For the second year, the founders of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants and World’s 50 Best Bars lists have turned their attention to the most fabulous places to stay around the globe. And this year, it’s the Capella Bangkok (Thailand) that comes away as the best hotel on Earth. The Capella is among a cluster of new riverside resorts in Bangkok that has skyrocketed the city’s luxury quotient.
Every one of its rooms has a view of the Chao Praya River, and dining venues include a French gastronomic restaurant by Mauro Colagreco and the waterfront Phra Nakhon, which has become something of a legendary brunch scene for chic locals and visitors alike. Its pool is so densely surrounded by lush vegetation, it almost feels like instant transport to one of the Thai islands. The title of “World’s Best”, however, is a subjective one, rather than a scientific determination.
To arrive at its results, the team asks its 600 anonymous jurors to rank the seven best hotels they’ve stayed in over the last 18 months. It’s a system that necessarily favours easy-to-reach destinations, big cities and new hotels with marketing muscle: There are no rules against jurors taking free stays, so those with big promotional budgets can draw dozens of influencers and media on familiarisation trips to help get the word out, creating a slew of eligible voters along the way. By contrast, even the best-travelled voters are unlikely to have gone on safari or explored the wilds of Patagonia in that .
