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Kiwi Collection Hotel Awards 2022

Kiwi Collection Hotel Awards 2022

2022 Kiwi Collection Hotel Awards

As we tip-toed back into travel, through yet another uncertain, ever-changing year, we came to cherish it on an even deeper level. Every trip we took, big or small, made us more appreciative of the privilege. Whether seeing a new place or a familiar one with fresh eyes, colors looked more vibrant, foods tasted more flavorful and aromas smelled even sweeter. The care and diligence of our favorite hotels played a key role in that. When travel wasn’t possible, they renovated and eagerly awaited welcoming us back. When it was, they went to great lengths to make it safe, inviting and positively unforgettable. With that, we honor 12 of the very best. To our 2022 Hotel Awards winners, thank you for staying extraordinary through these most exceptional times.

WOW PICK OF THE YEAR

BEST NEW HOTEL

BEST SUSTAINABLE LUXURY

MOST ROMANTIC HOTEL

BEST BOUTIQUE HOTEL

BEST POOL VIEW

BEST GOURMET GETAWAY

BEST BEACH HOTEL

BEST WELLNESS RETREAT

BEST ADVENTURE

BEST FAMILY HOTEL

BEST FAR-FLUNG ESCAPE

WOW PICK OF THE YEAR

La Mamounia

Marrakech, Morocco

If these 100-year-old, Zellij tile-clad walls could talk, they’d have an illustrious guest list to dish on. Here, in the heart of Marrakech, Alfred Hitchcock filmed scenes for The Man Who Knew Too Much, Paul McCartney composed “Mamunia” and Winston Churchill painted watercolors. What the British statesman proclaimed back then, “It is a marvellous place, one of the best hotels I have ever visited,” still rings emphatically true today. In sync with its centennial, La Mamounia continues to raise the bar with a Jouin Manku redesign. Joining its lush courtyards, sumptuous spa and see-and-be-seen square pool are a new cinema, teahouse, two restaurant concepts with Jean-Georges Vongerichten and artful invigorations everywhere in between. With everything it offers, all dressed in a time-bending mix of Moorish, Berber and Art Deco, this opulent Moroccan oasis doesn’t stop drawing in stars of every kind.

BEST NEW HOTEL

Bishop's Lodge

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Frontiersman were the first to call Santa Fe “The City Different” and minutes outside America’s oldest capital, Bishop’s Lodge embellishes on that extraordinariness. A village of adobe architecture ensconced on 317 private acres bordering the national forest, this luxury ranch reborn beautifully bridges past and present. Auberge Resorts Collection breathes new life into its 1920s-era bones with desert hues and Navajo prints that honor its place in the storied foothills of the Sangre de Cristo range. The next chapter of the property’s story includes a healing arts studio, so whatever a sunrise horseback ride can’t fix, a little therapeutic art class or turquoise gem healing will.

BEST SUSTAINABLE LUXURY

Soneva Jani, Maldives

Noonu Atoll, Maldives

Opening their first resort 27 years ago in the Maldives, the archipelagic country less than two meters above sea level, Soneva founders Sonu Shivdasani and Eva Malmström Shivdasani know the preciousness of place better than most. Back in 2008, they were the first resort company to ban bottled water and produce their own in reusable glass. That same year, the brand added a two percent levy on stays for their namesake foundation to fund an array of environmental and community initiatives. By 2012, they were 100% carbon neutral. Naturally, when completing a recent over-water expansion of their second Maldivian property, Soneva Jani, the highest eco-standards were followed. From the tropical stingless bees introduced to pollinate the organic gardens to a Waste-to-Wealth program which recycles or upcycles nearly all the solid refuse, sustainability efforts here are true-blue to match the open sky, sea and Medhufaru Lagoon it looks out over.

MOST ROMANTIC HOTEL

Shangri-La Paris

Paris, France

In Sabrina, Humphrey Bogart’s Linus Larrabee declares, “Paris is for lovers. Maybe that’s why I stayed only 35 minutes.” Now if so-serious Linus had spent those minutes at Shangri-La Paris, he would’ve been wooed into staying much longer. The former home of Prince Roland Bonaparte, Napoleon’s nephew, the 16th arrondissement Palais hotel envelops guests in soft Rococo hues of touchable chenilles, silks and velvets, with French doors that swing open to swoon-worthy views of the glittering Eiffel Tower and weaving River Seine. The only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in France, Shang Palace takes care of the wining and dining. In still uncertain times, we fall back on the classics—City of Light, five-star hotel, rose petals, pastries, Champagne, oui, mon amour.

BEST BOUTIQUE HOTEL

Caldera House

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Any slopeside setup just steps from the Big Red tram that beelines up to Jackson Hole’s highest peak would be sweet enough, but Caldera House goes full send. The project of former teen ski racer turned hedge-fund billionaire Wes Eden, this intimate Teton Village hotel offers only eight one-of-a-kind suites with either four or two bedrooms each—so more like private chalets within a chalet—and complimentary adventuring essentials such as rehydration tablets and lip balm on every nightstand. Dedicated concierges arrange every over-the-top extracurricular, including private skiing with Olympian Bode Miller, climbing the Tetons and even astrology readings. Come après, with gear whisked away by ski valet, revelry is found at their Members Lounge and muscles are soothed at the spa’s heated plunge pool and cedar dry sauna. There’s really snow mountain lodge like it.

BEST POOL VIEW

Six Senses Douro Valley

Douro Valley, Portugal

Just as it is with heads when it comes to solving a problem, two pools are better than one. At Six Senses Douro Valley, both bodies of water look out onto the verdant, vine-covered hills of the world’s oldest demarcated wine region. Lined with loungers—sun-warmed and waiting for a cold, crisp glass of Branco to be perched beside them—the outdoor one delivers the biggest, boldest views all the way down to the undulating River Douro. Bathed in natural light within the sumptuous spa, the heated indoor one is a kind of pool 2.0, outfitted with chromotherapy lights, hydrotherapy jets and sound therapy speakers. After a Port-soaked afternoon touring the local wineries, there’s no more refreshing way to recoup than a plunge and poolside nap as a northerly breeze tickles drip-drying skin.

BEST GOURMET GETAWAY

Signiel Seoul

Seoul, South Korea

Best Gourmet Getaway: Signiel Seoul

How deliciously apropos that within the world’s sixth tallest building, the highest standard of fine dining is served. Led by three Michelin-starred Chef Yannick Alleno, the food program at Signiel Seoul forms a constellation of accolades. On the 81st floor, his one Michelin star STAY does creative French fare alongside Korea’s first in-restaurant pastry corner with Patissier performances. There’s no worry of an éclair shortage as Alleno also takes care of a 79th floor Pastry Salon. Yet another Michelin star belongs to contemporary Korean restaurant BICENA. That is just the tip of what this Lotte World Tower hotel dishes up, and so we toast to them, at their Bar 81, of course, as it claims the largest Champagne collection in the country.

BEST BEACH HOTEL

Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô, Vietnam

Quy Nhơn, Vietnam

Far from tourist-trodden paths, on a secluded peninsula in Phú Yên, Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô faces an aquamarine “bay of corals,” just as its Vietnamese name translates, one only interrupted by a long arch of quintessential soft, white sand. Dotted across the property’s 98 luscious acres, 71 traditionally inspired villas are either just a few barefoot steps away, perched a bird’s-eye-view high up or a romantic amble through the rice paddies from that pristine beach. When it comes time to take the plunge, there are many ways to do it—snorkel, surf, water ski—but undoubtedly the best way to end any beach day is digging toes back into sand, at a private table set with fresh seafood and betwixt volcanic rocks, as the sun sets over the South China Sea.

BEST WELLNESS RETREAT

Euphoria Retreat

Sparta, Greece

Encircled by pine forests in the Peloponnese, a region steeped in Greek myths and legends, Euphoria Retreat is worthy of the gods but made for mere mortals. The wellness resort’s own origin story centers around Marina Efraimoglou, who, surviving serious illness in her 20s, traded in investment banking to study Traditional Chinese Medicine and The Five Elements. Water guides the expansive four-floor spa experience, with Kneipp Therapy footbaths and a sensory sphere pool, not to mention steam, sauna and salt rooms. Programs range from highly scientific Signature Nutrigenomics to the holistic Odysseus Journey that playfully uses Homer’s epic poem on the hero as a framework for personal discovery. Their Mediterranean-minded GAIA restaurant keeps things refreshingly simple, while their 3GL PLUS therapy customizes meals to metabolic bio-markers. Guests are bound to depart feeling more Heraclean.

BEST ADVENTURE GETAWAY

Singita Sabora Tented Camp

Serengeti, Tanzania

Witnessing the world’s largest animal migration is a nonnegotiable bucket list item. When it’s time to check it off, it’s best to check into Singita Sabora Tented Camp. Within a 350,000-acre private concession of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, the luxury camp just got more luxurious with an end-of-2020 rebuild. Dressed in serene savannah neutrals, suites feature meditation decks, outdoor daybeds and Guest Delis stocked with gourmet treats. Facing a watering hole, tents 8 and 9 offer in-room viewing, but safari walks and twice-daily game drives search out all the goods—giraffes, elephants, big cats. Teaching survival skills, animal tracking, nature identification and astronomy, their Mini Game Rangers’ Course has grown-ups querying “How mini do you have to be to join?” Despite the roughly two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle that pass through, there’s no herd mentality here, every itinerary is wildly personalized.

BEST FAMILY HOTEL

The Breakers Palm Beach

Palm Beach, Florida

There is a happier place on earth in Florida. Fronting the warm Atlantic Ocean, Villa Medici-inspired The Breakers Palm Beach is far more all-ages magical than Orlando. Here, the whole brood can frolic in the waves, be it surfing, kayaking, paddle boarding or snorkeling the reef, then hit the green for golf lessons. If playing Marco Polo in the oceanfront pools doesn’t tucker the kids out, there’s the indoor-outdoor Family Entertainment Center, complete with arcade and video game lounge, basketball court and playground. Oh, and an Italian restaurant, one of ten dining choices peppered throughout the 140-acre property. With daily activities ranging from tie-dye to dance parties, parents shouldn’t need to resort to bribery, but there is a candy shop and toy store onsite if it ever comes to that.

BEST FAR-FLUNG ESCAPE

Constance Tsarabanjina Madagascar

Tsarabanjina Island, Madagascar

No shirt, no shoes, no problem. News, televisions and telephones aren’t an issue either at all-inclusive Constance Tsarabanjina. As if Madagascar wasn’t remote enough, this barefoot luxury escape of 25 thatched-roof bungalows is even farther, off the coast on a private isle. Billed as Robinson Crusoe-like, albeit no rescue required, the experience here is akin to the Indian Ocean tides, one thing effortlessly rolls into the next. Between waking and sleeping, it’s laying on the beach with book in hand, diving to swim with sea turtles and receiving massages set to the real-time rhythm of lapping waves. As the sunset starts tinging the sky impossibly pastel, it’s time for a Mai Tai at the sand-bottomed bar before feasting on freshly caught seafood back on the shore. Guests leave feeling as delightfully light as they packed.

As we tip-toed back into travel, through yet another uncertain, ever-changing year, we came to cherish it on an even deeper level. Every trip we took in 2021, big or small, made us more appreciative of the privilege. Whether seeing a new place or a familiar one with fresh eyes, colors looked more vibrant, foods tasted more flavorful and aromas smelled even sweeter. The care and diligence of our favorite hotels played a key role in that. When travel wasn’t possible, they renovated and eagerly awaited welcoming us back. When it was, they went to great lengths to make it safe, inviting and positively unforgettable. With that, we honor 12 of the very best. To our 2022 Kiwi Collection Hotel Awards winners, thank you for staying extraordinary through these most exceptional times.

WOW PICK OF THE YEAR

La Mamounia

Marrakech, Morocco

If these 100-year-old, Zellij tile-clad walls could talk, they’d have an illustrious guest list to dish on. Here, in the heart of Marrakech, Alfred Hitchcock filmed scenes for The Man Who Knew Too Much, Paul McCartney composed “Mamunia” and Winston Churchill painted watercolors. What the British statesman proclaimed back then, “It is a marvellous place, one of the best hotels I have ever visited,” still rings emphatically true today. In sync with its centennial, La Mamounia continues to raise the bar with a Jouin Manku redesign. Joining its lush courtyards, sumptuous spa and see-and-be-seen square pool are a new cinema, teahouse, two restaurant concepts with Jean-Georges Vongerichten and artful invigorations everywhere in between. With everything it offers, all dressed in a time-bending mix of Moorish, Berber and Art Deco, this opulent Moroccan oasis doesn’t stop drawing in stars of every kind.

BEST NEW HOTEL

Bishop's Lodge

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Frontiersman were the first to call Santa Fe “The City Different” and minutes outside America’s oldest capital, Bishop’s Lodge embellishes on that extraordinariness. A village of adobe architecture ensconced on 317 private acres bordering the national forest, this luxury ranch reborn beautifully bridges past and present. Auberge Resorts Collection breathes new life into its 1920s-era bones with desert hues and Navajo prints that honor its place in the storied foothills of the Sangre de Cristo range. The next chapter of the property’s story includes a healing arts studio, so whatever a sunrise horseback ride can’t fix, a little therapeutic art class or turquoise gem healing will.

BEST SUSTAINABLE LUXURY

Soneva Jani, Maldives

Noonu Atoll, Maldives

Opening their first resort 27 years ago in the Maldives, the archipelagic country less than two meters above sea level, Soneva founders Sonu Shivdasani and Eva Malmström Shivdasani know the preciousness of place better than most. Back in 2008, they were the first resort company to ban bottled water and produce their own in reusable glass. That same year, the brand added a two percent levy on stays for their namesake foundation to fund an array of environmental and community initiatives. By 2012, they were 100% carbon neutral. Naturally, when completing a recent over-water expansion of their second Maldivian property, Soneva Jani, the highest eco-standards were followed. From the tropical stingless bees introduced to pollinate the organic gardens to a Waste-to-Wealth program which recycles or upcycles nearly all the solid refuse, sustainability efforts here are true-blue to match the open sky, sea and Medhufaru Lagoon it looks out over.

MOST ROMANTIC HOTEL

Shangri-La Paris

Paris, France

In Sabrina, Humphrey Bogart’s Linus Larrabee declares, “Paris is for lovers. Maybe that’s why I stayed only 35 minutes.” Now if so-serious Linus had spent those minutes at Shangri-La Paris, he would’ve been wooed into staying much longer. The former home of Prince Roland Bonaparte, Napoleon’s nephew, the 16th arrondissement Palais hotel envelops guests in soft Rococo hues of touchable chenilles, silks and velvets, with French doors that swing open to swoon-worthy views of the glittering Eiffel Tower and weaving River Seine. The only Michelin-starred Chinese restaurant in France, Shang Palace takes care of the wining and dining. In still uncertain times, we fall back on the classics—City of Light, five-star hotel, rose petals, pastries, Champagne, oui, mon amour.

BEST BOUTIQUE HOTEL

Caldera House

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Any slopeside setup just steps from the Big Red tram that beelines up to Jackson Hole’s highest peak would be sweet enough, but Caldera House goes full send. The project of former teen ski racer turned hedge-fund billionaire Wes Eden, this intimate Teton Village hotel offers only eight one-of-a-kind suites with either four or two bedrooms each—so more like private chalets within a chalet—and complimentary adventuring essentials such as rehydration tablets and lip balm on every nightstand. Dedicated concierges arrange every over-the-top extracurricular, including private skiing with Olympian Bode Miller, climbing the Tetons and even astrology readings. Come après, with gear whisked away by ski valet, revelry is found at their Members Lounge and muscles are soothed at the spa’s heated plunge pool and cedar dry sauna. There’s really snow mountain lodge like it.

BEST POOL VIEW

Six Senses Douro Valley

Douro Valley, Portugal

Just as it is with heads when it comes to solving a problem, two pools are better than one. At Six Senses Douro Valley, both bodies of water look out onto the verdant, vine-covered hills of the world’s oldest demarcated wine region. Lined with loungers—sun-warmed and waiting for a cold, crisp glass of Branco to be perched beside them—the outdoor one delivers the biggest, boldest views all the way down to the undulating River Douro. Bathed in natural light within the sumptuous spa, the heated indoor one is a kind of pool 2.0, outfitted with chromotherapy lights, hydrotherapy jets and sound therapy speakers. After a Port-soaked afternoon touring the local wineries, there’s no more refreshing way to recoup than a plunge and poolside nap as a northerly breeze tickles drip-drying skin.

BEST GOURMET GETAWAY

Signiel Seoul

Seoul, South Korea

Best Gourmet Getaway: Signiel Seoul

How deliciously apropos that within the world’s sixth tallest building, the highest standard of fine dining is served. Led by three Michelin-starred Chef Yannick Alleno, the food program at Signiel Seoul forms a constellation of accolades. On the 81st floor, his one Michelin star STAY does creative French fare alongside Korea’s first in-restaurant pastry corner with Patissier performances. There’s no worry of an éclair shortage as Alleno also takes care of a 79th floor Pastry Salon. Yet another Michelin star belongs to contemporary Korean restaurant BICENA. That is just the tip of what this Lotte World Tower hotel dishes up, and so we toast to them, at their Bar 81, of course, as it claims the largest Champagne collection in the country.

BEST BEACH HOTEL

Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô, Vietnam

Quy Nhơn, Vietnam

Far from tourist-trodden paths, on a secluded peninsula in Phú Yên, Zannier Hotels Bãi San Hô faces an aquamarine “bay of corals,” just as its Vietnamese name translates, one only interrupted by a long arch of quintessential soft, white sand. Dotted across the property’s 98 luscious acres, 71 traditionally inspired villas are either just a few barefoot steps away, perched a bird’s-eye-view high up or a romantic amble through the rice paddies from that pristine beach. When it comes time to take the plunge, there are many ways to do it—snorkel, surf, water ski—but undoubtedly the best way to end any beach day is digging toes back into sand, at a private table set with fresh seafood and betwixt volcanic rocks, as the sun sets over the South China Sea.

BEST WELLNESS RETREAT

Euphoria Retreat

Sparta, Greece

Encircled by pine forests in the Peloponnese, a region steeped in Greek myths and legends, Euphoria Retreat is worthy of the gods but made for mere mortals. The wellness resort’s own origin story centers around Marina Efraimoglou, who, surviving serious illness in her 20s, traded in investment banking to study Traditional Chinese Medicine and The Five Elements. Water guides the expansive four-floor spa experience, with Kneipp Therapy footbaths and a sensory sphere pool, not to mention steam, sauna and salt rooms. Programs range from highly scientific Signature Nutrigenomics to the holistic Odysseus Journey that playfully uses Homer’s epic poem on the hero as a framework for personal discovery. Their Mediterranean-minded GAIA restaurant keeps things refreshingly simple, while their 3GL PLUS therapy customizes meals to metabolic bio-markers. Guests are bound to depart feeling more Heraclean.

BEST ADVENTURE GETAWAY

Singita Sabora Tented Camp

Serengeti, Tanzania

Witnessing the world’s largest animal migration is a nonnegotiable bucket list item. When it’s time to check it off, it’s best to check into Singita Sabora Tented Camp. Within a 350,000-acre private concession of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, the luxury camp just got more luxurious with an end-of-2020 rebuild. Dressed in serene savannah neutrals, suites feature meditation decks, outdoor daybeds and Guest Delis stocked with gourmet treats. Facing a watering hole, tents 8 and 9 offer in-room viewing, but safari walks and twice-daily game drives search out all the goods—giraffes, elephants, big cats. Teaching survival skills, animal tracking, nature identification and astronomy, their Mini Game Rangers’ Course has grown-ups querying “How mini do you have to be to join?” Despite the roughly two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle that pass through, there’s no herd mentality here, every itinerary is wildly personalized.

BEST FAMILY HOTEL

The Breakers Palm Beach

Palm Beach, Florida

There is a happier place on earth in Florida. Fronting the warm Atlantic Ocean, Villa Medici-inspired The Breakers Palm Beach is far more all-ages magical than Orlando. Here, the whole brood can frolic in the waves, be it surfing, kayaking, paddle boarding or snorkeling the reef, then hit the green for golf lessons. If playing Marco Polo in the oceanfront pools doesn’t tucker the kids out, there’s the indoor-outdoor Family Entertainment Center, complete with arcade and video game lounge, basketball court and playground. Oh, and an Italian restaurant, one of ten dining choices peppered throughout the 140-acre property. With daily activities ranging from tie-dye to dance parties, parents shouldn’t need to resort to bribery, but there is a candy shop and toy store onsite if it ever comes to that.

BEST FAR-FLUNG ESCAPE

Constance Tsarabanjina Madagascar

Tsarabanjina Island, Madagascar

No shirt, no shoes, no problem. News, televisions and telephones aren’t an issue either at all-inclusive Constance Tsarabanjina. As if Madagascar wasn’t remote enough, this barefoot luxury escape of 25 thatched-roof bungalows is even farther, off the coast on a private isle. Billed as Robinson Crusoe-like, albeit no rescue required, the experience here is akin to the Indian Ocean tides, one thing effortlessly rolls into the next. Between waking and sleeping, it’s laying on the beach with book in hand, diving to swim with sea turtles and receiving massages set to the real-time rhythm of lapping waves. As the sunset starts tinging the sky impossibly pastel, it’s time for a Mai Tai at the sand-bottomed bar before feasting on freshly caught seafood back on the shore. Guests leave feeling as delightfully light as they packed.