A boutique stay in one of Nepal’s most remote areas has just been named the greatest luxury hotel in the world.
The annual list from Robb Report, which first started in 2023, ranks the top 10 properties around the globe before organising the remaining 40 by region.
This year, the highest ranked hotel is Shinta Mani Mustang in the Kali Gandaki River Valley, a 29-key property with a five-night minimum stay.
Wellness is a key focus at the retreat, with each guest attending an individual consultation with a Tibetan medicine doctor to create a tailor-made programme that makes use of Himalayan plants and herbs as well as traditional practices.
No visit to Nepal would be complete without a spot of hiking, and so naturally your stay includes wilderness trekking with routes customised to your ability levels and experience as well as the conditions on the day.
You’ll be able to fully immerse yourself in Nepalese culture, too, with trips to local villages as part of the itinerary.
The setting alone is reason enough to visit, with suites looking out to the 7,000m-high peaks of the Nilgiri mountain range.
Robb Report creates its list by consulting its 24 travel masters who were asked to select five newer properties they recommend, as well as past favourites, explaining why each deserves its spot on the list.
This year, five of the top 10 are in Europe, with a further 10 properties joining the top 50.
The greatest luxury hotels in Europe
A former hunting lodge in the Scottish Highlands claimed the top spot on the continent, coming in third overall.
For much of the year, Hope Lodge in Sutherland, which has seven bedrooms, is available for exclusive use, but you can also book individual rooms in the summer months.
The lodge is set among a 100,000 acre estate, which you can explore with the help of expert guides. Stays include access to the hotel’s adventure centre and kit room, which has wetsuits, paddleboards, bikes and more.
Writing about the lodge, Robb Report said: “Think of this as a Scottish safari lodge, with guides as connected to the natural surroundings as many trackers would be.”
An all-inclusive retreat, food is sourced from the lodge’s own estate as well as local suppliers.
Florence’s Collegio alla Querce, which was named the best new hotel in the world by Esquire earlier this year, ranked sixth overall.
Housed within a building that started life as a villa in the 16th century before serving as a boarding school, the 83-key hotel has views over the city and the Tuscan countryside.
Claridge’s, described as the “Mayfair mainstay that’s become synonymous with luxury hospitality in London”, ranked seventh, quickly followed by Le Bristol Paris, “the grande dame of the Right Bank” in eighth place.
Casa Bonavita in Malta completed the top 10, with the 18th-century building having been thoughtfully transformed into a 17-room hotel that opened its doors earlier this year.
The top 10 greatest luxury hotels in the world for 2026
- Shinta Mani Mustang, Kali Gandaki River Valley, Nepal
- Singita Kwitonda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
- Hope Lodge, Sutherland, Scotland
- Park Hyatt Tokyo, Japan
- Shakti Prana, Kumaon, India
- Collegio alla Querce, Florence, Italy
- Claridge’s, London, UK
- Le Bristol Paris, France
- Islas Secas, Gulf of Chiriqui, Panama
- Casa Bonavita, Attard, Malta
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