Attentive service can make all the difference in your hotel stay. Here are the top-rated spots.
1. Jade Mountain, St. Lucia 100.00
2. Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, Cedar Mountains, South Africa 99.17
3. The Goring, London 98.68
4. Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya 98.61
4. Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 98.61
6. Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so 98.44
7. Eagle Island Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana 98.33
7. Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore, India 98.33
9. Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence, Egypt 98.21
9. Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India 98.21
1. Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, South Carolina 97.92
2. Inn at Manitou, McKellar, Ontario 97.79
3. Inn at Little Washington, Washington, Virginia 97.50
4. Cloister at Sea Island, Georgia 97.09
5. Amangani, Jackson, Wyoming 97.06
6. Peninsula Beverly Hills, California 95.59
6. Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, Alberta 95.59
8. Little Nell, Aspen, Colorado 95.31
9. Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas 95.00
9. The Wauwinet, Nantucket, Massachusetts 95.00
1. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii 95.77
2. Halekulani, Honolulu 95.00
3. Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea 93.31
4. Kahala Hotel & Resort, Honolulu 91.07
5. Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, Maui 90.99
6. Four Seasons Resort Lanai, the Lodge at Koele 90.91
7. Hotel Hāna-Maui & Honua Spa, Maui 90.79
8. Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Hawaii 90.00
9. Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui 89.35
10. Four Seasons Resort Lanai at Manele Bay 88.89
1. Esperanza Resort, Cabo San Lucas 97.48
2. Rosewood Mayakobá, Riviera Maya 95.46
3. La Casa Que Canta, Zihuatanejo 93.06
4. Hotel Villa Rolandi Thalasso Spa—Gourmet & Beach Club, Isla Mujeres 91.67
5. Ritz-Carlton Cancún, 91.41
6. Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita 91.02
7. Four Seasons Hotel México, D.F., Mexico City 90.97
8. Las Ventanas al Paraíso, A Rosewood Resort, Los Cabos 89.44
9. One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos 88.83
10. Tides Zihuatanejo 88.73
1. Jade Mountain, St. Lucia 100.00
2. Eden Rock, St. Bart’s 94.05
3. Couples Negril, Jamaica 93.80
4. Anse Chastanet Resort, St. Lucia 92.86
5. Couples Swept Away, Negril, Jamaica 92.79
6. Royal Plantation Spa & Golf Resort, Ocho Rios, Jamaica 92.50
7. Couples Tower Isle, Ocho Rios, Jamaica 92.06
8. Couples Sans Souci, Ocho Rios, Jamaica 89.67
9. Four Seasons Resort, Nevis 89.09
10. Jumby Bay, A Rosewood Resort, Antigua 88.64
1. Four Seasons Resort, Carmelo, Uruguay 96.05 Great Value
1. Palacio Duhau, Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires 96.05
3. Explora Patagonia, Torres del Paine, Chile 93.75
4. Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires 92.92
5. Victoria House, Ambergris Cay, Belize 92.39 Great Value
6. Hotel Monasterio, Cuzco, Peru 91.43
7. Four Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires 90.63
8. Hotel Oro Verde, Guayaquil, Ecuador 90.28 Great Value
9. Blancaneaux Lodge, San Ignacio, Belize 90.00 Great Value
10. Turtle Inn, Placencia, Belize 89.77
Great Value: Denotes a hotel with a rack rate of $250 or less.
1. The Goring, London 98.68
2. Domaine des Hauts de Loire, Onzain, France 96.43 Great Value
3. Ceylan InterContinental, Istanbul 95.75
4. Il San Pietro di Positano, Italy 95.18
5. Le Royal, Luxembourg 95.00
6. Marriott Hotel, Budapest 94.77 Great Value
7. Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski, Munich 94.44
8. Four Seasons Hotel, Prague 93.86
9. Cliveden, Toplow, England 93.75
9. La Posta Vecchia, Ladispoli, Italy 93.75
1. Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so 98.44
2. Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore, India 98.33
3. Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India 98.21
4. Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai, Thailand 97.50
5. Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Chiang Saen, Thailand 96.88
6. Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, India 96.67
7. Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok 96.63
8. Peninsula Hong Kong 95.98
9. Evason Ana Mandara & Six Senses Spa, Nha Trang, Vietnam 95.83
10. Amankora Paro, Bhutan 95.31
1. Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve & Wellness Retreat, Cedar Mountains, South Africa 99.17
2. Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya 98.61
2. Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sands, South Africa 98.61
4. Eagle Island Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana 98.33
5. Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at the First Residence, Egypt 98.21
6. Governors’ Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya 97.22
6. Royal Malewane, Kruger National Park, South Africa 97.22
8. Saxon Boutique Hotel & Spa, Johannesburg, South Africa 96.43
9. Singita Sabi Sand, Kruger National Park, South Africa 96.35
10. Kirawira Luxury Tented Camp Western Seregenti, Tanzania 95.63
1. Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, New Zealand 95.00
2. Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Te Awanga, New Zealand 94.44
3. Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa, Katoomba, Australia 92.11
4. The Langham, Melbourne 91.03
5. Observatory Hotel, Sydney 90.79
6. InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, French Polynesia 90.63
7. Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand 88.24
8. Lizard Island, (formerly Voyages Lizard Island), Great Barrier Reef, Australia 87.50
9. Park Hyatt, Sydney 87.29
10. Hayman Island Resort, Great Barrier Reef, Australia 87.00
What does quality service look like? Here, T+L reader and World’s Best Awards Sweepstakes winner David Danzig of Atlanta shares the highlights of his five-day stay at St. Lucia’s Jade Mountain, the No. 1 hotel for service overall.
The Request: A seamless check-in
The Experience: When we arrived we were greeted by a staffer with a lime juice drink and then immediately whisked away to one of the 29 ocean-view sanctuaries. A wireless phone connected us to our majordomo, who—we were told—could be reached at any time.
The Request: Post-beach relaxation
The Experience: Shuttles are available, but we opted to walk more than 100 stairs up from the sand to the room. We arrived to find that the Jacuzzi tub had been drawn with bath salts and rose petals were strewn across the bed.
The Request: A sunset boat ride around the Piton Mountains
The Experience: We weren’t interested in prepackaged outings, so the hotel booked a personal guided tour. We visited the island’s eastern coastline and took a detour to the village of Soufrière for an introduction to the local culture.
The Request: A romantic evening to remember
The Experience: Though we inquired about a beach bonfire, it was impossible because of fire restrictions. But the hotel arranged a candlelit dinner of calypso-marinated kingfish and a customized chocolate cake served next to our private plunge pool.
The Takeaway: In a region where island spirit often equals slow or spotty attention, hotel service at Jade Mountain was flawless. A+ for charm and attention to detail.
Methodology: Rankings are based on reader evaluations collected in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards survey. For hotels, scores are indexed averages of evaluations for the characteristic “Service.” Readers were asked to rate candidates on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 means “Excellent” and 1 means “Poor.” Scores are rounded to the nearest hundredth of a point; in the event of an exact tie, properties or companies share a ranking. For the full survey methodology, go to TravelandLeisure.com/worldsbest.
