London, UK - Hailed as the Michelin of boutique hotels, the Club quality tests over 400 gold standards of hospitality excellence to find stays of unrivalled character and calibre. The world’s best boutique hotels are:

World’s Best Boutique Hotel -  San Ysidro Ranch, Santa Barbara, California

World’s Best Beach Hotel - Velaa Private Island, Maldives

World’s Best Chic Hotel - Hotel TwentySeven, Amsterdam, Netherlands
World’s Best City Hotel - Casa Polanco, Polanco, Mexico
World’s Best Classic Hotel - Akademie Street Boutique Hotel, South Africa
World’s Best Design Hotel - Hotel Motto, Vienna
World's Best Eco Hotel - Cielo Lodge, Golfito, Costa Rica
World's Best Family Hotel - ASTER Natur & Idylle im Zillertal, Tyrol, Austria
World's Best Honeymoon Hotel - San Ysidro Ranch, Santa Barbara, California
World’s Best New Hotel - Casa Silencio, Oaxaca, Mexico
World's Best Romantic Hotel - The Carlin Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand
World's Best Spa Hotel - Green Spa Resort Stanglwirt, Going am Wilden Kaiser, Austria
World's Best Hotel with a View - Athina Luxury Suites, Santorini, Greece
World's Best Nature Hotel - The Crocodile Hunter Lodge, Australia

BACKGROUND
For 14 years the Boutique Hotel Club has carefully selected the world’s best boutique hotels, accepting nominations and conducting on-site reviews to quality-test the true guest experience of each nominee. The Club independently tests for quality, style and emotional impact using a proprietary Boutique Hotel Club Quality Assessment. This system comprises 400 gold standards of facilities and service execution covering every aspect of guest experience. 
Though all the Club’s properties are one-of-a-kind some threads run through them, connecting proudly different hotels in shared ideals. Hotels making the cut possess these five characteristics that form the pillars of the brand:

Sharing wholeheartedly - A state of mind where the joy of living in a place spills over into a desire to connect and share that wonderful something with a guest.

Connection to the region - Through a passion for celebrating the local culture, Boutique Hotel Club-selected properties give guests the true wonder of travel: exploration of lands unknown. This can be through experiences, cuisine or simply through people firmly rooted in the country and region. Our hotels find and keep staff with their finger on the pulse of the region's cultural heart.

Emotional impact - True hospitality goes beyond delivering fastidious service and material luxury. From the creators to the day-to-day staff, extraordinary hotels possess the emotional intelligence to heighten the internal experience of their guests.

Unique sense of place - Each property should possess a creative design flair that afford it a unique place in the memory of each traveller who walks through its doors. When you’re there, you feel as though you couldn’t be anywhere else.

Alchemy - The real magic comes in the balance between the good ingredients chosen. In the finest hotels design, location, personalities, history and character come together in harmony to achieve an overarching immersive experience.