Luxury boutique hotels and 5 star design hotels +300 Boutique hotels

Track down the perfect vacation experience at the leading hotels of the world

Like all the best luxury brands worldwide, luxury hotels provide sumptuous rooms that are just as much a part of the destination as the resorts they are located in. All of the top luxury destinations around the globe, from Paris, France, to San Francisco, offer exceptional hospitality that guests can experience from the get-go. There are five-star hotels all over the globe, some in coastal resorts and some in cities, and all of them would make fine choices. You can easily search for your preferred property type and hotel style from Mexico to the Cayman Islands and from Australia to Sri Lanka. Use the tick boxes to select features like meeting rooms or a garden, for example. There again, you might want to search by location or by hotel type, such as hotels that offer apartments and suites, not just rooms. When it comes to choosing from the leading hotels of the world, there are plenty of choices, after all. Bear in mind, too, that when you have chosen well, it might not even matter where in the world you are because your hotel will be such a central part of the vacation experience that you may never want to leave it!

What amenities can you expect of a small luxury hotel?

This will differ from hotel to hotel. A smaller hotel with a five-star rating in San Marco, Venice, will probably not have a large outdoor pool to swim in, given the historic nature of the city, of course. There again, even small luxury hotels in more modern resorts will often have both indoor and outdoor pool facilities so they can offer year-round services. In other words, it is best to check on our website before you book if you want a certain service to be on offer. That said, most five-star boutique access hotels have similar features, such as spa facilities, quality dining services, both in the hotel restaurant and room service, plus around-the-clock concierge services, to name but three. Typically, you will find that small luxury hotels will provide access to a nearby spa if they don't have one in-house. There again, they're often located close to high-quality restaurants, even if they are too small to have their own one.

Are five-star hotels distinct from luxury establishments?

Many four-star hotels can be described – quite fairly – as luxury establishments. When you book a grand hotel in Paris or a boutique hotel in New York City, for example, you can expect a well-proportioned room and attentive staff, whether it has four or five stars. The number of stars a luxury hotel has won't necessarily tell you everything, however. Check website reviews to see what others thought of the hotel and how many stars they would award it. This may differ, of course, from the official award depending on their visitor experience. Another good guide is to read reviews in a tourist guide for the city or resort. Although this won't tell you everything about what you can expect from your stay, it will indicate how good the service is likely to be. Sometimes, the only difference between a four-star hotel and a five-star one comes down to the restaurant's quality and has nothing to do with the room sizes, number of suites, or the standard of service on offer.

What makes luxury hotels higher quality?

Although amenities like hotel gyms, spa facilities, restaurant menus, and swimming pool facilities often lead to a five-star rating, this won't always indicate what the rooms are like. In a top luxury hotel, you should expect a very comfortable bed with sufficient covers and pillows to make your overnight stay as peaceful as possible. Luxury hotel rooms tend to be a bit bigger than standard ones. In terms of services, you should expect things like complimentary Wi-Fi, TV, drink-making facilities, and a well-kept bathroom. In city Relais Chateaux hotels, for example, you may need to pay a little extra for secure Wi-Fi if you plan on doing any business during your stay, but most luxury rooms offer internet access through the hotel's website, which is more than enough for the average traveler on vacation. Additionally, the high quality of deluxe hotel rooms is often noticeable in the furnishings. Features like rosewood writing desks or similar tend to set these sorts of rooms out from standard ones, sometimes even in the same hotel.

Why does a high rating mean you'll be staying in a leading hotel of the world?

Whether you are a lone traveler looking for hotels with a high degree of luxury or you're on vacation with other guests, including friends and family members, what you should always be seeking is a high rating. When a hotel has such a high rating, guests can be sure that the amenities and service will be up to scratch. No hotel can claim such high accolades and awards without them. Bear in mind, too, that a luxury hotel may not always charge more than a standard one. Depending on whether it is the high season or not, you may be able to find a superior property to stay in at the same or lower price, so it is always worth shopping around before you book and not just reading hotel reviews to give you insights. Our luxury and five-star hotel listings give you access to more than your fair share of great places to stay, so award yourself a little luxury and book into one of the planet's leading luxury hotel brands or find a one-off boutique luxury room you'll feel pampered in.