FAQ

We include only the world’s most prestigious and editorial focused awards, either based on expert opinions or reader’s votes. We do not include awards with Buy-in programs. The current list:

The Gold List – Conde Nast Traveler (Int.)

The Hot List – Conde Nast Traveler (Int.)

Readers’ Choice Awards – Conde Nast Traveller (UK)

It List – Travel + Leisure (US)

World’s Best Awards, Top 100 – Travel + Leisure (US)

50 Best Hotels – 50 Best (Int.)

Best of The Best – Robb Report (US)

The 50 Greatest Luxury Hotels – Robb Report (US)

101 Best Hotels in The World – Tatler (UK)

Best of The World – National Geographic (Int.)

The Hotel Awards – National Geographic Traveller (UK)

The T&C Hotel Awards – Town & Country (US)

Great Design Awards – Architectural Digest (Int.)

The Stay List – Afar Magazine (US)

Ahead Awards – Sleeper (Int.)

Top 100 Suites – Elite Traveler (US)

World’s Most Beautiful Hotels – Prix Versailles (Int.)

The Most Stylish Hotels in The World – GQ (UK)

The Best New Hotels – Esquire (US)

Our Favourite Hotels of All Time – Esquire (US)

The Ultimate Travel Guide – Harper’s Bazaar (UK)

Global Tastemakers – Food & Wine (US)

Les plus beau hotels du monde – Hotel & Lodge (Fr)

The Best Places To Stay – Time Magazine (US)

The 50 Best Hotels in The World – The Telegraph (UK)

The Luxe List – DestinAsian (Int.)

Fodor’s Finest – Fodor’s Travel (US)

WanderSleeps – Wanderlust (UK)

Currently we quote select praise from these sources:

Conde Nast Traveler

Guide Michelin

Travel + Leisure

Tatler

Financial Times

Afar Magazine

National Geographic Traveller

Robb Report

Vogue

Town & Country

Country & Town House

OutThere Magazine

Elite Traveler

Wallpaper

Monocle

GQ

The Telegraph

Food & Travel

Harper’s Bazaar

Decanter

Konfekt Magazine

Fodor’s Travel

Wanderlust

We only quote qualitative and well known sources. To our knowledge all information is correct at the time of posting.

As many other travel related projects, we had a pause during the pandemic. Since 2022 we have restarted StayGrand and we are continuously developing the concept and adding new features. We have chosen to keep older posts as long as they are still correct.

When booking hotel rooms, it might be tempting to go through a big 3rd party online travel agent (OTA) like Booking.com or Hotels.com. And yes, sometimes that is the easiest approach if you just want to book a standard room. However, if you want a really nice room in one of the higher categories, junior suites or suites, it is good to know that not all rooms are published on the big OTAs even though they are available. Hotels often “save” their best rooms for direct bookings or bookings through more exclusive travel agents. And some really good hotels are not even present on the big OTAs at all.

So, use multiple sources when researching a destination and try a personal travel agent when booking.

The Hotels are shown in order of latest updated first, both on the first page and after a search for destination/city.