My Top 6 Hotels of the Last Year!

In all the travels of 2012 putting together a list of favorite hotels was done real quick. Without a doubt these are my top 6 hotels of the year – in fact the order is almost obvious to me. Of course, these hotels were all free with the exception of the JW, which I paid for with a gift card. (Minor detail; this is almost a list of hotels from Dec 2011 – Dec 2012, as I’ve stayed in some nice hotels this month but haven’t had the chance to write about them).

Each of these hotels has remained in Travel & Leisure’s Top 500 Hotels again this year. Here are my favorites of the ones we visited this year with links to the original write ups:

1) Park Hyatt Shanghai – I can’t look at skyscrapers the same way anymore! When I see them building a new building in NYC I say to myself, “I hope they put a hotel at the top!” With Rooms on floors 79 – 93 of the Shanghai World Financial Center, there’s nothing like it. Also, there are few hotels that have the luxurious feel of the Park Hyatt Shanghai – the bathroom is immaculate, huge and had a view 90 floors above the city. I have nothing but praise for this hotel. I have little interest in going back to Shanghai except to go back to this hotel.

For only 18,000 Hyatt points, this hotel is a must! My favorite to this day.

2) InterContinental Hong Kong – A hotel fit for royalty with the best view of my favorite skyline. Seriously, what a view! With an infinity hot tub looking over the water, a hotel sitting over the water facing downtown Hong Kong with giant glass windows, there’s always a good view. The rooms and service are top noch. What more can I say? I must return here. I’ll gladly burn through 50,000 Priority Club points for another night.

3) Ritz Carlton Central Park, New York – Never will you find better service than this hotel (except at the next hotel). The service is an experience of luxury. Facing central park, with quite large rooms and an amazing bathroom makes this a unique hotel in New York City. It’s comfy yet an antique. However, I won’t be dropping 70,000 Marriott points here again… it’s just too many.

4) Park Hyatt Tokyo – This hotel is also an experience of service – service is always one step beyond. Plus, I have a thing for the skyscrapers, so I had to try this hotel. Ultra modern with a dark-wood style gives this hotel a touch of style and luxury. For 22,000 Hyatt points, it’s a must try. However, since I wasn’t on business, the district was quite far away from everything I wanted to see.

5) JW Marriott Bangkok – This JW Marriott has the best lounge I’ve seen. It’s more like a buffet restaurant with free drinks – a chef was out making salmon and steaks and the staff waitresses were extremely attentive, with plenty of tables and a full patio – it was quite a treat. Platinum members get access to the lounge for free! And here is my post on Free Marriott Platinum Status. Of course the hotel is all around high quality and has many other wonderful features like the gym and service.

The best part is not that I had a Marriott gift card or two, it’s that I got the room for $116! I talked about how I got that rate through their Best Rate Guarantee here. 😉

6) Grand Hyatt Santiago – Speaking of great lounges, their’s had sushi from the sushi restaurant below. The hotel had incredible views of the andes, an awesome building and huge rooms. The downside is again, I’m not a business man and it’s so far away from the tourist area.

The best part about this hotel is that it’s a category 2! This means it’s only 8,000 Hyatt points or 10,000 for a Club Room.

Other notable stays: Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong; Radisson Blu Sydney; and the worst favorite hotel of mine is no doubt, The InterContinental Fiji.