Raffles Hotel and Capella part of the World’s 50 Best Hotels list for second year

Singapore’s Raffles Hotel has moved up 11 spots to sixth place in 2024’s The World’s 50 Best Hotels list.

Capella Singapore, a hotel in Sentosa, ranked 33rd in the list this year, a drop of five places from the inaugural list in 2023.

Thailand’s Capella Bangkok topped the 2024 list, with Italy’s Lake Como hotel Passalacqua and Rosewood Hong Kong taking the second and third spots respectively.

Capella Bangkok is among a cluster of new riverside resorts in Bangkok that has skyrocketed the city’s luxury quotient.

Every one of its rooms has a view of the Chao Phraya River, and dining venues include a French gastronomic restaurant by Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco, and the waterfront Phra Nakhon, which has become something of a legendary brunch scene for chic locals and visitors.

Its pool is so densely surrounded by lush vegetation, it feels almost like instant transport to one of the Thai islands.

Raffles Singapore managing director Christian Westbeld said: “For us, the legendary Raffles Experience embodies our aspirations to be a haven and an urban oasis for those seeking wonder, inspiration, tranquillity and adventure amid our Lion City.

“This prestigious accolade reflects the collective spirit from our marvellous team to consistently deliver this distinctive Raffles Experience. We celebrate this achievement as one team.”

Capella Hotel Group president Cristiano Rinaldi said the group is honoured that Capella Singapore and Capella Bangkok are a part of The World’s 50 Best Hotels list for a second straight year.

He pointed out that it was “simply exceptional” for both hotels to continue to be on the prestigious list, with the Bangkok property claiming the top spot both globally and in Asia.

“This is particularly significant, given the fierce competition in the luxury hotel sector and the constant evolution of guest expectations,” he added.

“These accolades are a tribute to our dedicated Capella colleagues and a testament to the trust from our guests – as masters in our craft, we will continue to redefine luxury hospitality and set new standards for excellence.”

Other hotels in Asia among the top ranks are The Upper House, Hong Kong (No. 5), Aman Tokyo (No. 7) and Nihi Sumba in Indonesia (No. 10).

The list is produced by British media company William Reed, which is also behind food and beverage-centric lists – The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and The World’s 50 Best Bars.

The title of World’s Best, however, is a subjective one, rather than a scientific determination.

To arrive at its results, the World’s 50 Best team asks its 600 anonymous jurors to rank the seven best hotels they have stayed in over the last 18 months.

It is a system that necessarily favours easy-to-reach destinations, big cities and new hotels with marketing muscle. There are no rules against jurors taking free stays, so those with big promotional budgets can draw dozens of influencers and media on familiarisation trips to help get the word out, creating a slew of eligible voters along the way. (Bloomberg accepts no such invitations.)

By contrast, even the best-travelled voters are unlikely to have gone on safari or explored the wilds of Patagonia in that recent period, leaving only a small minority of voters with the ability to cast votes for properties in off-the-beaten-track destinations.

In theory, a global panel of jurors should help, but none is required to cast even a single vote for hotels in his or her home region. 

In the 2024 black-tie ceremony at London’s Guildhall, awards for Highest New Entry, Most Admired Hotel Group and Highest Climber were doled out for the first time. They went to Raffles London at The OWO, Aman and Atlantis The Royal respectively. The latter, a US$1.2 billion (S$1.55 billion) investment from Kerzner International, climbed from No. 44 on the 2023 list to No. 9 now.

The Raffles London at The OWO is among the hotels that gain from a substantial marketing benefit – it has extraordinary publicity muscle behind it. But it is a worthy contender, opening last autumn after a US$1.76 billion renovation of a historic building that served as a base for British military operations throughout both World Wars.

The geographic distribution was also similarly unchanged. If in 2023 sub-Saharan Africa and South America were represented with one measly entry apiece, the 2024 list did only marginally better, with only two hotels in sub-Saharan Africa ranking (Singita Kruger National Park and Mount Nelson, a Belmond Hotel) and one in South America (the Rosewood Sao Paulo).

The rankings also speak to trending destinations. In the inaugural list in 2023, it was clear that the jury were among the many travellers thrilled to return to Asia in its long-awaited post-Covid-19 reopening. There were 18 hotels from the continent on the 2023 list.

In 2024, the centre of gravity remained firmly in Asia, where the weak yen has driven interest in Japan and the upcoming season of HBO series The White Lotus (2021 to present) has helped extend a travel boom in Thailand. The two countries claimed a total of seven hotels on the list, with Asia now claiming even more hotels than it did in 2023. 

The US also improved its standing. It has four entries – up from just two in 2023 – including a first-time recognition for The Carlyle hotel in New York City, the Four Seasons at The Surf Club in Miami and Dorchester Collection’s Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. 

Being on the list can be a game-changer not just for the hotels that rank, but also the destinations or brands they are from, says Ms Kristina Snaith-Lense, general manager of Hong Kong’s Upper House.

“It’s been a great story for Hong Kong – to highlight our recovery after Covid-19 after all the closures,” she says. 

The fact that Aman, Rosewood and Four Seasons collectively claimed 11 out of 50 spots adds lustre to all the hotels across those brands’ portfolios. Maybourne, Raffles, Oetker Collection and Dorchester Collection all performed well too, with multiple properties on the list.

But privately, some hoteliers admit it is stressful to retain their rankings, saying the accolade has become valuable for positioning their properties against the competition – and the presence of so many deeper-pocketed, branded properties makes it even harder for independent resorts to break through. 

Making it onto the list gives a great sense of pride, says Mr Vincent Billiard, managing director of the Parisian palace Hotel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel which, in 2024, ranked 15th. It is also an important marketing tool: “We have the plaque outside the hotel, write it on every letter we communicate, and it’ll be all over Instagram.”

For consumers, the list may be little more than a confirmation of their existing hotel bucket list. If the original goals of the World’s 50 Best list, according to its executives, were to spark discovery and media buzz, the 2024 list cements the fact that the former far outweighs the latter.

When asked if she was satisfied with the geographic diversity of the 2023 list – or concerned by the lack thereof – Ms Emma Sleight, head of content for World’s 50 Best Bars and Hotels, says “there are only 50 spots that we can call out”.

Asked again whether there was any interest in tweaking the voting system to make it more equitable, she argued that 50 Best is “not an arbiter of the list, but a reflection of the current travel industry”. 

She added that the company creates year-round content separate from the 50 Best list to give visibility to great hotels that do not make the cut via its Discovery platform, though it heavily features hotels, restaurants and bars in cities rather than remote locales.

Here is the list of the World’s 50 Best Hotels in full.

1. Capella Bangkok (The Best Hotel in Asia)

2. Passalacqua, Lake Como, Italy (Best Boutique Hotel Award)

3. Rosewood Hong Kong

4. Cheval Blanc Paris

5. The Upper House, Hong Kong

6. Raffles Singapore

7. Aman Tokyo

8. Soneva Fushi, Maldives (Lost Explorer Best Beach Hotel Award)

9. Atlantis The Royal, Dubai (Highest Climber Award) 

10. Nihi Sumba

11. Claridge’s, London

12. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

13. Raffles London at The OWO, London (Highest New Entry Award)

14. Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

15. Hotel de Crillon, Paris

16. Chable Yucatan, Chocola, Mexico (The Best Hotel in North America)

17. Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes, France

18. Belmond Maroma, Riviera Maya, Mexico (Flor de Cana Eco Hotel Award)

19. Four Seasons Firenze, Florence

20. Borgo Santandrea, Amalfi Coast, Italy

21. Desa Potato Head, Bali

22. Bulgari Tokyo (Nikka Best New Hotel Award)

23. The Lana, Dubai

24. Rosewood Sao Paulo (The Best Hotel in South America)

25. The Calile, Brisbane (The Best Hotel in Oceania)

26. The Siam, Bangkok

27. Park Hyatt Kyoto

28. Mount Nelson, Cape Town (The Best Hotel in Africa)

29. One&Only Mandarina, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico

30. The Carlyle, New York City

31. La Mamounia, Marrakech, Morocco

32. Four Seasons Madrid

33. Capella Singapore

34. Four Seasons at The Surf Club, Miami

35. Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles

36. Eden Rock, St Barths

37. Aman New York

38. Royal Mansour, Marrakech, Morocco (No. 3 Gin Art of Hospitality Award)

39. Amangalla, Sri Lanka

40. Le Bristol, Paris

41. Gleneagles, Scotland

42. Castello di Reschio, Umbria, Italy

43. Sujan Jawai, Rajasthan, India

44. Singita Kruger National Park, South Africa

45. Six Senses Zighy Bay, Oman

46. The Connaught, London

47. The Brando, Tetiaroa, French Polynesia

48. Hotel Esencia, Tulum, Mexico

49. The Tasman, Hobart, Australia

50. Kokomo Private Island, Fiji

This article was originally published in The Straits Times.