Top 7 Best Hotels And Resorts In The World: The Gold List 2024

South Africa's Simondium has a Babylonstoren

What is Babylonstoren's biggest strength? There isn't a hotel-like atmosphere. Driving through fruit trees and vines off the dusty Cape roads gets you there. Grapes and peaches are being hauled by tractors as they pass.

The eatery is housed in a former cowshed. Ducks stroll along. Children can pet the snout of a donkey. It is a location where you feel right at home (albeit one surrounded by the towering Simonsberg Mountains, rolling vineyards, and miles of fragrant indigenous fynbos shrubland). This is largely due to the fact that the 500-acre 17th-century Cape Dutch estate still serves as a residence. It belonged to Karen Roos, the former editor of South African Elle Decoration, who spent years cultivating an eight-acre formal garden with more than 300 different varieties of edible and medicinal plants and then wanted to share it with others. The garden was designed by Patrice Taravella.

Tanzania's Asilia Jabali Ridge is in Ruaha

The second-largest protected wilderness area in Tanzania, the Ruaha National Park is one of those hidden treasures that safari insiders prefer to keep to themselves. It is filled with big baobab trees and hills scattered with enormous rocks.This small camp, which has one of Africa's most beautiful bush pools, is tucked away among them on a kopje overlooking plains abundant with wildlife and the seasonal Mwagusi River.

The eight creatively designed rooms at the lodge, some of which are situated so that you can observe passing elephants from your hammock and others which are perched among balancing boulders where tiny rock hyraxes sunbathe, were designed by Cape Town artist Caline Williams-Wynn. She has cleverly created them to be as luxurious as they are eco-friendly. For example, they are roofed with shade-giving branches, walled with pale floor to ceiling shutters that don't block views but do let in the breeze, and furnished with sculptural wooden furniture and linens that are bush-colored and printed with local plants. Typically, guests begin their evening with a herb-infused cocktail as the sun sets, move on to a flame-cooked supper in a lamp-lit boma, and, on special occasions, close with a moonlit performance by the captivating staff choir. This is all followed by a powerful massage using the indigenous marula oil.

Rwanda's Singita Kwitonda Lodge is in Musanze.

Singita Kwitonda is the only lodge bordering Volcanoes National Park and is the closest to park headquarters, with a mission as audacious as its architecture. Arriving here is like falling into the comforting hug of nimble service. You don't have to worry about anything, from the nutritional food in your day pack to the hiking equipment waiting for you; everything is taken care of so you can focus on meeting gorillas, who share 98 percent of your DNA.

Large baths serve as in-room spas with massage tables for therapists to ease post-trek muscle fatigue. Kwitonda's soft-edged décor celebrate local crafts and rooms provide vistas of the volcanic peaks poking through the mists of the cloud forest. Yoga, village visits, or environmental hikes organised by conservationists who will discuss the benefits of rewilding are excellent ways to occupy downtime: More than 250,000 trees, bushes, and orchids have already been planted as part of Singita's forestry efforts. Nothing surpasses dining with friends over braised short rib, risotto, and garden greens while observing culinary school grads from Singita's new community culinary school being mentored by seasoned chefs.

Tel Aviv's The Jaffa, a Luxury Collection Hotel

My first journey to Tel Aviv was inspired by a single image. It wasn't a picture of roller skaters with sun-kissed tans thronging the boardwalk. Neither was it those stunning white Bauhaus structures illuminating the city's central business district.No, it was a photograph of the inside of The Chapel lounge at The Jaffa, a former convent with stained-glass windows that British designer John Pawson transformed into a time-warping wonder.

The expansive ceilings, painted a powder blue and trimmed with Neoclassical embellishments, the Italian Botolo chairs in mustard velvet, and the marble-topped altar turned bar are all much more striking in person. The other areas of the hotel are also influenced by this old-meets-new design concept, from the colonnaded walkways that encircle the citrus-scented courtyard, where the all-day deli Golda's serves bagels, lox, and shakshuka, to the worn-out plastered ceilings of my suite in the 19th-century former hospital wing, which has a bathroom hidden inside a futuristic-looking mirror box. I thought it was a good metaphor for the gentrification that is taking place right outside the lobby, where Jaffa, south of central Tel Aviv, has become one of Israel's most avant-garde creative hotspots.

Oman's The Chedi in Muscat

The elegant shrine of tranquillity that is The Chedi Muscat was still a bit of an anomaly when my first visit there in 2004. The Chedi had its job cut out for it trying to appeal to the flamboyant preferences of the Middle Eastern market in a Sultanate where five-star treatment was given to outré displays of Rococo grandeur.Fortunately, the company's entry into the area was a complete success. After twenty years, The Chedi has amassed a devoted following of local and foreign visitors who come here specifically to avoid being spotted.

Even the lobby hints to the reason. There is silence beneath its elegantly canopied roof, which pays homage to Oman's Bedouin past. The absence of background noise and other distractions sets the stage for what is to come: an engulfing tranquilly where the daily soundtrack is the steady burble of classic water features meandering through 21 acres of well maintained lawns. Teak and cool linen are often used in the 162 rooms and suites, which are distinguished by the tranquil symmetry of Omani and Asian style. Even the large main diner, whose elaborately carved mashrabiya screens create an illusion of chic intimacy, is peaceful. All six restaurants feature Omani seafood as their main course, and one of them has a bull's-eye view of the magnificent 338-foot Long Pool. Torches shine light on the dark Arabian sky as dusk falls; once more, the only sounds are the lapping of the waves on the shore. From $535. Starla Rosato

Dubai's One&Only Royal Mirage

One&Only Royal Mirage consistently upholds its high standards at a time when luxury hotels appear to be cutting out on minor details they believe visitors won't notice.It all adds up to a satisfying sense of opulence, from small touches like fresh flowers in the rooms to thoughtful extras like iced fruit by the pool and a cleaning service for sunglasses. The intuitive service in the marbled foyer anticipates your every need without ever being overly attentive or obtrusive (to welcoming gong chimes as you enter).

The original Palace's classical domes and arches beautifully outshone the royal family's adjacent beach houses when it first appeared in 1998 on the emirate's Jumeirah Beach. Its footprint has grown to incorporate the Arabian Court and Residence & Spa, but despite this, there is a natural sense of openness and seclusion, probably aided by the 65 acres of painstakingly landscaped grounds.

Dubai's Jumeirah Al Qasr

I never imagined falling so deeply in love with Jumeirah Al Qasr. This marble-clad, gold-encrusted castle is the antithesis of the less-is-more aesthetic that I, a self-described sophisticate, normally like. It is located at the centre of Jumeirah's multi-resort beach enclave. But shortly after arriving, I had already fallen for its arabesque dream, and by the following morning, I thought of myself as a true royal. When you have a staff army at the ready to serve you mint tea at the drop of a hat or when you float through the resort's maze-like canals in an abra boat, it's impossible not to feel like a princeling.

Explore the passageways, which have mashrabiya latticework and columns with Arabian influences, or go to one of the more than 50 cafés, bars, and restaurants located throughout the palm-tufted complex, which can satisfy any whim. With bathrooms complete with marble tubs, the accommodations are also suitable for a sheikh.