Hotels have been hard hit this year with restrictions placed in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Travel Awards recognize the best of tourism and hospitality every year. The awards will now be presented in Antalya, Turkey at the end of October, this year delayed due to the pandemic.
A few luxurious hotels have left me with such an overwhelming feeling that I have made them one of my most unforgettable voyages ever. So, here is my Top 5 list of the most luxurious and fantastic luxury hotels in the world (and I highly recommend to put them on your bucket list as well).
World Top 5 Hotels You Should Visit in 2021
Magashi (Wilderness Safaris) — Akagera, Rwanda
Magashi starts to impress with the first bottle of sparkling tree-tomato juice. Wilderness Safaris, an ecotourism company’s new opening, disrupts the misconception that Rwanda is merely a destination for luxurious primate trekking, and gives tourists a head seat to see the return of a single savannah habitat, Akagera National Park, in which the large number of mammals in the last decade has flown from 4,000 to 14,000. There’s a lot to wow visitors who have unique personal, unhurried Big Five sightings by boat or personalised vehicles inside a lush exclusive concession. Six solar-powered tents, with king-size beds wrapped romantically in pink mosquito nets, hug Lake Rwanyakazinga. Abundance, with family-style lunches and triple dinners from indigenous ingredients and culture, is a motif which is immersed in cuisine. When night falls around the fire pit, the G&Ts and Virunga Mist beers fuel the breathless tale of the day’s encounters—and generate anticipation for the next. Doubles of $470 per person.
Al Bait Sharjah — Sharjah, United Arab Emirate
A camel-milk soak in an isolated brass bath? It’s a storey now. Similar unforgettable memories abound at Al-Bait Sharjah, who has recently opened up the smaller and more conventional neighbouring emirat in Dubai, a part of the Leading Hotels in the World. The 53 guest rooms of the hotel are scattered over houses of the 19th century, once owned by leading families — like the Perl Trading Clan from the Al Shamsi. They are all rooms: four poster beds with pine, heavy wafer-cakes and dates; low majlis seats to allow you sit with a cup of saffron. The rooms are as if they were displaying themselves. In both restaurants you can sample camels, which are braised over 24 hours, with fantastic foods such as kangaroo and katsu. Travel to the nearby postsea museum to learn the history of Sharjah or to wind through the same alleys and related souks that once hosted Bedouin merchants in camelback. The hotel will drive you by Mercedes if you want to see anything. Al-Bait in Arabic means ‘home;’ you feel at home at Al-Bait Sharjah, but you are going to live as a king. Twice in $323.
Taj Rishikesh Resort & Spa — Uttarakhand, India
In Hindu mythology, the ground surrounding it is called blessed as a river bends and flows back to its source. The Taj Rishikesh was favourable from the beginning of this measure. The serenity of the wood-and-slate constructs of the Taj, flanked by a dramatic Rajaji Forest on the foothills of the Himalayas, which houses 79 quarters, are situated on the hillside on the Gangster Sands. At this point, not far from the glacial source of the riot and up 25 miles, it is new and lush. The Beatles found awareness in 1968. It is the sacred yet chaotic city of Rishikesh.
Soneva Fushi – Maldives
In Baa Atoll, UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, the first Maldives ‘Robinson Crusoe’ hideaway, Soneva Fushi is situated on a private tropical Kunfunadhoo island. The island is one of the largest islands in the Maldives, measuring 1400 m (4 600 ft) in length and 400 m (1300 ft) in breadth. The extraordinarily rich flora of the island provides a special natural environment apart from the crystal-clear seas, the white beaches and the tropical atmosphere. The thick tropics are covered in huge, multi- bedroom, luxurious fairytale villas and private residences. Many are designed to imitate tree houses, in line with the castaway theme. They all have private sugar white sands and others have private seawater swimming pools. Mr/Ms Friday Butlers who know what you want before you want it have intuitive service.
Soneva Kiri – Thailand
Soneva Kiri is on Thailand’s fourth largest yet less inhabited island, Koh Kood, a distant and one-hour flight away from Bangkok on the resort’s private plane. Soneva Kiri is one of the world’s most exclusive tourism destinations, offering an incomparable mix of luxury and eco conscious architecture. The 36 resort villas (11 of them private) are among the world’s biggest. Located on the idyllic beach, or on the sunny hills in a rainforest, they all feature a beautiful infinity swimming pools, improbably trendy furnishings. The highlights are the outdoor film Paradiso, the Mangrove Restaurant in Benz, the chocolate and ice cream salon, the kids’ cake and the astonishing dining pod Treetop.