Cream of the crop: Top hotels offer heady mix of experiences

Tripadvisor, the world’s largest online travel guidance platform, recently released its 2022 Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best rankings for Singapore, Asia and the world.

It has identified top stays in six continents and 90 countries that have been highly rated by travellers on its platform. 

Topping the Singapore list is Capella Singapore, which is no newcomer to the listings. In 2017, it was one of the top hotels in the Luxury category, and in 2020, it won in the Overall Top Hotels category.

Here's a look at the top choices:

Capella Singapore offers a verdant setting while providing easy access to Singapore's financial and shopping districts.

It leads the local list of hotels, which also includes world-renowned names such as Raffles Hotel and Resorts World Sentosa.

Spanning more than 12ha of rainforest, the resort is perched on a knoll showcasing Singapore's rich colonial heritage.

The gateways to the hotel are the restored, white-washed buildings, Tanah Merah I and Tanah Merah II, which have a history dating back to the late 1800s when the buildings were used as barracks and common areas for members of the British officers of the Royal Artillery and Coastal Defence Command and their families.

Launched in March 2009, the resort has 112 guestrooms, suites and villas designed by British architect Norman Foster.

Weaving the best of old and new architectural designs, the hotel block and the framed rooftops of its villas resemble the figure "8", which is emblematic of good fortune in Chinese culture.

The hotel recently underwent a year-long refurbishment of its suites and villas, which were originally designed by the late Indonesian interior designer Jaya Ibrahim. Awash in a palette of earthy sand, sage and mineral grey, the new suites now feature a blend of laid-back luxury and organic contemporary design.

Mr Yngvar Stray, general manager of Capella Singapore, says that besides Capella's design, its curated experiences are also what draw global visitors to the hotel.

Besides fine-dining restaurants such as Cassia and Bob's Bar, he says the resort's large event spaces provide an attractive location for business travellers in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions category.

Next month, Fiamma, a new restaurant concept in collaboration with renowned Italian-Argentinian chef Mauro Colagreco, will open its doors at the hotel.

Offering 97 villas which include accommodation that is designed to be over-water as well as lining the beach, Six Senses Laamu is located on the Laamu Atoll in the Indian Ocean and is sought-after for its turquoise blue, almost see-through, waters and pristine beaches.

The villas are spread out over jetties in a geometric pattern and interaction with nature is gently encouraged throughout the resort.

The wood bungalows are equipped with docking stations for digital devices, television and home entertainment systems. The villas also come with air-conditioning and open-top bathrooms where visitors can gaze at the stars while showering.

One of the top draws is the frequent sightings of playful dolphins along the shores of Six Senses Laamu. There are also turtles , massive manta rays and a diversity of colourful underwater wildlife as well as rare birds and butterflies.

Tulemar is a jungle resort development in Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica which is designed as a gated and secure resort amid a 13ha elevated terrain overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

It includes the Tulemar Bungalows and villas such as the Villa Mot Mot and Casa Panorama as well as the new Tulemar Bamboo Villas. Each villa is assigned a personal concierge to help guests from the moment they book to the moment they leave.

Ms Lauren Seale, marketing manager for Tulemar Bungalows and Villas, tells The Straits Times: "Each of our villas, casas and bungalows is unique in style, decor and size."

She says that Tulemar is also home to The Sloth Institute of Costa Rica, where the property also serves as a sanctuary for an abundance of wildlife such as sloths, monkeys, toucans and macaws.

Housed in a 1920s colonial military building which was once used by the artillery garrison of the British Army in Singapore, Villa Samadhi Singapore takes pride of place in a leafy, shaded retreat in the heart of Labrador Nature Park and is steeped in heritage and history.

It currently ranks as one of the Top 20 hotels in Asia in the Romance category of the Travellers' Choice Awards: Best of the Best.

The property boasts 20 distinctive rooms which fuse modern amenities with the hotel's rustic-luxe branding. In line with the brand's ethos, only recycled or salvaged wood and sustainable materials are used throughout the property.

Villa Samadhi is managed by Samadhi Retreats, the hospitality arm of Labrador Hill Private Limited. The colonial building was restored in 2011 by Samadhi Retreats while keeping as much of its original structure as possible and working closely with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the National Parks Board, which manages Labrador Nature Park.

The villa is linked by a jungle boardwalk to another colonial bungalow which Samadhi Retreats has converted into Tamarind Hill restaurant.

The swanky eatery, which serves Thai and Shan cuisine, features massive old-world chandeliers.

Imagine a surreal landscape of man-made caves carved into rock by tribes of people dating back to the Persian empire more than 2,000 years ago.

The Kayakapi Premium Caves in Cappadocia, Turkey, is nestled within about 27ha near the rapidly modernising city of Urgup.

The sheer density of the underground habitats, mediaeval churches and rock formations makes the area one of the world's most striking and largest cave-dwelling complexes.

The 32 tastefully furnished "cave rooms" also accommodate private cave pools and hammams, or natural hot-water communal steam baths.

Look out of your cave window and you can see the Goreme National Park, which has been protected after it was inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 1985.

The neighbourhood took shape in the 18th century when it attracted wealthy Ottoman families who transformed the rustic dwellings into elegant homes.

Kayakapi hotel's offbeat architecture is one of its biggest draws, featuring intricate stonework and courtyard gardens amid an underground labyrinth.