Two Australian hotels have been recognised in the coveted World’s 50 Best Hotels list by a global academy of well-travelled experts in the hotel and travel industry, with new entry Capella Sydney named Best Hotel in Oceania.

Capella Sydney, operated by high-end Singapore-based Capella Hotels and Resorts group, ranked No.12 this year, with the former top-ranking Australian hotel for two years running, Brisbane’s The Calile, sliding down the list nine places to No.34.

The best hotels for 2025 were announced at a ceremony at London’s Old Billingsgate on Thursday, with luxury Chinese hotel Rosewood Hong Kong finally taking out the number one spot after featuring in the top three since the awards’ inception in 2023.

It is the third edition of the annual hotel rankings for the 50 Best group, known for its annual global top-50 restaurants and bars lists. Compiled by UK-based company William Reed Business Media, the hotel rankings’ debut in 2023 was the group’s first global launch since turning its attention to bars in 2009.

The Thai capital made a splash this year with two hotels in the top three, and three in the top 10. Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River came in second place, while last year’s No.1 Capella Bangkok followed in third, with Mandarin Oriental Bangkok rounding out the city list at No.7.

Capella Sydney’s general manager, Marc von Arnim, said the team was “humbled and proud to be part of this extraordinary list of the world’s finest hotels”.

Since launching in 2023, Capella Sydney has quickly established itself as one of the city’s most luxurious properties.

The 192-room, $300 million hotel in the heart of Sydney’s heritage “sandstone precinct”, set within the early 1900s Edwardian baroque former NSW Department of Education building, spared no expense in its thoughtful restoration and reimagining of the property, with art-studded interiors, a luxury spa, indoor rooftop pool and luxury touches like standalone bathtubs.

For dining and drinking, the street level has three places for guests and the public to congregate: Aperture, Brasserie 1930 and McRae Bar. The adjacent Lands by Capella in the historic Department of Lands building is currently under construction by Capella’s developer arm, Pontiac, and set to open as an events space in February. It plans to house eateries, bars and boutiques.

NSW and Queensland weren’t the only Australian states to receive a 50 Best nod. Baillie Lodges’ ultra-luxury all-inclusive retreat, Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, was named the American Express Travel “One To Watch” last month.

The award marks a turning point for the property, which was destroyed in the January 2020 bushfires and reopened a year ago following a long, painstaking clearing and rebuilding process.

Hobart’s Marriott-run The Tasman, which ranked No.49 in 2024, didn’t make this year’s top-50 list.

Beyond the top-50 rankings, some properties received special awards, with another former winner, Italy’s Passalacqua in Lake Como (No.4), named Best Boutique Hotel for a second year; Desa Potato Head Bali took out the Eco Hotel Award; Mandarin Oriental Qianmen in Beijing (No.14) was singled out for the Nikka Best New Hotel Award; and Atlantis The Royal in Dubai (No.6) was named Best Beach Hotel.

The academy chair position for the Oceania region, which includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia, is held by Melbourne-based food and travel critic Michael Harden, but it’s not known how many of the jurors voting in the awards are Australian or Oceania-based.

The World’s 50 Best Hotels rankings are based on the votes of a collective of 580 jurors spanning nine geographical regions and comprising hoteliers, travel journalists, hotel educators and seasoned luxury travellers. Panel members submit seven votes, in order of preference, based on stays over a two-year period ending in April 2024.

The World’s 50 Best lists have been criticised for favouring European venues and demonstrating a lack of diversity, though measures have been taken to address some of these shortfalls, including mandating a 50/50 gender balance among jurors.

Any hotel is eligible; there is no essential criterion for a property to qualify for a vote, and hotels aren’t required to “pay to play”.

The World’s 50 Best Hotels for 2025

1. Rosewood Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2. Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, Bangkok
3. Capella Bangkok, Bangkok
4. Passalacqua, Lake Como
5. Raffles Singapore, Singapore
6. Atlantis The Royal, Dubai
7. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Bangkok
8. Chablé Yucatán, Chocholá
9. Four Seasons Firenze, Florence
10. Upper House Hong Kong, Hong Kong
11. Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro
12. Capella Sydney, Sydney
13. Royal Mansour, Marrakech
14. Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing
15. Bulgari Tokyo, Tokyo
16. Claridge’s, London
17. Four Seasons Astir Palace, Athens
18. Desa Potato Head, Bali
19. Le Bristol, Paris
20. Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, Dubai
21. Cheval Blanc Paris, Paris
22. Bulgari Roma, Rome
23. Hôtel de Crillon, Paris
24. Rosewood São Paulo, São Paulo
25. Aman Tokyo, Tokyo
26. Hotel Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole
27. Hôtel du Couvent, Nice
28. Soneva Fushi, Maldives
29. The Connaught, London
30. La Mamounia, Marrakech
31. Raffles London at The OWO, London
32. The Emory, London
33. Maroma, Riviera Maya
34. The Calile, Brisbane
35. The Lana, Dubai
36. Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monaco
37. Janu Tokyo, Tokyo
38. The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
39. One&Only Mandarina, Riviera Nayarit
40. Singita – Kruger National Park, Kruger National Park
41. Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, Hong Kong
42. Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles
43. The Mark, New York
44. Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Los Cabos
45. The Tokyo Edition Toranomon, Tokyo
46. Hotel The Mitsui, Kyoto
47. Estelle Manor, Witney
48. Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, Rovinj
49. Hotel Sacher Vienna, Vienna
50. Mandapa, Bali