Check-in and check it out
Brunch|December 30, 2023
Michelin-starred food, suites steeped in history, rooms that face the future. Here are some of the world's best hotels of 2023
VIR SANGHVI
Check-in and check it out

All of us look for different things when we stay in hotels. If you are like me, a comfort factor is an advantage hard to explain. For instance, though I must have stayed in most of London's great hotels, these days I always book myself into the Taj-run 51 Buckingham Gate. It is where I feel the most comfortable, because of the excellence of the service; the Tajness of the hotel.

In Mumbai, the ITC Maratha cannot call itself the best in a city that also has the grand, original Taj and the elegant Oberoi. But the Maratha is a hotel with such warm and efficient service that I always feel at home.

Bear this in mind when you read this list of best hotels I stayed in, in 2023. (To keep the numbers down, I have eliminated all Indian hotels so this is a list of hotels around the world.)

The Four Seasons, Florence.

This one appears on most lists of best hotels. It is stunningly beautiful, and consists of two separate buildings and a huge, art-filled private garden in the centre of Florence. One used to be a medieval monastery. The other is a centuries-old palazzo. My room in the palazzo may well be the most stunning bedroom I have ever slept in. The walls were full of original frescos. Service standards are impossibly high too.

Atlantis, The Royal, Dubai.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 30, 2023 من Brunch.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 30, 2023 من Brunch.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من BRUNCH مشاهدة الكل
Hitting the wrong note
Brunch

Hitting the wrong note

Even hitmakers can have epic fails. Here are 10 bands that named themselves in haste, only to repent at leisure

time-read
3 mins  |
May 18, 2024
A walk to remember
Brunch

A walk to remember

As India celebrates 25 years of Fashion Week, here's your front-row seat to the first edition, in 2000. The models, the designs, the gossip, the backstage drama, and those after-parties!

time-read
5 mins  |
May 18, 2024
Before the tea gets cold
Brunch

Before the tea gets cold

Sudhir Patwardhan's paintings show a Mumbai that viewers may find familiar. But look closer. The details tell new tales, trigger universal questions

time-read
2 mins  |
May 18, 2024
Who's the third world now?
Brunch

Who's the third world now?

There was a time when Egypt or Lagos were considered lawless lands. Now one has to be on guard in London and Paris

time-read
2 mins  |
May 18, 2024
Spice routes and detours
Brunch

Spice routes and detours

More and more countries are discovering that packaged Indian spices are contaminated. Back home, they're so convenient and trusted, we didn't think to look closer. It's time to rework this recipe

time-read
3 mins  |
May 18, 2024
Murder, she rewrote
Brunch

Murder, she rewrote

What's better than a woman detective? A team of two. New shows and films are making the most of the partnership, giving crime drama and comedy an edge

time-read
2 mins  |
May 18, 2024
What broth this on?
Brunch

What broth this on?

Hopeless ramentic? Slurp up this guide and order the best bowl, every time

time-read
3 mins  |
May 18, 2024
Unconventional habits
Brunch

Unconventional habits

There's so much more to nuns and convent education than what shows up on screen. Why do the cliches persist?

time-read
2 mins  |
May 18, 2024
Photos or pulp fictions?
Brunch

Photos or pulp fictions?

Gauri Gill's portraits showcase ordinary folks, doing ordinary things, but wearing extraordinary masks. See why the quirky series offers more than what meets the eye

time-read
2 mins  |
May 04, 2024
Hear it from a reliable sauce
Brunch

Hear it from a reliable sauce

Kikkoman launched a dark soya sauce for the Indian market after realising that Indians expect Chinese and pan-Asian dishes to have a rich, dark colour. It mimics the taste profile of the flagship Kikkoman soya but has a different colour.

time-read
3 mins  |
May 04, 2024