Best Hotels in the World: The 2026 Top 25, Scored on Forbes and MICHELIN
The best hotels in the world, scored by how many of three 2026 honours each holds: World's 50 Best Hotels top 25, Forbes Five-Star and three MICHELIN Keys, with the method shown.
At a glance
Best hotels in the world: the 2026 picture
- World's best hotel
- Rosewood Hong Kong
- No. 1 on The World's 50 Best Hotels 2026 list, the50.com
- Hotels holding all three honours
- 10 of 25
- 50 Best top 25, Forbes Five-Star 2026 and three MICHELIN Keys 2026
- Forbes Five-Star in the top 25
- 12 of 25
- Counted from forbestravelguide.com/award-winners against the top 25 of the 50 Best 2026 list
- Three MICHELIN Keys worldwide
- 155 hotels
- MICHELIN Guide 2026 Key selection, announced September 18, 2026
The best hotels in the world, by the lists that matter most, start with Rosewood Hong Kong, No. 1 on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2026 list. Ten of the top 25 on that list also hold Forbes Five-Star status and three MICHELIN Keys, led by Capella Bangkok at No. 2 and Atlantis The Royal in Dubai at No. 4.
Most “best hotel” lists give you opinion and no ranks. This one takes the top 25 of the 50 Best 2026 list, checks each hotel against the Forbes Travel Guide and MICHELIN Key 2026 results, and shows the score.
How We Ranked the Best Hotels in the World
We built the table from one ranked list, then checked each hotel against two inspection-based ones. We take no payment for placement, and no hotel on this page paid to be there.
The Three Lists and What Each Measures
The World’s 50 Best Hotels is a ranked vote. Its 2026 edition was revealed in Paris on September 15, 2026, per Wallpaper. Forbes Travel Guide grades a hotel Five-Star, Four-Star or Recommended after inspection; its 2026 Star Awards, announced in February 2026, cover 343 Five-Star hotels, per the PR Newswire release carried by Hospitality Net. MICHELIN gives hotels one to three Keys; the 2026 selection, announced September 18, 2026, counts 2,832 Key hotels, 155 of them with Three Keys, per MICHELIN.
Scoring: One Point per Honour, Tie-Break by 50 Best Rank
A hotel gets one point for being in the top 25 of the 50 Best 2026 list, one for Forbes Five-Star status on the 2026 award-winners page, and one for three MICHELIN Keys in the 2026 selection. Ties are broken by the hotel’s 50 Best rank. Every hotel in the table already has the first point, so the score runs from 1 to 3.
What This Misses
Three things. It covers only the 50 Best top 25, so a Forbes Five-Star hotel outside it cannot appear; Royal Mansour in Marrakech, at No. 26, is one. Entry rates are not in the table, because a nightly rate without a date and a hotel booking page is not worth printing. And a vote and an inspection measure different things. Read the points as a screen for the strongest names, not a verdict.
The 25 Best Hotels in the World
Forbes status is from the Forbes Travel Guide award-winners page (2026). Three Keys are from the MICHELIN Guide 2026 Key selection, as listed by En Primeur Club and cross-checked against the hotels MICHELIN names in its own article of October 1, 2026.
| Rank | Hotel | City | 50 Best 2026 | Forbes 2026 | MICHELIN 2026 | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capella Bangkok | Bangkok | No. 2 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 2 | Atlantis The Royal | Dubai | No. 4 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 3 | Mandarin Oriental Qianmen | Beijing | No. 7 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 4 | Mandarin Oriental Bangkok | Bangkok | No. 10 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 5 | Four Seasons Firenze | Florence | No. 12 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 6 | Claridge’s | London | No. 13 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 7 | Raffles Singapore | Singapore | No. 17 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 8 | Le Bristol Paris | Paris | No. 19 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 9 | Cheval Blanc Paris | Paris | No. 20 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 10 | Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo | Tokyo | No. 24 | Five-Star | Three Keys | 3 |
| 11 | Rosewood Hong Kong | Hong Kong | No. 1 | Recommended | Three Keys | 2 |
| 12 | Passalacqua | Lake Como | No. 5 | Not Five-Star | Three Keys | 2 |
| 13 | Rosewood São Paulo | São Paulo | No. 6 | Recommended | Three Keys | 2 |
| 14 | Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel | Paris | No. 14 | Five-Star | Below Three Keys | 2 |
| 15 | Casa Maria Luigia | Modena | No. 18 | Not Five-Star | Three Keys | 2 |
| 16 | One&Only Mandarina | Riviera Nayarit | No. 23 | Four-Star | Three Keys | 2 |
| 17 | Las Ventanas al Paraíso, A Rosewood Resort | Los Cabos | No. 25 | Five-Star | Below Three Keys | 2 |
| 18 | Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River | Bangkok | No. 3 | Not Five-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
| 19 | The Upper House | Hong Kong | No. 8 | Four-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
| 20 | Chablé Yucatán | Chocholá | No. 9 | Not Five-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
| 21 | Aman Tokyo | Tokyo | No. 11 | Four-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
| 22 | Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab | Dubai | No. 15 | Not Five-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
| 23 | Capella Sydney | Sydney | No. 16 | Four-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
| 24 | Desa Potato Head | Bali | No. 21 | Not Five-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
| 25 | San Ysidro Ranch | Santa Barbara | No. 22 | Four-Star | Below Three Keys | 1 |
Sources: the50.com (50 Best 2026 list); forbestravelguide.com/award-winners (2026); MICHELIN Guide (October 1, 2026 article and September 18, 2026 release); En Primeur Club (2026 list of Three Key hotels). “Not Five-Star” means the hotel is absent from the Five-Star entries on the Forbes page; “Below Three Keys” means it is absent from the 155-hotel Three Key list.
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The Top 10, One by One
Capella Bangkok, Bangkok. No. 2 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and one of the hotels MICHELIN names as a new Three Key in 2026. It is the highest-ranked hotel in the table to hold all three honours.
Atlantis The Royal, Dubai. No. 4 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star, and the only Three Key hotel in the UAE in 2026, per Gulf News. For the suite end of the market, see the most expensive hotels in the world.
Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing. No. 7 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and a new Three Key hotel in 2026, per MICHELIN. Mandarin Oriental’s Wangfujing hotel in the same city is also on the Forbes Five-Star list.
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Bangkok. No. 10 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and Three Keys, which puts three Bangkok hotels in the 50 Best top 10: Capella, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental.
Four Seasons Firenze, Florence. No. 12 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and Three Keys, the only Florence hotel in the table.
Claridge’s, London. No. 13 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and Three Keys. London’s other entry on the 50 Best list is Raffles London at The OWO, at No. 28.
Raffles Singapore, Singapore. No. 17 on the 50 Best 2026 list. Forbes lists it as Raffles Hotel Singapore among its Five-Star hotels, and MICHELIN gives it Three Keys.
Le Bristol Paris. No. 19 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and Three Keys.
Cheval Blanc Paris. No. 20 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and Three Keys.
Bvlgari Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo. No. 24 on the 50 Best 2026 list, Forbes Five-Star and Three Keys. Tokyo’s other table entry is Aman Tokyo at No. 11, which the Forbes page lists at Four-Star.
Where the Three Lists Disagree
The most useful rows are the ones that split. Rosewood Hong Kong is No. 1 on the 50 Best vote and holds Three Keys, but the Forbes page lists it as Recommended, while seven other Hong Kong hotels, among them The Peninsula Hong Kong and Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, are Five-Star. Rosewood São Paulo is the same story: No. 6 on the vote and Three Keys, Recommended on Forbes. One&Only Mandarina is Four-Star at Forbes and Three Keys at MICHELIN.
The reverse also happens. Hôtel de Crillon and Las Ventanas al Paraíso are Forbes Five-Star and top 25 on the vote, but absent from the Three Key list. Read a split as a difference in what is measured: Forbes grades service against its inspection standards, MICHELIN judges the stay and the property, and the 50 Best is a vote of industry voters.
Best Luxury Resorts in the World
Resorts are harder to rank from awards because the lists mix city hotels and beach properties. From the table, the resort-style entries are Las Ventanas al Paraíso in Los Cabos (No. 25, Forbes Five-Star), Chablé Yucatán in Chocholá (No. 9), One&Only Mandarina in Riviera Nayarit (No. 23, Three Keys) and Desa Potato Head in Bali (No. 21). Atlantis The Royal, a top scorer overall, is a beach hotel on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.
For a resort-only ranking built on what you pay and how you get there, see our guide to the best resorts in Maldives.
How to Compare Resorts Fairly
Compare resorts on what the rate includes, not on the headline number. Check the transfer, the meal plan and any taxes or service charges before you compare. The same logic applies to the hotel table above: a Five-Star grade tells you about service, not value.
Best Hotels in the World by Region
The table above, grouped by where the hotels are.
Europe
Claridge’s in London (No. 13), Four Seasons Firenze in Florence (No. 12) and Le Bristol Paris (No. 19) all hold Forbes Five-Star, Three Keys and a top 25 place. Passalacqua on Lake Como (No. 5) and Casa Maria Luigia in Modena (No. 18) hold Three Keys and a place on the vote.
Asia
Capella Bangkok (No. 2), Mandarin Oriental Qianmen in Beijing (No. 7), Mandarin Oriental Bangkok (No. 10) and Raffles Singapore (No. 17) lead the Asian entries with all three honours. Rosewood Hong Kong, No. 1 overall, is here too.
Americas
Las Ventanas al Paraíso (No. 25) is the only Forbes Five-Star hotel from the Americas in the table. Chablé Yucatán (No. 9), Rosewood São Paulo (No. 6), One&Only Mandarina (No. 23) and San Ysidro Ranch (No. 22) hold 50 Best places.
Africa and the Middle East
Atlantis The Royal (No. 4) and Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab (No. 15) are the Dubai entries. Royal Mansour in Marrakech is at No. 26 on the vote, just outside the top 25, and is on the Forbes Five-Star list.
Are 5-Star Ratings the Same Everywhere?
No. A five-star hotel is not a Forbes Five-Star hotel. The three systems used here measure different things: the 50 Best is a ranked vote, Forbes is an inspection with a Five-Star, Four-Star and Recommended scale, and MICHELIN gives Keys. For how the Forbes grade works and which hotels hold it, see Forbes Five-Star hotels.
If you are comparing brands rather than single hotels, our luxury hotel brands guide covers the groups behind them, and the luxury hotels hub collects the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the number one hotel in the world?
- Rosewood Hong Kong is No. 1 on The World's 50 Best Hotels 2026 list, revealed in Paris in September 2026. Capella Bangkok is No. 2 and Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River is No. 3.
- What are the top 10 hotels in the world in 2026?
- Per The World's 50 Best Hotels 2026: Rosewood Hong Kong, Capella Bangkok, Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, Atlantis The Royal, Passalacqua, Rosewood São Paulo, Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, The Upper House, Chablé Yucatán and Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.
- Which hotels have three MICHELIN Keys?
- 155 hotels hold Three Keys in the 2026 selection, announced September 18, 2026. They include Atlantis The Royal in Dubai, Capella Bangkok, Rosewood Hong Kong, Claridge's, Soneva Secret in the Maldives, Airelles Palladio in Venice and Hotel Sacher Wien. The full list is on the MICHELIN Guide site.
- What is the difference between a 5-star and a Forbes Five-Star hotel?
- A five-star label can come from a national scheme or from the hotel itself. Forbes Five-Star is a grade from Forbes Travel Guide's own inspections, awarded each year on its award-winners page, with Four-Star and Recommended below it.
- How much does a night at one of the best hotels in the world cost?
- There is no single price, because rates vary by date and room. Check the hotel's own booking page for your dates, and expect the suite rates in our guide to the most expensive hotels to be far higher than an entry room.
Sources
- The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2026 list: https://www.the50.com/hotels/list/1-50
- Wallpaper, “Who claimed a place in The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2026?”: https://www.wallpaper.com/travel/hotels/the-worlds-50-best-hotels-2026-list
- Forbes Travel Guide award winners: https://www.forbestravelguide.com/award-winners
- Forbes Travel Guide Reveals 2026 Star Awards (PR Newswire release), Hospitality Net: https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4130845.html
- MICHELIN, 2026 MICHELIN Key selection: https://www.michelin.com/en/publications/products-and-services/michelin-guide-2026-michelin-key-selection
- MICHELIN Guide, every Three MICHELIN Key hotel: https://guide.michelin.com/en/article/travel/every-three-michelin-key-hotel-best-world
- En Primeur Club, 2026 MICHELIN 3 Keys: https://www.enprimeurclub.com/lists/2026-michelin-3-keys
- Gulf News, Atlantis The Royal remains the UAE’s only Three Key hotel: https://gulfnews.com/uae/25-uae-hotels-in-dubai-abu-dhabi-and-ras-al-khaimah-named-michelin-key-winners-1.500680381
