Few sectors have been hit as hard by the recession as the hospitality industry. Consumers and corporations alike have been quick to cut back on travel to reduce expenses, causing hotel occupancy rates to plunge to historic lows. Most industries have cut back sharply in response to falling revenues but when your product is luxurious accommodations and top-notch service, that’s not an option.
As a result, the competition to rate highly in Institutional Investor’s annual ranking of the 2009 World’s Best Hotels is as hot as ever. We asked 150 senior financial executives from 39 countries to tell us which hotels they prefer. The table below lists their top ten favorites in 74 cities.
Three of this year’s winners are profiled: Four Seasons Milan, Grand Hyatt Shanghai and Peninsula Chicago.
Whether they are the ultramodern hotels like the Shanghai’s dramatic Grand Hyatt, which occupies the top of the 88-story Jin Mao Tower, or the historic buildings like the Four Seasons Milan, which occupies a renovated 15th-century convent, these hotels know how to pamper travelers with sumptuos lodgings and refined service. For those still on the road, what better time to take advantage?
| Rank | Hotel/City |
| 1 | Four Seasons Milan |
| 2 | Grand Hyatt Shanghai |
| 3 | Park Hyatt Paris–Vendôme Paris |
| 4 | Peninsula Chicago |
| 5 | Connaught London |
| 6 | Ritz Paris |
| 7 | Peninsula Tokyo |
| 8 | Peninsula Los Angeles |
| 9 | Four Seasons Hong Kong |
| 10 | Four Seasons at Sultanahmet Istanbul |
