Brisbane establishment stands alone as Australia’s top-ranking hotel

Ash Cant
Sep 21, 2023, updated Nov 14, 2023

The Calile Hotel in Brisbane was ranked among the best hotels in the world. Photo: The Calile Hotel/Instagram

An Australian hotel has made the World’s 50 Best Hotels 2023 list, only just missing out on the top 10.

The top 50 hotels in the world were named in London on Tuesday.

It was the first edition of the World’s 50 Best Hotels, that has been over a decade in the making.

Travel journalists, hoteliers and seasoned luxury travellers informed the rankings and each member of the anonymous academy was given seven votes and asked to list the best hotels they had stayed in over the past two years.

A hotel on the shores of Lake Como, in Italy, took out the top spot.

Only one Australian hotel made the list.

The Calile Hotel on Brisbane’s James Street was designed by local architects, Richards and Spence.

“The hotel riffs on modernist Miami and Palm Springs while also nodding to the design stylings of Australia’s 1960s motels,” the World’s 50 Best Hotels stated.

Voted the Best Hotel in Oceania in 2023, it was No.12 on the list.

The Calile Hotel features a 30-metre pool, six restaurants and 175 blue, green or pink-themed rooms and suites.

The pool deck is the star of the Calile Hotel, according to the award’s website.

Gold tiles spell out the hotel’s name on the bottom of the pool and lounge chairs, umbrellas and cabanas line the length of the pool.

There’s also a spa, gym and library at the hotel.

According to Broadsheet, the hotel’s co-owner Catherine Malouf attended the ceremony in London and said it was a “a win for our team, our collaborators, our loyal guests and a win for Brisbane as a destination”.

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The top hotel

This year, 580 international experts picked Italy’s Passalacqua as the best of the best.

Passalacqua overlooks Lake Como and has just 24 rooms. It’s owned by the De Santis family, and 41-year-old Valentina De Santis designed and curated the villa.

“Passalacqua has been a love story since the very first moment. I give all credit to my parents, who had this dream together with me,” she said, after receiving the award.

Passalacqua on Lake Como opened just last year.

The villa was once home to composer Vincenzo Bellini, and the land it stands on was once owned by Pope Innocent XI.

The De Santis family owned Lake Como’s Grand Hotel Tremezzo when they acquired the villa in 2018.

Passalacqua opened its doors in 2022.

Rosewood Hong Kong came in second place. The 65-storey tower overlooks the city’s skyline and Victoria Harbour.

It was also named the Best Hotel in Asia 2023.

Dubbed a “hyper modern riverside oasis”, the Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River was third.

Rounding out the top five was The Upper House in Hong Kong and Aman in Tokyo.

Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River made the top three.

Aman Tokyo came in at No.5 on the list.

A number of hotels in Europe also received awards, including the Four Seasons Firenze in Florence, Aman in Venice and the Four Seasons in Madrid.

Other Aman locations that featured on the list include New York and Galle.

Aman Venice was ranked 14th on the list.

If it’s world-class hospitality you’re after, then Scotland is the place to go.

Gleneagles, a luxury resort in Scotland, was 32nd on the list, but it received the Art of Hospitality Award.

“If you would have asked me what award we wanted to win as part of the 50 Best list, it would have been exactly this,” said Conor O’Leary, managing director of Gleneagles.