It is my life’s mission to quote Frasier whenever possible. There’s a great quote that I repeat over and over on TV: “What’s the only thing better than a delicious meal? A delicious meal with one small flaw that we could choose from all night long!” The flaw noted in the show was that there was “not even an outstanding cognac in the carte des digestives.”
When I visit a hotel to review for my article, there is almost always one major flaw that makes it a 10/10. Maybe the staff is too chatty at breakfast or they serve my latte in a tall glass, which I hate so much. Much more annoying: an offer of a bedroom with no intrusion from the cleaning staff when I return at the end of the day, or a “superior” Wi-Fi speed if I’m willing to pay the price.
Last summer I gave my first 10/10 since I started my monthly Telegraph column in 2017 to the newly opened Estelle Manor in Oxfordshire. I had to think long and hard about a fake fire alarm and whether I should deduct a point for it – but everything else was so perfect it felt like a trivial thing to do. This hotel received a full 10 points. I felt the same feelings you get after a truly amazing first date that turns into a weekend hookup. I didn’t want it to end. I couldn’t believe the beauty of the rooms designed by my favorite interiors studio, Roman and Williams, who are responsible for some of New York’s most gorgeous spaces.
I likened the look of the place to Wayne Manor in Batman, but there was also an exuberance and dazzling grandeur about it. It’s a place full of wow factor that makes me constantly wonder how much everything costs. The service was excellent, the landscaping was gorgeous, every menu in the various dining rooms offered something delicious, and the bedrooms made the Saltburn mansion look like a slum.
I literally took my breath away when I entered the Chinese restaurant; green malachite tables, velvet banquettes and shimmering copper-coloured mirrored panels make this one of the most elegant rooms in the country. Estelle Manor gets my first full 10 because it felt like it was created to love-bomb every guest who walks through the door.
Technically, Estelle Manor wasn’t the first place to receive full marks in one of my reviews; but it was the first place in that column (covering only UK hotels). The vast majority of The Telegraph’s thousands of hotel reviews are presented in a different format to my article: divided into six individually rated categories (location; style and character; service and amenities; rooms; food and drink; and value for money). ), the average of which determines the hotel’s overall score.
I wrote a review of Awasi after staying there while researching a property in Patagonia in 2022 and rated it 10/10. As with Estelle Manor, I felt that Awasi was designed to exceed each guest’s expectations. Essentially, a safari lodge in one of the most remote corners of Chile made me feel like I was in the home of an incredibly wealthy and hospitable best friend. Awasi seems to second guess everything you could possibly want and then make it even more special. When I returned from a trip one afternoon, a jacuzzi had been prepared for me.
Awasi reminded me of the Point on Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks in New York state, once a wooden mansion where the Rockefeller family could escape during the sweltering Manhattan summers of the 1920s. It’s a boutique all-inclusive system (there are only 11 rooms), with generous meals served every few hours. Champagne picnics are held in secret spots before guests take a walk in the forest and explore it. The whole place looks like the flashiest Ralph Lauren advertising campaign, and on each of my three visits, I intensely enjoyed every aspect of the experience, from black tie and tiara dinners to emperor-sized Goldilocks beds.
But the reviewer who visited for Telegraph Travel gave it a nine rather than the 10 I would definitely give.
Challenges of city hotels
Of course, all evaluations are subjective. And both The Point and Awasi are niche. The latter have 14 rooms and accommodation starts from £1,808 per night, so of course they can afford to pay extreme attention to detail and guests. It’s harder to deliver perfection on a huge property.
Tokyo is perhaps an exception to this rule. Mandarin Oriental and Peninsula are a solid 10 in my opinion, but if I were to pick a favorite in the city it would be Aman. This does not mean that I will get a point from others. Unlike places like New York, where the service culture is completely different, Tokyo makes really good hotels (tipping is a crime in Japanese culture; it’s expected in the United States).
Mark and Greenwich get as close to the 10s as I can imagine in Manhattan, but there are plenty of sixes and sevens, all in the five-star price range. The Gritti Palace in Venice is one of the Telegraph’s few reviews of the city’s hotels to score 10/10. My dream hotel in the Floating City. When I walk in, I get the same feeling I had at Estelle Mansion. It appeals to the heart as well as the eyes. I remember the first morning I sat at my table on the terrace on the Grand Canal and cried.
My proximity to the traffic jam of gondoliers rowing in straw hats past Peggy Guggenheim’s former home was sensory overload. However, shortly after that moment my experience differed from the other reviewer because breakfast took place. Bad food is no surprise in Venice, and both my reluctantly served morning cappuccino and my dinner that night were definitely in the “not a surprise” category. So there you have it: Gritti Palace’s only flaw for me.
Objectivity and expertise
My job is to put myself in the consumer’s shoes. Is this hotel worth it? Has enough effort and care been put into making this worth someone’s hard-earned (or even inherited or stolen) money? If not, why not? How does this compare to standards I’ve seen set elsewhere?
Obviously, the staff knows I’m a journalist; but while I can get a particularly good table at dinner and a few extra dishes “the chef wants you to try,” a hotel cannot offer a completely different spectacle to a visitor. on top of the other. I also do my homework and will avoid a property if I think it will be bad. Instead of allocating something to my editor just because it’s a new opening, I suggest hotels that would make an interesting column.
I’ve been writing about hotels for decades and I like to think I know what’s good and what’s bad and why; Even though there is no way I could pay £1,000 a night for a room. Although I can take the leap of imagination, this is not my reality. I asked Geoffrey Kent, founder of luxury travel brand Abercrombie & Kent, what makes a great hotel. “Beyond the thread count of the sheets, the glint of the faucets, or the turndown service, it emerges through small acts of warmth,” he said. “It comes in the form of a kind word when you are tired, showing genuine concern, a quiet force that makes you feel cared for at the same time as part of something bigger.”
Is perfection a fantasy?
Another hotel that The Telegraph gave 10/10 is Ballyfin, built in the 1820s as a luxury private home in the Irish countryside. The restoration to transform it into the country’s most luxurious hotel took longer than the original building, but the care put into it is evident in every piece of ornate hand-painted stucco. This is maximalist luxury designed to immerse you in a 19th-century fantasy of four-poster beds and enchanting cocktail rituals.
As I mentioned before, the perfect contemporary city hotel is much harder to come by. Park Hyatt Bangkok by Yabu Pushelberg is a solid 10/10 for me. This is a super modern hotel that doesn’t lull you with nostalgia. The spaces are sculptural in nature, brightly lit and dazzling, and there’s elevator access to a shiny shopping mall full of really good restaurants and interesting retail. In a city with aggressive humidity, this is gold.
Like the Park Hyatt Tokyo, best known for its star in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (and also among my favorite city properties), the Bangkok hotel is spread across the highest floors of a skyscraper. “Both are at the top of architectural landmarks,” says Andrew Mensforth, vice president of operations for Hyatt Asia Pacific. “They offer guests a sophisticated residential environment and panoramic views, as well as a tranquil respite from city streets.”
They also feel like they are a part of the city they live in. It’s hard to rate anything, whether it’s a movie, a meal, or a hotel. You can’t weigh this. You can’t take his warmth. A hotel I would rate between five and seven is quite different from an eight. 10/10 is incredibly rare, but in a way it’s easier to score because I know it instinctively. It’s not just about everything being perfect; It’s about feeling like the place is trying to improve on what’s already excellent and making me want to return as soon as possible.
Five more 10/10 Telegraph hotel reviews
Pale Hall, Wales
A fantastic Victorian manor house on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. The bedrooms are completely decadent, with ornate fireplaces and large windows offering panoramic views of the grounds. A harpist may serenade you as you drift down the gallery stairs in your stylish attire for drinks and canapés; At dinner, we expect creative riffs on regional dishes from the owner of Wales’ first Michelin Green Star.
Distinguish it: Doubles from £199
Son Blanc Farmhouse, Menorca
This beautiful 19th-century farmhouse is the baby of Benoit and Benedicta, a couple whose eye for detail and sustainable philosophy created a hotel filled with luxury money can’t buy. With lush green spaces, breakfast and dinner from the garden, yoga and pottery classes on offer, this is an unforgettable getaway.
Distinguish it:Doubles from £170
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Thailand
Perfectly located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok’s grande dame has been entertaining the great and the good for almost 150 years, and today her glitz, glamor, sumptuous food and quality service continue to attract hordes of gentry. . Extensive facilities are spread on both banks of the river; The ornately carved wooden pontoon will get you where you need to be.
Distinguish it: Doubles from £353
Il San Pietro di Positano, Italy
Legendary San Pietro lives up to its reputation and is frequented by stars such as George Clooney and Julia Roberts. But the luxury and spectacular surroundings on the Amalfi Coast belie the fact that it’s a family-run business at heart, so five-star service comes with genuine warmth.
Distinguish it: Doubles from £680
Dorp, South Africa
At the foot of Signal Hill, with unparalleled views of Table Mountain, Dorp is a grand but no-frills place to stay in Cape Town. A creative maverick’s work, added to the otherworldly atmosphere of a fairy-tale country garden, it is both heaven and inspiration.
Distinguish it: Doubles from £195