctly Thai in both its design and its cuisine. Plus, the elephant sanctuary is right on site, which means you can watch them amble around the jungle as the morning fog lifts from your balcony. Guests can also participate in their care by giving them showers with large garden hoses or working with vets to whip up batches up medicinal food for the seniors in the herd. If you’re not tempted by this prospect, we can’t be friends. Didn’t you go to Disney recently? What were your top tips? I did, indeed! My family took a trip in June, when my daughter was 4 and my son was just 10 months. It was a total blast. Here’s my 101: Make sure you stay at a hotel “on property,” meaning one that’s within the confines of Walt Disney World—and, ideally, one that has an epic pool. By doing so, you can take advantage of early entry to beat the crowds to the best rides, and maybe even come back early when your energy naturally starts to fade. We stayed at the [Four Seasons]( and used its sprawling pool complex, complete with a lazy river, every afternoon, which appeased the baby and made us feel like we had a properly relaxing vacation—even having hit four parks in five days. Spend more time meeting characters and less time stuck in traffic by staying at an on-site hotel at Walt Disney World. Photographer: Nikki Ekstein/Bloomberg Two upgrades you’ll be happy you paid for include Disney’s Memory Maker (from $69 per day), which gives you the rights to any photograph taken on rides or by park photographers, and frees you up to enjoy precious moments, like when your kid meets Frozen’s Elsa for the first time, without watching from behind your phone. The other is a virtual concierge that will do the work for you of chasing down Lightning Lanes—the elusive fast passes that let you skip the lines. (One good option is Mouse Concierge; email them [here](mailto:mouseexpedition@gmail.com).) Lastly, don’t stress about dinner reservations. They open 60 days out and get scooped up right away, which is maddening. But as [Naseem Khonsari](, a trusted Disney travel advisor, told me ahead of my trip, people love to cancel plans—and you will always have access to last-minute reservations. It’s how we snagged a table Epcot’s Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, where a literal parade of princesses stop at every table to make conversation. It sounds ridiculous but it proved to be the most magical experience of our entire week, which leads me to my last point: Lean into the Disney spirit. There’s no sense in fighting it. New for subscribers: Free article gifting. Bloomberg.com subscribers can now gift up to five free articles a month to anyone you want. Just look for the "Gift this article" button on stories. (Not a subscriber? Unlock limited access and [sign up here](.) Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. 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