Skip to footer

Get out of town: the world's 10 best-reviewed hotels

The world's 10 best hotels according to Expedia range from a boutique in Slovakia to a chain in Nebraska. Only 4 of the world's 10 best hotels are in the US, in cities you might not expect.

|
PRNewsFoto/Hilton Garden Inn/File
A Hilton Garden Inn Salt Lake City is shown in this undated file photo. A Hilton Garden Inn in Aberdeen, Scotland, was ranked one of the world's 10 best hotels, according to Expedia reviewers. (PRNewsFoto/Hilton Garden Inn)
  • By Brandon Ballenger Contirbutor

Want the best possible value on a hotel room? Pack your bags, you’re going to…southwestern Slovakia.

Recently, we wrote about how travel site Orbitz is in the news for showing Mac users more expensive hotel rooms than Windows users. Its competitor Expedia just released a list of the World’s Best-Reviewed Hotels, based mostly on user input last year – and only three of the top 10 are in the United States.

Before we get to the top picks, here’s some of the stats Expedia offered about the hotels on its list…

  • World-class. The top 650 hotels are spread across 295 cities in 74 countries – with 28 percent in the States, 25 percent in Europe, 19 percent in Asia, and 3 percent in South America. The “elsewhere” category represents 25 percent, but Expedia doesn’t say where that is. Africa? Antarctica?
  • Fancy doesn’t mean best. Only 35 percent of the hotels are categorized as “luxury.”
  • Green is growing. Expedia says “green/sustainable” hotels had “an outsized presence” on this year’s list – 17 percent.
  • Running hot and cold. There are 11 “ski-friendly” hotels, and 116 “beach hotels,” with more of the latter in Mexico than the United States.
  • Pack light. Just 87 hotels on the list are “family friendly” – that’s about 13 percent.

And here are the 10 hotels topping the list. Since Expedia only gives names, stars, and locations, we poked around their sites to hazard a guess why these top the list.

1. Marrol’s Boutique Hotel (5 stars, Bratislava, Slovakia)

A luxury hotel in a colonial-style historical building. Free breakfast buffet, gym, newspaper, and Internet. Egyptian cotton sheets. And 46 activities onsite or nearby, including rafting, skydiving, snowboarding, hunting, and helicopter rides. Price: $120/night for a queen bed this weekend (with a free welcome drink).

2. Hotel Al Codega (4 stars, Venice, Italy)

It’s in the middle of Venice – “200 metres from St. Mark’s Square and 300 metres from Rialto Bridge,” in “traditional style with antique furnishings and wooden floors.” Enough said, right? Free breakfast, free newspaper, but no free Internet. Price: About $180/night for a king or two twins, but booked solid for at least the next three weekends.

3. Hotel Royal Corin (4 stars, Costa Rica)

A romantic destination…next to a volcano that’s visible from your private balcony. Free breakfast, Internet, parking, and newspaper. Price: $263/night for a king bed, sold out this weekend.

4. Hilton Garden Inn Aberdeen (4 stars, Aberdeen, Scotland)

“Scotland’s 3rd largest city features an enchanting granite skyline, a fantastic range of shops and restaurants and a vibrant night-life, while the city’s Old Town has a magical air of times gone by.”

5. Four Seasons Miami (5 stars, Miami, Florida)

It’s 36 miles from Money Talks News HQ, but far closer to Biscayne Bay (visible from some rooms), Mary Brickell Village, the American Airlines Arena (the Miami Heat’s court), and Miami Art Museum. Marble bathrooms, Egyptian cotton sheets. Pets allowed, and lots of water and sports activities nearby. Price: $269/night for a city-view room this weekend.

6. Madison Hotel Hamburg (4.5 stars, Hamburg/Hanover, Germany)

Short walk to the harbor, St. Michaelis Church, or the subway, and within walking distance of the historic warehouse district. Free Internet and newspaper. Price: $174/night for a king or double bed this weekend.

7. Element Omaha Midtown Crossing (3 stars, Omaha, Nebraska)

It’s 5 minutes from downtown Omaha and the most popular zoo in America. Nearby golf and mountain biking. In the “green/sustainable” category. Free breakfast, airport shuttle, and Wi-Fi. Price: $179 Saturday and $119 Sunday for a king bed this weekend.

8. Sonnenalp Resort of Vail (4.5 stars, Vail-Beaver Creek, Colorado)

One of the “ski-friendly” hotels – close to Betty Ford Alpine Gardens and Vail Ski Resort, as well as Gerald Ford Amphitheater. Free Internet and newspaper. Price: one king or two double beds for $325 Saturday or $300 Sunday this weekend.

9. Taj Lands End (5 stars, Mumbai, India)

Right on the water in Mumbai’s suburban Bandra district, also in the “green/sustainable” category. Contemporary style with marble bathrooms. Nearby golf. Free parking, breakfast, and newspaper. Price: $164/night for a king bed this weekend.

10. Mr. C Beverly Hills (5 stars, Los Angeles, California)

A luxury hotel half a mile from Rodeo Drive; 7 miles from Santa Monica. Marble bathrooms and private balconies. Free newspaper, Internet, and use of an iPad or Macbook. Dozens of activities nearby. Price: sold out this weekend; $320 next weekend for a king bed.

Brandon Ballenger is a writer for Money Talks News, a consumer/personal finance TV news feature that airs in about 80 cities as well as around the Web. This column first appeared in Money Talks News.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Get out of town: the world's 10 best-reviewed hotels
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Saving-Money/2012/0712/Get-out-of-town-the-world-s-10-best-reviewed-hotels
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe