Looking for inspiration? Here's a raft of tempting additions for next year's bucket list.
Sandpit serenity at Banyan Tree's AIUIa resort in Saudi Arabia.
It’s the end of another year and the hospitality industry has begun to wrap-up the year that was.
Travel research group LTI - Luxury Travel Intelligence has now revealed its pick of the world’s best new luxury hotels of 2022. Four resorts from Asia Pacific make the cut in the top 15, covering countries including Bali, Maldives, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Straight in at number 13 is Buahan, Bali, by Banyan Tree Escapes, which opened earlier this summer. An adult-only property, Buahan offers ‘no walls, no doors’ villas surrounded by rice paddies and jungle in Bali’s rural centre.
Next at number 12 is Qatar’s The Outpost. The Doha resort opens this week and is located in the emirate’s Inland Sea nature reserve, surrounded by sand dunes and desert. Twenty-one tented villas offer guests a luxury stay in a wilderness environment.
No doors or windows is the order of the day in Bali.
Banyan Tree also makes an appearance at number 11 with its AIUIa, Saudi Arabia, all-villa resort. Again, accommodation takes the form of tented villas in the desert but with luxury touches. There are one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations and villas come with private pools and outdoor living spaces. The resort soaks up stunning views of the arid Ashar Valley.
At number nine is Alila Kothaifaru, Maldives (after all, what’s a luxury resort list without a Maldivian property?). Alila Kothaifaru has 80 beachfront and overwater pool villas a 45-minute seaplane ride from Malé. The resort has its own house reef and trips to the nearby UNESCO biosphere reserve, Hanifaru Bay, are also available.
Water views at Passalacqua, Lake Como.
But the number one spot falls to Passalacqua, Lake Como. This is a sister property to the stunning Grand Hotel Tremezzo which can be found a little further around the lake. Set in an eighteenth century villa, Passalacqua, Lake Como has undergone a three-year restoration programme which was completed this summer. No expense has been spared and it offers 24 suites, including the largest suite on Lake Como, with stunning interiors and outrageously good marble bathrooms. Former owners of the property include counts, baronesses and anthropologists and British prime minister Winston Churchill is among the great and the good who have paid the villa a visit over the years.
LTI - Luxury Travel Intelligence produces reports covering luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and nightlife. More information can be found online.
More bucket list ideas
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