| 2008 World's Best Hotels |
| The Travel Snob circles the globe in his quest for the perfect hotel experience, and comes back with a list of the world's finest! |
For the better part of the 2000s, Simply the Best has strived to give
you the very best in hotel travel, from the grandest European resorts to the
trendiest Miami boutiques. It’s an ever-evolving process, with new
properties opening each year, existing ones offering multi-million dollar
renovations, and the quality pendulum perpetually swinging back and
fourth.
To that end, Travel Snob Jeremy Murphy, along with a worldwide
string of discerning correspondents, circle the globe each year in search of
the ultimate hotel experience. What we look for are destinations that create
memories, the kind you’ll cherish throughout your life, whether it’s a
marriage engagement on top of the Eiffel Tower or a safari deep in the
South African bush land.
Boiling down the top hotels is not a subjective process in the least, but
it’s an informed one based on years of bringing you the very best.
you the very best in hotel travel, from the grandest European resorts to the
trendiest Miami boutiques. It’s an ever-evolving process, with new
properties opening each year, existing ones offering multi-million dollar
renovations, and the quality pendulum perpetually swinging back and
fourth.
To that end, Travel Snob Jeremy Murphy, along with a worldwide
string of discerning correspondents, circle the globe each year in search of
the ultimate hotel experience. What we look for are destinations that create
memories, the kind you’ll cherish throughout your life, whether it’s a
marriage engagement on top of the Eiffel Tower or a safari deep in the
South African bush land.
Boiling down the top hotels is not a subjective process in the least, but
it’s an informed one based on years of bringing you the very best.
The Dorchester
Park Lane, London W1K 1QA, England
London’s hottest address, The Dorchester is where new money meets
old, providing they’ve made the requisite six months in advance reservation
for afternoon tea in its lobby Promenade. You’re just as likely to see Saudi
oil sheiks here reading The Times of London from high backed tucked
Divans at the hotel as you are Batman beating up his family. The Hyde
Park treasure brings a whole new meaning to decadence, with food, décor
and amenities that play on all the senses, eschewing staid luxury for
unabashed opulence. Its 250 luxury rooms and suites feature decors of
both English country charm and art deco chic, while its dining options run
the gamut from Alain Ducasse’s refined French cuisine by Executive Chef
Jocelyn Herland to the nouveau Cantonese menu at China at The
Dorchester, which has become a hot spot with London celebs like Kate
Moss (sans druggie ex Pete Doherty, who, thankfully, couldn’t get passed
the doormen even if he was conscious).
Park Lane, London W1K 1QA, England
London’s hottest address, The Dorchester is where new money meets
old, providing they’ve made the requisite six months in advance reservation
for afternoon tea in its lobby Promenade. You’re just as likely to see Saudi
oil sheiks here reading The Times of London from high backed tucked
Divans at the hotel as you are Batman beating up his family. The Hyde
Park treasure brings a whole new meaning to decadence, with food, décor
and amenities that play on all the senses, eschewing staid luxury for
unabashed opulence. Its 250 luxury rooms and suites feature decors of
both English country charm and art deco chic, while its dining options run
the gamut from Alain Ducasse’s refined French cuisine by Executive Chef
Jocelyn Herland to the nouveau Cantonese menu at China at The
Dorchester, which has become a hot spot with London celebs like Kate
Moss (sans druggie ex Pete Doherty, who, thankfully, couldn’t get passed
the doormen even if he was conscious).
The Ritz Paris
15, Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
Is it possible to feel like a star when you’re amongst the likes
of Lagerfeld, Valentino and Wintour? If you’re staying at The Ritz
Paris, the answer is yes. What is easily the world’s most famous
hotel also it’s most fabulous, as evidenced by its claim to Paris
Couture Week when it hosts all the fashion world’s top designers,
journalists and celebrities. It’s also where Coco Chanel lived
during the Nazi occupation (when she had a steamy tryst with a
German military officer, that saucy little minx). And while the Louis
XIV and XV reproductions, 18th century clocks, brocade drapes,
marble fireplaces and brass beds are a little ostentatious (not to
mention the prices, which would make Mohammad al Fayed blush
… if he didn’t own the place), it’s downright impossible not to get
caught up in the excitement as you walk through the hotel’s dimly-
lit lobby, soaking up its history, window shopping through its
dramatic display case corridor, or ordering a drink from Colin
Field at the Bar Hemingway. Located off Paris’ Place Vendôme
square, The Ritz Paris has been catering to the crème de la
crème of international society since Cesar Ritz first opened the
property in 1898 and continues to set the standard for modern
day glamour.
15, Place Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
Is it possible to feel like a star when you’re amongst the likes
of Lagerfeld, Valentino and Wintour? If you’re staying at The Ritz
Paris, the answer is yes. What is easily the world’s most famous
hotel also it’s most fabulous, as evidenced by its claim to Paris
Couture Week when it hosts all the fashion world’s top designers,
journalists and celebrities. It’s also where Coco Chanel lived
during the Nazi occupation (when she had a steamy tryst with a
German military officer, that saucy little minx). And while the Louis
XIV and XV reproductions, 18th century clocks, brocade drapes,
marble fireplaces and brass beds are a little ostentatious (not to
mention the prices, which would make Mohammad al Fayed blush
… if he didn’t own the place), it’s downright impossible not to get
caught up in the excitement as you walk through the hotel’s dimly-
lit lobby, soaking up its history, window shopping through its
dramatic display case corridor, or ordering a drink from Colin
Field at the Bar Hemingway. Located off Paris’ Place Vendôme
square, The Ritz Paris has been catering to the crème de la
crème of international society since Cesar Ritz first opened the
property in 1898 and continues to set the standard for modern
day glamour.
Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris
8, Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris, France
No trip to the City of Light is complete without a visit to its most
fashionable address, the Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris, a 188-room
boutique situated at “the crossroads of fashion, entertainment and
business.” Since 1911 it’s catered to more of a discerning clientele
who forgo the bigger brands for a more refined, Parisian experience.
And that is what Hotel Plaza Athénée does better than anyone else,
from its Louis XVI and Art Deco-styled guest rooms and suites, where
no two are alike, to its haute chic bar and restaurants to its signature
scarlet awning, warm plaza red color scheme, terracotta wares and
gold and bronzes décor. The hotel radiates elegance and charm
from every corner, and offers incredible views of avenue Montaigne
and Eiffel Tower. With Alain Ducasse in the lobby and Paris’ most in-
demand mixologist Thierry Hernandez serving drinks at Le Bar du
Plaza Athénée, the hotel had no trouble luring Carrie Bradshaw for
Sex and the City’s HBO swan-song, and you’ll no doubt feel the same
attraction, too. But hopefully your lover won’t leave you at the altar
for the inevitable follow-up.
8, Avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris, France
No trip to the City of Light is complete without a visit to its most
fashionable address, the Hotel Plaza Athénée Paris, a 188-room
boutique situated at “the crossroads of fashion, entertainment and
business.” Since 1911 it’s catered to more of a discerning clientele
who forgo the bigger brands for a more refined, Parisian experience.
And that is what Hotel Plaza Athénée does better than anyone else,
from its Louis XVI and Art Deco-styled guest rooms and suites, where
no two are alike, to its haute chic bar and restaurants to its signature
scarlet awning, warm plaza red color scheme, terracotta wares and
gold and bronzes décor. The hotel radiates elegance and charm
from every corner, and offers incredible views of avenue Montaigne
and Eiffel Tower. With Alain Ducasse in the lobby and Paris’ most in-
demand mixologist Thierry Hernandez serving drinks at Le Bar du
Plaza Athénée, the hotel had no trouble luring Carrie Bradshaw for
Sex and the City’s HBO swan-song, and you’ll no doubt feel the same
attraction, too. But hopefully your lover won’t leave you at the altar
for the inevitable follow-up.
| See List continued HERE |