Travel & Leisure names the world’s best hotels

Sure, the 25 best hotels on the T+L 500—the annual list of the world’s top 500 properties, as chosen by Travel + Leisure readers—include many familiar names: Four Seasons, Oberoi, Ritz-Carlton, and Taj. There are also familiar places: former maharajah’s palaces in India, swanky city hotels in the U.S., and opulent game reserves in South Africa all scored high.

But there’s been some shakeup at the top of this prestigious list. This year’s top 25 welcomes a couple newcomers: the luxury log-cabin retreat of Triple Creek Ranch, in Darby, Montana; and the similarly rustic-yet-posh Treetops Lodge and Estate, set on the volcanic plateau of Rotorua, New Zealand. It’s a statement that T+L readers are always exploring and looking for new experiences.

Another big shift: Two properties in India jumped dramatically higher in this year’s rankings. One was the spectacularly opulent Oberoi Rajvilas in Jaipur, which scored the number 2 spot this year (up from number 11 in 2008); the other was the Oberoi Amarvilas, adjacent to the Taj Mahal in Agra (up to number 6 from last year’s 10th-place ranking).

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