Passalacqua, an intimate, five-star boutique hotel on Lake Como, has been named the world鈥檚 best hotel in a new ranking overseen by William Reed Ltd, a multimedia company known for its annual roundups of the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 best鈥 bars and restaurants.
The announcement came on September 19 during a ceremony at Guildhall in London that brought together travel industry insiders from around the world.
Three other Italian accommodations secured spots: the Four Seasons Florence (#9), the Aman Venice (#14) and Le Sirenuse in Positano (#20).
Put another way? 20% of the top 20 hotels in the world are in 天美传媒 鈥 at least according to this particular jury.
Passalacqua, which only opened in June 2022, is owned and operated by the DeSantis family, and has earned a reputation for feeling like a (very extravagant) private home. Occupying a villa that once hosted guests as illustrious as Vincenzo Bellini and Napoleon Bonaparte, Passalacqua hugs the banks of the glassy-calm Lake Como, offering lucky guests stunning views from its tiered gardens.
Offering his congratulations, Managing Director for The World鈥檚 50 Best Hotels Tim Brooke-Webb called the win 鈥渁 true testament to the vision of the DeSantis family, who have created this sublime sanctuary for guests with painstaking devotion to design detail, exquisite hospitality and distinctive magic.鈥
The DeSantis family are also the proprietors of another Lake Como icon, the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, which didn鈥檛 make the list 鈥 this year, anyway. (Open since 1910, it hardly needs an introduction, having been immortalized on and offscreen by 1932, when Greta Garbo called it 鈥渢hat happy, sunny place鈥 in Grand Hotel.)
About the World鈥檚 50 Best Hotels
The 2023 list of the World鈥檚 50 Best Hotels is the first of its kind from William Reed Ltd, and comprises hotels from 35 destinations across six continents. Hotels were voted on by a group of 580 independent figures with expertise in the hospitality sector 鈥 50% travel journalists, 30% hoteliers and 20% 鈥渟easoned luxury travelers.鈥
While the guide aims to be a definitive authority in the travel space, its organizers duly note that superlatives are always subjective. In contrast to the carefully regulated voting process 鈥 which involved a 50/50 gender split, anonymity and a zero-tolerance policy for pay-to-play attempts 鈥 what constituted 鈥渂est鈥 was left nebulous. Industry experts were trusted to come up with their own criteria and definitions.
William Reed Ltd has been publishing the 鈥渂est of鈥 list for restaurants since 2002 and for bars since 2009, but this is their first foray into the travel game.
Brooke-Webb said that after the devastating impact of COVID-19, he hopes the list will become a reference point for the best hospitality experiences worldwide. 鈥淥ur heartfelt congratulations go out to each and every hotel on the list, and we hope this list inspires travel lovers to book somewhere truly spectacular for their next trip,鈥 he said.
