Bhutan’s Gangtey Lodge.

$$ | 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards Gold List Awards 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2024
Travel-weary visitors are welcomed at Gangtey Lodge with a five-minute massage, a hot towel, sweet tea by the fire, and a welcome song so moving that it brought our group to tears. Khin Omar Win, who co-owns the lodge with spouse Brett Melzer, says, “We wanted to create something for the backpackers who now want a little more luxury.” Personalized meals, as well as quiet, space, and a feeling of being surrounded by the kind personnel that look out for your every need, are all examples of luxury here. starting at $700. —Anna Prendergast

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In 2023, three exciting new hotels will open.

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India’s Taj Falaknuma Palace

$$$ | 2020 and 2025 Gold Lists 2017 and 2018 Readers’ Choice AwardsBefore it fell into ruin for decades, Hyderabad’s famed Taj Falaknuma Palace, with its dreamlike murals, Corinthian columns, and Ostler chandeliers, had been a favorite home of the reigning nizam, one of whom was memorably portrayed as the “Richest Man in the World” on a 1937 Time magazine cover. From a childhood visit when it was still closed and covered in cobwebs to innumerable private dinner parties, afternoon teas, qawwali concerts on the gardens at sunset, and a memorable 75th birthday celebration for my father last winter—complete with a flute serenade of “Happy Birthday” at breakfast under the stained-glass dome of the Gol Bungalow terrace—the hilltop aerie has been a mainstay of my yearly vacations in Hyderabad. Falaknuma will always have a particular place in my heart because of the unique manner it vividly captures Hyderabad’s rich history and customs. starting at $450. —Sarah Khan

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Being polite The Dwarika’s Hotel

Nepal’s The Dwarika’s Hotel $$ | Gold List 2025

When he ignited the boutique-hotel revolution in the mid-1980s, Ian Schrager may have popularized lobby socializing, but at Dwarika’s, the courtyard is the focal point. Birdsong serves as the soundtrack, creating the impression that you are in a hidden walled garden, a haven of peace away from the bustle of Kathmandu. The hotel was progressively put together using pillars, windows, and eaves that Dwarika Das Shrestha saved, making it a testament to old Newari architecture as well as a wonder of conservation. Currently serving as CEO of Dwarika’s Group of Hotels and Resorts, grandson René is carrying on the initiative. With yoga classes on the rooftop, a swimming pool encircled by sculptured serpents, and some of the greatest momo dumplings in Nepal, the property is more than just a museum exhibit; it’s a fully immersive and evocative microcosm of the Kathmandu Valley. starting at $410. —Rick Jordan

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The Aman Kyoto Japan Hotel

Thanks to the Aman Kyoto Hotel
Japan’s Aman Kyoto
$$$ | 2025 Hot List Gold List 2020, 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards
Calm. timeless. Escapist. It’s also pleasantly uncrowded. At Aman Kyoto, the primary characters are nature and its most minute changes. The hotel is located in a peaceful northeastern part of the old city, surrounded by cascading hillside woods, and at its core is an ethereal “secret garden” that veers between wild and cultivated. While strolling along the moss-covered stone walkways or unwinding in the serene simplicity of the 24 apartments, mindfulness is necessary. The lodgings, which are housed in sleek black wood pavilions created by Kerry Hill, include tatami flooring, ceramic abstractions, hinoki baths, and windows that provide haiku-inspiring vistas. The simplicity of the home is what makes it luxurious: Imagine a little onsen surrounded by boulders in place of a swimming pool, together with spa services infused with a feeling of the holy and the staff’s perceptive omotenashi friendliness. From the modern land-to-table cuisine at the Living Pavilion to the painstaking kaiseki workmanship at Taka-an, food is addressed with equal respect. Overall? The ideal location for recuperating from Kyoto temple exhaustion—and reestablishing a connection with the present. starting at $2,675. —Danielle Demetriou

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Thailand Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel
The Mandarin Oriental hotel in Bangkok, courtesy of George Apostolidis

Thailand’s Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

$$$ | 2019 Gold List, 2020, 2023, and 2025 In 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, the Readers’ Choice Awards
After a period, some hotels lose their appeal. Others, such as Bangkok’s Mandarin Oriental, only improve with time. Despite being existed since 1876, this Southeast Asian hideout doesn’t seem stuck in the past. Regular renovations have kept it looking immaculate, and a constantly changing selection of around a dozen eateries—including the traditional Thai eatery Baan Phraya and the modern Kinu by chef Takagi Kazuo—keep an eye on Bangkok’s eating scene. The spa is still in a class by itself, offering massages laced with CBD oil, cold baths, and rubdowns made with plants from the Isan area in northeast Thailand. They just no longer produce them in this manner. starting at $650.