Best hotel in the world named as the Oberoi Udaivilas by Travel + Leisure magazine

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Best hotel in the world named as the Oberoi Udaivilas by Travel + Leisure magazine

By Craig Platt
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The luxurious Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, India, has been named the best hotel in the world by prestigious travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

Hotel guests are met at the airport and taken by private car to a ferry that carries them across Lake Pichola to the property.

Spread over 50 acres (20.2 hectares), the hotel features a 20-acre (8 ha) wildlife sanctuary and vast gardens, with the building itself connected through domes and corridors. The hotel features the largest rooms in the region, ranging in size from 55 square metres to a whopping 246 square metres.

World's best: The Oberoi Udaivilas.

World's best: The Oberoi Udaivilas.

But staying at the world's best hotel doesn't come cheap - with a nightly rack rate of 52,000 rupees ($1095) for the most basic room (though you can get a discount rate of about $500 a night on the hotel's website), up to 750,000 rupees ($15,803) a night for the top Kohinoor suite, which features separate living and dining rooms with fireplaces, fountained courtyards, garden terraces and an 18-metre private pool.

The hotel has been added to the awards' "Hall of Fame", having made the list for 10 years in a row.

Australia didn't fare well in the Travel + Leisure's world's best awards, with no Australian properties managing to crack the top 100 hotels list. Nor did Australia feature in the top 10 world's best cities list, which was topped by Kyoto - another accolade for Japanese tourism after Monocle recently named Tokyo the world's most liveable city. Somewhat surprisingly, the US city of Charleston ranked second, followed by Siem Reap in Cambodia and Italian favourites Florence and Rome.

The best result for Australia came from Tasmania, which was named the best island in the region - despite competing with the tropical paradises of the South Pacific - and the fourth best island in the world overall.

Video: Tasmania - best island in the region?

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Tourism Australia managing director, John O'Sullivan, praised the result.

"In many ways this is an island which really epitomises the essence of Australia's destination appeal - raw, unspoilt natural beauty, incredible fresh food, wine and culinary experiences," he said.

The Galapagos Islands, Bali and the Maldives were the destinations that beat Tasmania to the top spot.

Within Australia, Travel + Leisure named the Four Seasons Sydney as the country's best hotel, followed by the Langham in Melbourne (read Traveller's review), the Sydney Park Hyatt (Traveller's review), Intercontinental (Traveller's review)and Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay.

Travel + Leisure's top 10 hotels in the world

(Some properties share the same ranking having received the same score in the awards)

1. The Oberoi Udaivilas
Udaipur, India

2. Hotel Castello di Casole
Casole d'Elsa, Italy

3. Ashford Castle
County Mayo, Ireland

3. Triple Creek Ranch
Darby, Montana

5. The Oberoi Rajvilas
Jaipur, India

6. Four Seasons Hotel,
Istanbul at Sultanahmet

7. Singita Sabi Sand
Kruger National Park Area, South Africa

8. Farmhouse Inn
Forestville, California

8. The Peninsula
Shanghai

8. Sunset Key Guest Cottages
Key West, Florida

See also: Ten of the world's best hotel bathrooms
See also: The best hotel breakfast experiences

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