The 50: the ranking of the world’s best hotels unveiled in Paris

Il Capella Bangkok.

Among the Italian entries, Passalacqua on Lake Como once again stands out, coming fifth, and has also won the Best Boutique Hotel Award for the third year running. “Surprises, like dreams, never end,” says Valentina De Santis, hugging her team as soon as she steps off the stage. What does this award mean? “Even our first win, back in 2023, was a moment that was hard to put into words – such an unexpected joy. But, along with the happiness, a question also arose: how could we live up to all this? We found the answer by looking within ourselves. We simply had to continue being true to ourselves, believing in our very personal idea of hospitality, in the warmth of a home, in the little details, and in the beauty of authentic things. ‘We will always be grateful to The 50 for helping us become what we are today, and it confirms that when something comes from the heart and is driven by perseverance and passion, it can go much further than one could ever imagine,’ continues De Santis.  

L’hotel Passalacqua.

In a landscape dominated by large and powerful international groups (though, for the record, the voters – 800 worldwide – are deliberately anonymous to rule out any possibility of influencing the results), it is encouraging to see boutique hotels also making their mark, independent, family-run establishments with fewer than 50 rooms, perhaps run by the younger generation, such as Passalacqua, or, in the case of Casa Maria Luigia, by a restaurateur who has turned his hand to the hotel business. The latter, in Modena, is the new entry for 2026, ranked eighteenth, owned by Massimo Bottura and his wife, the entrepreneur Lara Gilmore. “Ours is truly a home, where we have applied the same importance, attention, care, quality, hospitality and the same level of service that we have always upheld in the restaurant business,” says Gilmore, visibly moved after receiving the award. Casa Maria Luigia was also awarded the Lavazza Highest New Entry Award.

Foto di gruppo durante il The Worlds’s 50 Best Hotels.

The other Italian hotels ranked amongst the top 50 in the world are the Four Seasons Florence (No. 12), the Bvlgari Rome (No. 32), Portrait Milan (No. 39) and San Domenico Palace in Taormina, also part of the Four Seasons group (No. 50). “The strong European presence and the ten new entries – Casa Maria Luigia, San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, The Peninsula Istanbul, Patina Osaka, Portrait Milan, Plaza Athénée in Paris, Amangiri at Canyon Point, The Peninsula Hong Kong, Aman Nai Lert in Bangkok and the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in Taormina – are testament to a dynamic, diverse and competitive hotel landscape,” comments Faye Huggett, director of community at The 50 Best Hotels.

The figures also speak for themselves: although global growth is slowing, as conflicts, high fuel prices and security concerns continue to affect tourist flows, 2026 marks an important milestone for the global travel industry: international arrivals are estimated to reach 2.78 billion, accompanied by total spending in excess of 2,000 billion dollars, both figures exceeding the levels recorded before the pandemic, in 2019. ‘At the top end of the market, high-net-worth travellers (with liquid financial assets exceeding $130,000) spend on average around $2,000 per person per night, a figure 6.2 times the global average. Of this expenditure, around $540 is spent on hotels, for trips lasting an average of eight nights,” explains Eleonor White of Tourism Economics. In 2026, the United States, with 151.3 million international departures, tops the ranking of the largest outbound markets, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, China and France. However, it is China that shows the most significant growth potential: by 2030, the number of overseas trips by Chinese citizens is expected to increase by 64 million, a rise almost three times greater than that forecast for the other major international markets.

Asia observes, inspires and, above all, travels. And hotels around the world are adapting, continually redefining the standards of excellence. The 50 Best celebrates them for the impact they make and the extraordinary services they offer their guests. Making it onto the list is an achievement and a source of inspiration for the entire sector.