Atlantis The Royal in Dubai. Courtesy Dany Eid
Atlantis The Royal in Dubai. Courtesy Dany Eid
Atlantis The Royal in Dubai. Courtesy Dany Eid
Atlantis The Royal in Dubai. Courtesy Dany Eid

Dubai's Atlantis The Royal ranked among World’s 50 Best Hotels


Soraya Ebrahimi
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Atlantis The Royal in Dubai has ranked 44th in a list of the World's 50 Best Hotels, which includes those from 35 locations across six continents.

On Tuesday evening, leaders of the travel industry gathered from all parts of the world to celebrate each other’s achievements at a ceremony in London's historic Guildhall.

Passalacqua, the luxury boutique hotel on the shores of Lake Como in Italy – which opened in June 2022 – took the top spot on list.

In its 18th century villa with spectacular terraced gardens running down to the water, the De Santis family has created an exquisite 24-room property with the feel of a private home.

In the No 2 spot is the towering Rosewood Hong Kong, set in the city’s Victoria Dockside arts and design district with stunning views over the harbour.

The Four Seasons Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River, the Upper House in Hong Kong and Aman Tokyo finished up the top five.

In the wider Mena region, two hotels in Marrakesh, Morocco, were also honoured by the list.

La Mamounia ranked sixth and the Royal Mansour 23rd on the list.

A room in La Mamounia, Marrakesh, Morocco. Courtesy M Collective
A room in La Mamounia, Marrakesh, Morocco. Courtesy M Collective

Twenty-one of the winning properties were in Europe.

London has solidified its reputation as a global travel centre, boasting four hotels on the list: Claridge’s (16th), The Connaught (22nd), NoMad London (46th) and The Savoy (47th).

Two other UK properties were also winners: Gleneagles in Scotland (32nd) – recipient of the Art of Hospitality Award announced in August – and The Newt in Bruton, Somerset (37th), which was awarded the Carlo Alberto Best Boutique Hotel Award.

Other accolades were given to hotels and people deemed to be best in class.

The Lost Explorer Best Beach Hotel Award was awarded to Soneva Fushi (seventh) in the Maldives.

Sonu Shivdasani, co-founder and chief executive of Soneva, and founder and former chief executive of Six Senses, won the SevenRooms Icon Award.

Capella Bangkok (11th) won the Nikka Best New Hotel Award.

The Flor de Cana Eco Hotel Award went to Singita Lodges (15the) in South Africa, after a rigorous audit by the Sustainable Restaurant Association.

A view of Claridge's. Courtesy M Collective
A view of Claridge's. Courtesy M Collective

“After seeing the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality industry, it’s been especially fulfilling to see so many hoteliers from around the world gather in London to celebrate each other’s achievements under one roof for the first-ever awards ceremony of The World’s 50 Best Hotels,” said Tim Brooke-Webb, managing director of The World’s 50 Best Hotels.

“Our heartfelt congratulations go out to each and every hotel on the list, and we hope this list inspires travel-lovers to book somewhere truly spectacular for their next trip.”

The World’s 50 Best Hotels list is created by The World’s 50 Best Hotels Academy, an influential group of more than 580 independent leaders, each selected for their expert opinion of the international hotel scene.

The resulting list is the first of its kind that hopes to inspire travellers to book stays at the finest 50 properties in the world.

The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2023 list in full

1 - Passalacqua, Moltrasio

2 - Rosewood Hong Kong, Hong Kong

3 - Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, Bangkok

4 - The Upper House, Hong Kong

5 - Aman Tokyo, Tokyo

6 - La Mamounia, Marrakesh

7 - Soneva Fushi, Maldives

8 - One&Only Mandarina, Puerto Vallarta

9 - Four Seasons Firenze, Florence

10 - Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Bangkok

11 - Capella Bangkok, Bangkok

12 - The Calile, Brisbane

13 - Chable Yucatan, Chochola

14 - Aman Venice, Venice

15 - Singita Lodges – Kruger National Park, Kruger National Park

16 - Claridge's, London

17 - Raffles Singapore, Singapore

18 - Nihi Sumba, Wanokaka

19 - Hotel Esencia, Tulum

20 - Le Sirenuse, Positano

21 - Borgo Egnazia, Savelletri

22 - The Connaught, London

23 - Royal Mansour, Marrakesh

24 - Four Seasons Madrid, Madrid

25 - Aman New York, New York City

26 - The Maybourne Riviera, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

27 - Rosewood São Paulo, São Paulo

28 - Capella Singapore, Singapore

29 - Le Bristol, Paris

30 - Park Hyatt Kyoto, Kyoto

31 - La Reserve, Paris

32 - Gleneagles, Auchterarder

33 - Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes

34 - Cheval Blanc, Paris

35 - Four Seasons Astir Palace, Athens

36 - Soneva Jani, Maldives

37 - The Newt, Bruton

38 - Amangalla, Galle

39 - Hoshinoya Tokyo, Tokyo

40 - Desa Potato Head, Seminyak

41 - Eden Rock, St. Barths

42 - The Siam, Bangkok

43 - Badrutt's Palace, St. Moritz

44 - Atlantis The Royal, Dubai

45 - The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra

46 - NoMad London, London

47 - The Savoy, London

48 - Equinox New York, New York City

49 - Six Senses Ibiza, Portinatx

50 - Hotel de Crillon, Paris

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

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While you're here
MATCH INFO

Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')

Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')

Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)

What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The Two Popes

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce 

Four out of five stars

The biog

Name: James Mullan

Nationality: Irish

Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)

Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”

Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”

RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Raghida, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Alareeq, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-2 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,200m 
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Liwa Oasis Group 2 (PA) Dh300,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Trolius, Ryan Powell, Simon Crisford

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

FIXTURES

Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl

Punchy appearance

Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance

The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo

Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000

Engine: 5.6-litre V8

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

Updated: September 20, 2023, 4:56 AM