Rosewood Hong Kong named world's best hotel once again

Being the best once is an achievement, but two years in a row? That means you are doing something right. Rosewood Hong Kong may once again call itself the best hotel in the world. And that is not only down to the spectacular view or the impressive interiors. What makes this hotel so special?

The 50 Best Hotels ranking is compiled by an international Academy of more than 800 experts. The group consists of travel journalists, hoteliers and experienced luxury travellers, spread across thirteen regions. Each jury member casts seven votes for hotels where they have actually stayed in the past three years. Hotels cannot register themselves, and there is no fixed set of criteria covering, for example, stars, price level, number of rooms or facilities. Ultimately, it comes down to the complete experience that has stayed with the jury.

It is precisely here that Rosewood Hong Kong appears to stand out. The hotel opened in 2019 in Kowloon and has 419 rooms and suites in a 270-metre-tall tower. At such a scale, impersonality is never far away, yet according to The 50 Best Hotels, Rosewood achieves the opposite. A team of around 1,200 staff ensures that the service feels more like that of a much smaller hotel. This lies not in grand gestures alone, but in details: personal welcome gifts, art created specifically for the rooms, and staff who notice guests' preferences before being asked.

Beyond the rooms, the hotel is almost a destination in its own right. There are eleven restaurants and bars, including the Cantonese The Legacy House and the Indian CHAAT, both of which hold a Michelin star. In addition, Rosewood has Asaya Spa by Guerlain, and a large part of the hotel looks out over Victoria Harbour. The interiors by designer Tony Chi combine a modern look with references to Hong Kong, giving the sizeable building a striking warm and intimate character.

The ranking also reflects a broader development in the hotel world. Luxury is less and less defined solely by marble, champagne or square metres. The difference is increasingly made by how well a hotel understands its guest. Rosewood cites examples such as a staff member who notices that contact lenses are nearly used up and arranges new ones, or who has a nearly empty perfume bottle replaced. Small interventions, but exactly the kind of attention that makes a stay personal.

That Asia plays an important role in this is also evident from the rest of the list. Capella Bangkok placed second, and Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River placed third. In total, eighteen Asian hotels appear in the top 50. Europe still has the most entries with 21 places, but at the top, the benchmark is currently being set emphatically in Asia.