Luxury Hotels of World

"If I had to pick the best places I've ever stayed, this would be number one" (apt for the top-scoring property on this year's Gold List). With views of three countries—Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos—this resort surrounded by a bamboo forest offers perfect-scoring activities including "learning to ride an elephant bareback."

"The tents were beautiful—true luxury," with handcrafted furniture, mosquito nets, and a hand-hammered copper bathtub—garnering a perfect rooms score. Staff earned a perfect score for "second-to-none service," as did the restaurant Nong Yao for regional and Western cuisines served in a thatched-roof pavilion.

2. Peninsula House, Dominican Republic

"The most luxurious place in the Caribbean"—and the top-scoring property in the Americas—is "a magnificent hillside retreat with a glorious pool and Atlantic views." This two-year-old Victorian-style house is "like a museum," with eclectic art scattered throughout. Suites have Brazilian hardwood floors and antiques such as Chinese bamboo storage trunks and an Indian ivory cabinet. The kitchen makes use of the on-site organic garden. Lunch is served at the Beach Club, a couple of miles from the property (rides there and back are complimentary). "The personal service was never less than excellent."

3. Blanket Bay, New Zealand

This upscale lodge in a perfect-scoring location between the Southern Alps and Lake Wakatipu means "majestic seclusion," with perfect-scoring rooms that have stone fireplaces, recycled timber, floor-to-ceiling arched windows, antler chandeliers, and "very welcoming hot tubs." The menu at the restaurant, "which has wonderful, unique tastes," emphasizes local meats like Canterbury duck leg and Angus beef. Perfect-scoring staff "never miss a thing."

4. King Pacific Lodge, British Columbia

At this floating ecolodge made of pine, cedar, fir, and stone, "all rooms are front-row seats" on the wildlife in the Great Bear Rainforest. Staff exhibit "passion for the ancient values of the Gitga'at people," in a "wilderness made welcoming by the very civilized lodge." Slate bathrooms have soaking tubs, and the "best food ever" includes smoked black cod and grilled coho salmon. The lodge developed mentoring programs with local indigenous communities.

5. La Scalinatella, Capri, Italy

A stay at the top-scoring property in Europe begins on the right note when perfect-scoring staff "address you by name as soon as you arrive." The Moorish hotel in a pine grove has "a wonderful clifftop location" and guest rooms with handmade Neapolitan tiles, ceramics, and terraces with views of Marina Piccola bay. The poolside Mediterranean restaurant, which changes its menu weekly, serves "an excellent breakfast and lunch."