Boutique hotel experts Mr & Mrs Smith announced 7 November the winners of their first ever hotel awards – a celebration of some of the world’s best boltholes and a marker of the evolution of the boutique hotel industry over the last decade.
The international cast of stunningly beautiful and often dramatic hotels on display provided formidable competition, but Lime Wood, Hants and The Zetter Townhouse, London both featured as category runners up – leaving Blakes Hotel, London to carry the honours as winner of the Sexiest Bedroom in the World category!
With entertainment provided by Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay and Crazy P, the landmark event was held at the Truman Brewery in East London (UK). More than 600 people attended the party to find out the winners across 12 categories, including Sexiest Bedroom, Hottest Hotel Bar and – the big one – the Best Smith Hotel 2013 (details below, pictured above).
50,000 voters
“When we started Smith in 2003, I never imagined we’d one day be announcing the world’s best boutique hotels. But for our 10th birthday, we felt that launching our first awards would be the perfect way to celebrate how far boutique hotels have come over the years. We were overwhelmed by the response – nearly 50,000 people from all over the world voted for their favourite Smith hotels – and I’m thrilled with the eventual roster of winners: it’s a rock-solid hot list of the world’s most desirable hotels.”
– James Lohan, Co-founder, Mr & Mrs Smith
After the public vote, shortlists of the top 10 hotels in each category were put to a panel of 36 specialist judges, including writer and presenter Mariella Frostrup, chef Marcus Wareing and design guru Ilse Crawford. The awards were free to enter with all hotels in the Smith collection eligible for every applicable category.
The judges cast their votes, and the 12 winning hotels were named as follows…
Best-Dressed Hotel
WINNER Alila Villas Uluwatu Bali, Indonesia
Staking a stylish claim on Bali’s rugged Bukit Peninsula, this is a cool, contemporary cliffhanger of a resort which delivers dramatic eco-friendly design in a jaw-dropping setting.
RUNNER-UP Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa Bahia, Brazil
Sexiest Bedroom in the World
WINNER Blakes Hotel London, UK (above)
Arguably the original boutique hotel, Anouska Hempel’s wickedly opulent Kensington hideaway has been discreetly looking after lovebirds for over 25 years. It’s hard to imagine a more alluring setting for seduction than the honeymoon-perfect, white-on-white Corfu Suite.
RUNNER-UP Ca Maria Adele Venice, Italy
Hottest Hotel Bar
WINNER Ace Hotel New York New York, USA
Hip, quirky and brimming with confidence, the Ace’s bar channels the spirit of its home city perfectly, and bustles with moving, shaking New Yorkers both day and night. They come for the cocktails, ingeniously crafted by Milk & Honey’s Sasha Petraske, they stay for the electric ambience.
RUNNER-UP The Zetter Townhouse London, UK
Best Hotel Restaurant
WINNER Bastide de Moustiers Provence, France
Alain Ducasse’s Provençal hideaway is a love poem to the surrounding area, a gastronome’s daydream that showcases the finest local produce in a daily changing menu of delectably inventive dishes. There’s no frippery or unnecessary extras; just simple, seasonal ingredients, intelligently prepared and served in a truly beautiful place.
RUNNER UP Lake House Daylesford, Australia
Best Spa Hotel
WINNER Como Shambhala Estate Bali, Indonesia
Como’s flagship retreat in Ubud renowned for its holistic back-to-nature approach, and promises to soothe, relax, cosset and revivify – while surrounding you in totally tropical, thatched-pavilion, wall-to-wall waterfall luxury. East meets West in the Ojas spa, with therapies running the gamut from Ayurveda and anti-ageing to Thai massage and stress management.
RUNNER UP Lime Wood Hampshire, UK
The Eco Award
WINNER Sextantio Albergo Diffuso Abruzzo, Italy
Albergo Diffuso is more than a hotel, it’s whole new accommodation concept built around restoration and sustainability. Spread around the buildings of what was an abandoned village high in the Italian Apennines, the project hasn’t just created a an utterly unique place to stay, it’s reinvigorated an entire mountain village that would otherwise have been lost to history.
RUNNER UP Song Saa Private Island Koh Rong Islands, Cambodia
Best for Families
WINNER Soneva Kiri, Koh Kood, Thailand
With a breathtaking jungle-meets-ocean setting, switched-on service and fun-loving attitude, eco-friendly Soneva Kiri takes luxury family holidays to a new level. The free kids’ club the Den is beyond impressive: Dutch eco-architect Olav Bruin asked groups of children to design their dream play area – and then built on that.
Maria Pieri, National Geographic Traveller
RUNNER UP Borgo Egnazia Puglia, Italy
Best Budget Hotel
WINNER Brody House Budapest, Hungary
More than just a boutique bolthole, Brody House is also a members’ club with a stylish bar, a sometime film and fashion-shoot set, and a hub of local creativity with a calendar crammed full of art events and book readings. The very reasonable room rate gives you honorary membership to Brody’s members’ club rooms and events.
RUNNER UP Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs, USA
The Greatest Outdoors
WINNER Dunton Hot Springs Colorado, United States
This unique mountain hideaway takes you straight back into the big-sky wilderness of the Old West, complete with log cabins, snow-capped peaks, not-so-lonesome pines and a perch on the porch to admire it all from. And, of course, there are the hot springs, which ensure that Dunton is a year-round alfresco spa haven.
RUNNER UP Huka Lodge Lake Taupo, New Zealand
Above & Beyond
WINNER The Upper House Hong Kong
The Upper House may be in the heart of the city, but you’ll feel a tranquil world away from the moment you’re met in the lobby by your personal ‘guest experience manager’. This hotel prides itself
RUNNER UP Riad Farnatchi, Marrakech, Morocco
Best Newcomer
WINNER Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
This Todd Saunders-designed beauty is a heartfelt home-from-home set against a sublime crashing-ocean backdrop.Although the bold, Scandinavian-style architecture is as modern as it gets, the inn is inspired by long-standing community tradition. Every detail – from the eco-conscious practices right down to the hand-loomed rugs – connects back to the island and its end-of-the-Earth remoteness only
RUNNER UP Kurà, Costa Rica
Best Smith Hotel 2013
WINNER Post Ranch Inn California, USA
Clinging to a clifftop along California’s wild west coast, this big-name Big Sur sanctuary manages to melt into the dramatic surrounds while showcasing dreamy design within. Cabins and cottages hover at the rocky edge (or teeter among the trees), each offering an eyeful of Pacific Ocean 1,200 feet below. The setting alone would put this hotel on most travellers’ wish lists, but combined with the luxury of a fireside massage, three infinity pools, clifftop hot tubs and a one-of-a-kind restaurant, it offers, quite simply, one of the world’s very best places to stay.
RUNNER UP Alila Villas Uluwatu Bali, Indonesia
Mr & Mrs Smith is an award-winning hotel website, booking service and free-to-join travel club, specialising in finding the world’s most inspiring boutique hotels. Founded in 2003, Smith has published nine coffee-table guidebooks and maintains a hand-picked and anonymously reviewed collection of around 900 of the world’s most stylish stays at mrandmrssmith.com.
More details on the winners, judges and shortlisted hotels in each category can be found at Smithhotelawards.com.