The 50 Best Hotels awards are back for their fourth year, and Asia has come out swinging. Chosen by a panel of more than 800 hoteliers, journalists and seasoned travellers, with Deloitte checking the maths, the 2026 list puts 18 hotels in Asia – seven of them inside the top 10. Europe isn't far behind with 21 entries, and London lands four hotels on the list.
Rosewood Hong Kong holds the number one spot for a second consecutive year, while Bangkok claims positions two and three with Capella and the Four Seasons at Chao Phraya River.
The Independent's editors picked out the entries they've actually slept in and would happily return to. In Beijing, the Mandarin Oriental Qianmen (number 6) hides 42 courtyard suites down historic hutong alleyways, where neighbours play mahjong on the street and a Michelin-starred Chaozhou and Cantonese restaurant, Yan Garden, anchors the food offering. Florence's Four Seasons Firenze (number 12) takes a louder approach to luxury: a former Medici palace stacked with original Renaissance frescoes, 121 velvet-and-gold-leaf rooms, a two-Michelin-starred restaurant and the city's largest private gardens – all a 15-minute walk from the centre.
Sydney's Capella, set in a restored Edwardian Baroque government building, blends heritage marble staircases with Aboriginal art and a spa worth lingering in. In Marrakech, Royal Mansour (number 33) was personally overseen by King Mohammed VI: 53 earthen riads arranged like a medina square, each with a private courtyard and rooftop plunge pool, served by staff who move through underground tunnels. Chefs Massimiliano Alajmo and Hélène Darroze run the two headline restaurants.
The wildcard is Nihi Sumba (number 35) on a remote Indonesian island an hour's flight from Bali. Horses run along golden-sand beaches, the spa is reached on foot or horseback with ocean views from the treatment table, and a friendly reef break makes it a sleeper hit for amateur surfers. Villas blend into the wilderness rather than walling it off.
Why does this list matter for holiday planning? Because it's less a brand leaderboard (though Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and Peninsula all feature) and more a shortlist of properties vetted by people who stay in hotels for a living. This year leans towards city boltholes over island resorts, so if you want a genuinely exceptional room in a major city – Sydney, Florence, Beijing, Hong Kong – this is a good starting point. For anyone chasing somewhere harder to reach, Sumba is the entry that justifies the extra flights.