Cradle Mountain Lodge among Lonely Planet’s top hotels

CRADLE Mountain Lodge has been given a “top 10” accolade in Lonely Planet’s first ever collection of the world’s best places to stay.

Cradle Mountain Lodge offers luxury in the wilderness. Image courtesy of Cradle Mountain

TWO Australian tourist spots have grabbed “top 10” accolades in Lonely Planet’s first ever collection of the world’s best places to stay.

Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge is fifth in the travel guide's “Extraordinary” category, and Sydney Harbour YHA has snared second spot in the "Best Value" list.

Lonely Planet authors around the world nominated places to stay in three categories before an expert panel selected the winners.

The resulting list of top hotels takes in accommodation from the United Arab Emirates to the Ukraine and from budget to high end.

In the extraordinary places to stay category the top three hotels were Mihir Gahr, Rajasthan, India; Planet Baobab, Gweta, Botswana and Prendiparte B&B, Bologna, Italy.

Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge grabbed its top 5 placing, just behind Qasr Al Sarab, UAE.

Lonely Planet says a stay at Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge “plunges you into the heart of Tasmania’s wilderness, with luxury that feels as organic as your surrounds”.

Writer Anita Isalska says: “Wildlife is best viewed from an outdoor hot tub. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to be exhausted by long hikes in the national park and even I enjoyed Cradle Mountain’s dramatic weather. But the thrill of spotting echidnas and pademelons from the silky waters of a private hot tub is hard to forget.”

See all Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Extraordinary hotels and read more about them.