The World's 50 Best Hotels awards have named The Calile the No.1 Aussie hotel

The Calile continues to work its magic around the world winning the best hotel in Oceania for the second year running, at the prestigious The World's 50 Best Hotels awards.

Kerry Parnell

@KerryParnell

2 min read

September 18, 2024 - 9:54AM

Lifestyle

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Held in a lavish ceremony at London’s Guildhall and attended by all 50 winners from all over the globe, The Calile came in at a solid number 25, ahead of another new Australian entry, Hobart’s The Tasman, at 49. It had moved down slightly, from its position at number 12, last year.

The Australian hotel that made the world’s top 20

And while the best hotel in Europe gong was once again taken by Italy’s Passalacqua, this year the boutique hotel on Lake Como slipped down one spot to number two.

Passalacqua came in as Europe's no.1 hotel

Having topped the awards in its inaugural year, last year, the much-lauded hotel made way for another boutique hotel, Capella Bangkok, to take the crown. The 101-room hotel overlooking Thailand’s Chao Phraya River, only opened in 2020 and rose 10 places from last year, when it also won best new hotel of the year.

See also: Best hotels in Bangkok, Thailand

Capella Bangkok got the gong for best hotel in the world

Other entries from the top 10 included two hotels from Hong Kong - Rosewood and The Upper House, at three and five, respectively, plus Raffles Singapore at number six.

Brisbane's The Calile hotel came 25th in the global rankings and No.1 for Oceania.

The best beach hotel in the world went to the Maldives’ Soneva Fushi, for the second year running and Bulgari Tokyo was awarded best new hotel.

The Maldives' Soneva Fushi was awarded best beach hotel in the world

Overall, it was a good year for Asia, which swept the board with hotels, taking home 19 gongs, overtaking last year’s winner, Europe, which this year received 13 entries. France, Italy and the UK were equally represented, with Paris and London’s grand dames once again doing well and dominating the awards. Cheval Blanc Paris took home the fourth spot, Hôtel de Crillon, came in at number 15 and Le Bristol, placed at 40.

Cheval Blanc Paris came fourth

In London, Claridge’s came in at 11, The Connaught at 46 and there was a new entry from the high-profile launch of Raffles London at The OWO, which ranked number 13. Surprisingly, Peninsula London did not feature, along with Claridge’s and The Connaught’s flashy new sister hotel, The Emory.

The World’s 50 Best Hotels awards organisers take pains to explain they use a voting “academy” of 600 industry experts to pick the winners and hotels do not nominate themselves. So it makes winning that bit more special, according to the triumphant hoteliers, who had flown in from all over the globe for the event and headed off to an after-party into the early hours.

Claridge’s in London came 11th

John Blanco, GM of Capella Bangkok said he was numb at taking the top spot. “It was just so unexpected,” he said. “It is so flattering and such an honour. We were happy just to be invited back. For a small brand like Capella, in a big competitive destination, it’s just such a wonderful recognition for our people.”

With more uber-luxury hotels launching all the time, what makes Capella the top hotel in the world? According to the judges, it’s “a rare oasis in the middle of Thailand’s bustling capital, offering world-class service while retaining the intimacy and personality of a boutique hotel”. According to the GM, it’s all about the staff and the guests. Any hotel is only as good as its last guest’s experience, John says. “We focus on creating emotions and experiences for people and giving them a true Thai experience.” It’s clearly working.