Words by Deanne Kaczerski, Shari Mycek, Becca Hensley, Ann Abel, Jake Emen, and Kathryn Romeyn. Each hotel is being equally honored in no particular order.
White-glove service, the staple of truly luxurious travel, actually predates hotels. The concept began in aristocratic European households where butlers and valets wore white cotton gloves to signal cleanliness, a strict code of conduct, and protection of the home’s fine objects (silver, crystal). The gloves became symbolic of dignity and unerring precision.
The idea was adopted by luxury hotels in the early 20th century (think icons like The Ritz, Paris; Savoy, London; and Waldorf-Astoria, New York), where it became standard to see staff wearing white gloves in dining rooms, reception, and bell service. Although the physical white gloves have somewhat dissipated from the hotel scene, the concept of providing ‘white-glove’ service and anticipating guests’ every need remains a stronghold in the luxury realm. And every so often, we are lucky to still see both the physical gloves and the stellar service (cue Belmond Royal Scotsman). Standout service we joyously experienced this year — here are the Very Best:
Belmond Royal Scotsman
Belmond Royal Scotsman offers a kind of white-glove service that stays with you long after the journey ends. From the moment you step aboard, the staff brings a mix of Scottish warmth and almost instinctive precision to everything they do — remembering every preference and dietary need with a level of care that puts most five-star hotels to shame, crafting dishes so thoughtfully you’re never without. They snap candid photos throughout the trip and quietly AirDrop them later, giving you moments you didn’t even realize you had. A blanket appears the instant the breeze cools, a cup of tea arrives just when you think you might want one, and conversations unfold with a kindness that feels disarmingly familiar. By the time the train pulls back into the station, it’s hard to believe these people weren’t part of your life all along — and even harder to imagine how much you’ll miss them once you’ve gone.
Atzaró Okavango, Botswana, Africa
“Mighty,” our personal guide at Atzaró Okavango is most aptly named. From the moment we touch down (by helicopter) in the sage fields near the luxury safari camp, Mighty (short for Maitapiso Mosiiwa), is there to greet, personalize, and elevate the experience. Each of Atzaró Okavango’s 12 luxury suites is paired with its own personal guide, and because Atzaró is situated near the Moremi Game Reserve, within an expansive 271,000-acre private concession (versus national park land), it is void of the overcrowding often found in other safari destinations. In fact, it is possible to go the entire day without ever encountering another jeep. Mighty personally guides us on every single game drive — combining compelling storytelling with stellar tracking talent. Our leopard sighting — which we wistfully expressed hopes of experiencing — comes on the very last drive after Mighty wheeled us off road and through thickets of brush. Who doesn’t love a man who delivers on his promises?
Ritz-Carlton Reserves
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve portfolio is a small but impressive collection of eight prestige properties around the world (with a ninth due to open soon). Each is unique to itself, built around its specific locale and based as much as possible on local culture, design, flavors, and experiences. The common thread, though, is an exceptional focus on attentive, bespoke service. Guests at each property will be tended to by their own butler, generally available to be texted and communicated with 24/7 via WhatsApp or other messaging services. Your butler also turns into your personal chauffeur, providing on-demand buggy rides across properties that stretch over a wide swath of land. Ask and you shall receive from these fine ladies and gentlemen, who somehow manage to do it all with an honest and endearing smile.
Micatos Safaris, India
Effervescent, ebullient India is like that handsome extrovert at the party you’re dying to meet, but whom you’re afraid to approach. With Micato Safaris, an up-market outfitter best known for its spectacular African Safaris, but with ancestral roots in India, you won’t only be introduced to that social butterfly, you’ll fall deeply in love with him. A personable, affable organization that customizes even its group tours to guests’ needs, Micato and their India team deftly guide guests through their home country as if teaching them dance steps. Shown so much beauty and culture through Micato’s eyes, travelers delve more deeply into the adventure, relaxing into India’s infinite rhythm until it touches their soul, becoming like family. Expect VIP everything from suites in palaces to pillow gifts of the caliber you’d buy yourself. You’ll meet family friends — jewelers, yoga masters, writers, craftsmen, architects. You’ll become part of the chaos and the glory. You’ll leave utterly transformed, your guide a friend for life, and India ever etched into your being. Special call out to master guides Hem Singh and Puneet Dan, wizards of the realm.
Abercrombie & Kent Tours of Egypt
The Grand Egyptian Museum is finally open, and there’s no better way to visit it — and the rest of Egypt — than with Abercrombie & Kent. Long revered as Egypt’s most deeply connected outfitter, the respected company does both small group trips and individually organized tours. They lead visitors to the classic sites as well as take them further afield or to experience hidden gems. They offer surprises: secret doors to unknown temples, peepholes through pyramids, time with a seamstress, or moments with an artist at work. Ever attentive, A & K’s Egypt guides, such as dapper superstar hieroglyphic-reading Medhat Ramadan, exemplify the A&K difference, embodying the outfitter’s stellar reputation amongst Egyptians on every level. Kudos to this remarkable company and its flawlessly immersive tours of Egypt.
Aman New York
At the Aman New York, the big things certainly make a big impression — the incredible multi-story spa and fitness center; the enormous, sultry guestrooms — but it’s the little things that you’ll recall more frequently. The service team notices it all, and upon hearing why you’re visiting the city, you might end up receiving a little gift relevant to your interests. One of our writers came back from a tattoo appointment to a book about Japanese tattoos and a self-care kit in his room. Of course, as with any stay at an Aman, it ends with the delivery of a property-specific luggage tag for your bag, here customized with a caricature name plate. Diners at the omakase counter within Nama also receive a large caricature drawing and a calligraphy note card with their menu.
Hôtel Edouard 7, Paris, France
Visitors to Paris choose the extraordinary Hotel Edouard VII for its stylish interiors awash in velvets, silk, cashmere, and pops of spellbinding art, as well as for its key location on the Right Bank, a short walk from the Paris Opera Garnier. Additionally, it lies near most of Paris’ most oft-visited sites. The hotel’s pampering Corner Suite with a wrap-around balcony, which overlooks the Opera, might be Paris’ best-kept secret, while the hotel’s French owners ensure a stay that delivers a sense of place. But, by far, the chic Hotel Edouard VII’s greatest asset is Head Concierge Renaud Cauvin, a virtuoso of VIP insiders’ knowledge and acumen. Daily, he performs Herculean tasks to the great delight of guests. We’ve seen him procure impossible-to-nab theater, Michelin-starred restaurant, or exhibition tickets, arrange for a passport replacement with the U.S. embassy in an hour or less, plan a birthday party, pamper a four-year-old child with gifts, and arrange for a full-sized refrigerator to be hefted to a top-floor corner suite for a guest with acute food allergies. For him, nothing is impossible, and he does it all with kindness, humility, efficiency, and affability.
Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
The coffee service that follows a dinner at the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo’s stylish Caleta restaurant isn’t the standard-issue delivery of caffeine. Rather, it’s an artful presentation of the world’s most luxurious coffee. (This is not an exaggeration. The Geisha coffee produced in Panama’s Boquete region is seriously prestigious; it set a world record price at auction this year, with a lot being sold for $30,204 per kilogram.) The servers prepare it as a barista would at the most special of specialty coffee shops, grinding the beans and heating the water tableside, then serving it as a pour-over at the perfect temperature. It’s paired with a tasting of sweets that enhance rather than detract from the flavor.
Dolder Grand, Zurich, Switzerland
The presentation of the cheese course at the Michelin two-star Restaurant at the Dolder Grand stands out for its aesthetic grace and its technical exactness. In keeping with tradition, a server rolls a vintage wood trolley around the room, presenting a selection of cheeses from Switzerland and beyond, all paired with premium chutneys, honeys, and the like. They’ve been selected and aged by master affineur Rolf Beeler (who does not make cheeses but is widely known and sometimes awarded for his collection and handling of terroir-based raw-milk cheeses from small artisan producers). The additional charge for a five-piece selection is a very worthwhile addition to the price of the Restaurant’s tasting menus.
Finca La Bobadilla, Sierra de Loja, Spain
This one isn’t white glove so much as it is wet waders. Caviar is everywhere these days, produced in almost every country and showing up in winking high-low combinations (with waffles or soft-serve ice cream) on showy restaurant menus around the world. But when the Barcelona-based Único Hotels group took over the storied Andalusia institution Finca La Bobadilla earlier this year, they set out to bring a more experiential approach to enjoying the fishy treat. They take guests to the nearby Riofrio, the world’s first certified organic caviar farm, where visitors can wade into the waist-deep tanks with the sturgeon before enjoying a tasting of the salty eggs.
Loapi at Tswalu, Southern Kalahari, South Africa
Heaven is a place called Tswalu Kalahari, a more than 460-square-mile private reserve with lions, rhinos, and lemurs, oh my. And that’s not only because of the absolutely surreal landscapes that unfold on game drives — or the wildlife itself. It’s also thanks to ravishing design, incredible cuisine, and, to a great extent, the entourage of wondrously talented South Africans making it all extra magical. Especially at Loapi, a camp of six super-private tented residences that will compel you to think of tents in an entirely new way. Each has its own dedicated private chef, meaning you eat like royalty. You have your own driver and guide, too, for the most intimate sightings. And also a butler, who flawlessly executes it all and anticipates every need with a genuine smile. Oh, and those traveling with little ones get their own private nanny, who can ride along on drives, too.
Featured image courtesy of Ludovic Balay
