TFCbest. The best hotels I found around the world in this 2025
Once again this year it is obligatory to recount my best experiences around the world, but since there is no mention [...]
Also this year is Mandatory recounting of my best experiences around the world, but since we are not just talking about airplanes and lounges, from 2024 I do a special installment of TFCbest dedicated to hotels.
In this article:
Every Friday morning I post a review and, this year, there were more than 50 and are all available for consultation here.
I'll say it right away: no living room got top marks and the Mandapa, Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Ubud, ranked as the 50th best hotel in the world, remains the best facility where I have ever stayed.
The methodology
The rules are the same as the other TFCbest: I am talking about facilities that I visited, as a paying customer, and reviewed between December 2024 and November 2025. As with all other rankings, there is no chance for the same winner to triumph in two different awards.
Best hotel ever
Of all the stays in the past 12 months, the "best hotel" award I assign it to a facility that unfortunately, at the moment, has closed its doors: the Graduate students on Roosevelt Island, New York..
The location, rooftop, and originality of this property were truly unique, especially considering that hotels in New York are often expensive, boring, and without views. Here, this hotel offered the exact opposite: adequate price, views of Manhattan, and a breath of fresh air. Too bad it is currently closed.
The best experience with points
Most of the points this year we used for hotels during our Polynesia vacation, so among the few stays paid for with points I have to award the St. Regis in Washington, D.C..
Structure 5 minutes' walk from the White House, here the tradition of sabrage is respected and the service is really of the highest standard. The price in points is not exaggerated and the return is really interesting.
The best luxury experience
Here I think there is little choice: the 2025 prize is all from the new Ritz-Carlton Bangkok. A newly opened facility that, in a crowded city like Thailand's capital, will surely be able to carve out its own space.
Mine was a killer birthday in a facility that truly amazed me. I had no doubts about the quality, but often when expectations are high the risk of ending up with a bitter taste in your mouth is just as high.
The best economic experience
In Italy spending 66€ to sleep in a chain hotel is practically impossible; in Dubai it is. I stayed at the DoubleTree M Square and ended up in a suite.
The area is not the classic one for Dubai tourist travelers, but the trade-off allowed me to discover a facility to which I would very happily return, and at this price, you cannot expect anything better.
The most authentic experience of 2025
The Amazon really marked me forever-a trip that came off the charts and enriched me in a way I never thought it would. La Casa do Bispo in Manaus is a nice facility, but there are several options in this city.
Winning the best experience award, however, is undoubtedly the Pousada Juma Kabanas, in the heart of the jungle. Here I isolated myself from everything and everyone, and I must say it was a discovery.
The special mentions of 2025
This year I literally stayed on every continent, also accomplice to the Turkish Airlines challenge. There have been many good stories, but there have also been flops.
- L'Hilton Sydney Has a unique location in the city center and, Despite its age, it has been really well maintained, also aided by the facelift that rejuvenated him.
- The rooftop of the Marriott Sukhumvit in Bangkok is really nice, the breakfast huge and the location interesting, for this Is one of those facilities that I would recommend in this city.
- A hotel inside an F1 track: the W Hotel Abu Dhabi is a very unique structure, with double rooftop pool runway view. A spectacular location, although not exactly close to the "historic" center of the UAE capital.
- One of the historical insignia of London, the Waldorf Astoria in the heart of the West End, is a safe haven. Sure, the rooms may not be as spacious as in Dubai, but you can breathe history here.
- If you happen to be stranded outside theMunich Airport, the Hilton is considered, not by mistake, One of the best airport hotels in the world.
