World’s Best Hotels 2011: America

The U.S. economy may be losing ground to rising powers in emerging markets, but the country’s luxury hotel industry is performing better than ever. The U.S. counts 50 establishments among the World’s Best Hotels, according to Institutional Investor’s exclusive ranking of five-star hotels. That’s more citations than Europe, Asia, and Middle East and Africa. These hotels range from unique boutiques to flagships of the world’s leading luxury hotel chains, but they all share superior accommodations and a high standard of personal service, according to the senior financial executives who rate the hotels.

Distinctiveness rates highly among the voters. Topping the list this year is the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, a boutique that has dominated the hotel scene in Dallas, Texas, since it opened more than 30 years ago. In second place is the Peninsula Beverly Hills, a Renaissance style establishment located near the famed Rodeo Drive shopping mecca. The Hay-Adams, a 19th century Washington, D.C. landmark that sits across Lafayette Square from the White House, comes in third place. And at fourth is The Carlyle, a bastion of Upper East Side sophistication and elegance in New York.

Outside the U.S., voters rate the Four Seasons in Mexico City and the Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt in Buenos Aires as being the world’s top hotels.

	Rank	Hotel	City	Rating
	48	Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta	Atlanta	85.6
	47	New York Palace	New York	85.8
	46	Four Seasons	Chicago	85.9
	45	Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead	Atlanta	86.3
	44	St. Regis	San Francisco	86.5
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. Photo: Steven Evans	43	Four Seasons	Toronto	86.6
	42	St. Regis	Houston	87.1
	41	Sofitel Chicago Water Tower	Chicago	87.4
	40	Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common	Boston	87.5
	39	Mandarin Oriental	Washington, DC	87.7
	38	Four Seasons	New York	88.1
	37	Park Hyatt	Chicago	88.1
	36	Arizona Biltmore	Phoenix	88.2
	35	Halekulani	Honolulu	88.3
	34	Mandarin Oriental	Boston	88.3
	33	Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park	New York	88.6
	32	Four Seasons	Washington, DC	88.7
	31	Four Seasons	Las Vegas	88.9
	30	Ritz-Carlton (Four Seasons)	Chicago	88.9
	29	Four Seasons	Boston	89.2
	28	Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne	Miami	89.3
	27	Palacio Duhau, Park Hyatt	Buenos Aires	89.7
Mobil Five-Star Lodgings Four Seasons Hotel New York, New York www.fourseasons.com Mandarin Oriental, New York, New York www.mandarinoriental.com The Point, Saranac Lake www.thepointresort.com The Ritz-Carlton New York, New York www.ritzcarlton.com The St. Regis Hotel, New York, New York www.stregis.com Mobil Five-Star Restaurants Alain Ducasse, New York www.alain-ducasse.com Jean Georges, New York www.jean-georges.com Masa, New York www.masarestaurant.com per se, New York www.frenchlaundry.com	25*	Mandarin Oriental	New York	89.8
	25*	Four Seasons at Beverly Hills	Los Angeles	89.8
	24	Four Seasons	Philadelphia	89.9
	23	Mandarin Oriental	Miami	90.0
	22	Plaza Athenee	New York	90.2
	21	St. Regis	New York	90.2
	20	Four Seasons	Mexico City	90.5
	19	Peninsula	New York	90.5
	18	Beverly Wilshire (Four Seasons)	Los Angeles	90.5
	17	Pierre	New York	90.6
	16	Beverly Hills	Los Angeles	90.7
	15	Four Seasons	Seattle	90.7
	14	Phoenician	Phoenix	90.8
	13	Willard InterContinental	Washington, DC	90.8
	12	Conrad	Miami	91.2
	11	Boulders	Phoenix	91.3
	10	Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown	Washington, DC	91.6
	9	Mandarin Oriental	San Francisco	91.7
	8	Peninsula	Chicago	91.8
	7	Tower Suites at Wynn Las Vegas	Las Vegas	92.2
	6	Four Seasons	Atlanta	92.7
	5	Four Seasons at Las Colinas	Dallas	92.9
	4	Carlyle	New York	93.9
	3	Hay-Adams	Washington, DC	94.0
	2	Peninsula	Los Angeles	94.3
	1	Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek	Dallas	94.8