A boutique hotel designed to reflect its Caribbean surroundings and show off its colonial heritage in the fortified, port town of Cartagena, Colombia has been named the top new hotel in the world by TripAdvisor users.
Hotel Casa San Agustin took the top spot on TripAdvisor’s Hot New Hotel list this year, which guests described as a “true jewel in the Caribbean” and a “pampered oasis.”
Guests heap particularly lavish praise on the level of hotel service, with the personalized butler feature described as “world class.”
Composed of three colonial white-washed buildings, the property straddles modern conveniences and luxury that includes iPad-powered concierge services with preserved original frescoes and centuries-old wood-beamed ceilings.
It’s the latest accolade for the Colombia hotel, which made it on to Fodor’s 100 Hotel Awards 2013 as well as Condé Nast Traveler’s Hot New Hotels 2013 list.
For the ranking, hotels had to have opened in the last year and earn a minimum four out of five-bubble rating. The list is made up of 33 hotels in 18 countries, including luxury properties in less predictable locations such as Arkansas; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Vilnius, Lithuania.
Topping the Hot New Hotel list for the US is the 21c Museum Hotel Bentonville, Arkansas, while the Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai took the top spot for Asia. The Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square in the Lithuanian capital took the top spot for Europe.
Here are the top 10 hot new hotels in the world according to TripAdvisor users:
1. Hotel Casa San Agustin, Cartagena, Colombia
2. Kura Design Villas Uvita, Uvita, Costa Rica
3. Taj Palace Marrakech, Marrakech, Morocco
4. 21c Museum Bentonville, Bentonville, Arkansas
5. Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square, Vilnius, Lithuania
6. Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai, Shanghai, China
7. Refinery Hotel, New York
8. Ampersand Hotel, London, UK
9. Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Baku, Azerbaijan
10. Zero George Street, Charleston, South Carolina
