The World’s Top 100 Hotels

AGRA, INDIA The Oberoi Amarvilas Just 2,000 feet from the Taj Mahal, this respite from tourist-overrun Agra is surrounded by 9 acres of terraced gardens, fountains, and reflection pools. Each of the 95 rooms and seven suites faces India’s most famous monument, which glows in the moonlight. ($750–$975) http://www.oberoihotels.com BANGKOK, THAILAND The Siam A throwback TO […]

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires, La Mansión A three-story belle epoque mansion adjacent to the main Four Seasons tower, which is currently undergoing a $40 million renovation. The seven-suite former residence brings to mind the French expression riche comme un Argentin (rich as an Argentine) with lavish French-country decor befitting the surrounding […]

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort A year and a half old, this 377-room beachfront city resort is set within a larger residential development with expansive spa facilities and a shop-filled plaza resembling a Mediterranean village. While the hotel’s decor is Arabian-meets-Mediterranean, its buzzy restaurant 55&5th, The Grill, reflects the […]

ATLANTA Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta The former Mansion on Peachtree reemerged last year as a Mandarin Oriental, bringing on-point service and subtle Asian touches such as pad Thai served in the bar. A haven in central Buckhead, the hotel features an interior courtyard garden and a 14-room spa with a 60-foot indoor pool. ($325–$6,000) http://www.mandarinoriental.com BALTIMORE […]

Travelers have any number of hotel ratings systems at their disposal, offering stars, diamonds, and even crowns to compare properties from Dubai to Des Moines. More often than not, however, such rankings fail to address the basic issue of which property is the single best place to stay in its given location. For this year’s […]

Aston Martin has been criticized for producing a lineup of look-alike sports cars and grand tourers. Detractors contend that it is difficult to distinguish between the shapes—as well as the purposes—of the Vantage, DB9, Virage, and DBS. The Rapide may stand out because of its four doors, but it shares much of its bodywork with […]

The exquisite pieces that make up Olivia Collings’s meticulously edited collection of Georgian-era jewelry have survived centuries—in some cases tucked away in musty attics or sealed in dilapidated safes. Even so, these intensely sparkling strands of colorful gemstones and snake- and skull-motif designs might easily meld into the offerings of many top-tier contemporary houses, which […]

Art Basel has moved closer toward art-world domination by expanding into Hong Kong. The inaugural Art Basel in Hong Kong runs from May 23 through 26 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This latest extension of the contemporary-art fair, which originated in Switzerland in 1970 and has become a see-and-be-seen spectacle in Miami […]

Frank Pick believed that good art could be good for business. During his 32 years as an administrator for London’s public-transport system, from 1908 through 1940, Pick hired some of the period’s most talented artists to create posters that promoted off-peak ridership, reinforced basic etiquette rules, and tantalized commuters with visions of the places they […]

Panama’s Pearl Islands have long held hidden treasures. The archipelago of some 39 islands and 100 islets, located about 56 miles off the coast of Panama City, has yielded some of the world’s most precious pearls, including La Pelegrina, a 111-grain silver pearl coveted by 19th-century Russian royalty, and La Peregrina, a pear-shaped specimen that […]

The many accolades earned by Steinway Lyngdorf’s freestanding Model D and in-wall Model LS music systems include Robb Report Best of the Best honors (in 2007 and 2009, respectively). But apparently company founder Peter Lyngdorf believes even the best can become better. The Danish audio wizard created his latest sonic sensation, the $172,000-per-pair Model LS […]

Before Bonhams launched a series of fountain-pen auctions in the United States, the first of which was held in 2009, no major American house had ever hosted a recurring sale dedicated to writing instruments. Last September Swann Galleries in New York held its first pen sale—then followed it with another auction in March. This small but […]

Thoughts of winemaking never entered the minds of Jackie and Tim Reuling at the time they began their quest for land in the Russian River Valley. Originally from the Midwest, they were inspired to move to California by a trip Jackie took to Provence, France, where food, not wine, served as the primary lure. Trained […]

Opened in 1913, the Hotel Le Negresco occupies the pole position on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais, a scenic boulevard that follows the city’s coastline along the Bay of Angels. Capped with a pink-domed tower, the six-story belle epoque landmark overlooks the Mediterranean Sea from across the road and has long been a favored retreat for […]

“The first time I saw work on this scale, it was absolutely mind-boggling,” says Stephen Forsey, a cofounder of the boutique watchmaker Greubel Forsey, whose timepieces many collectors regard as near-miraculous feats of micromechanics. Forsey is describing his first encounter with the infinitesimal sculpture of Willard Wigan, the English artist whose detailed creations are literally […]

Nicknamed Godzilla because of its monstrous power and country of origin, Nissan’s GT-R is one of the most formidable high-performance automobiles. It rivals the best from Europe and the United States on the drag strip and on the track. And priced at just under $100,000, the GT-R has a performance-per-dollar ratio that, like its scorching […]

Eric Clapton’s guitars are nearly as famous as the musician himself. His best-known ax is the Fender Stratocaster that he called Blackie, which he assembled from the parts of three 1956 Strats and played throughout the 1970s and early ’80s. The instrument retailer Guitar Center purchased Blackie at a 2004 Christie’s auction for $959,500, a […]

When prompted with a press of the throttle pedal, the new Maserati Quattroporte’s 524 hp twin-turbo V-8 spooled up quickly, just as the big sedan’s 4.6 zero-to-60-mph time suggests it would. My passenger—Maserati’s CEO, Harald Wester, an engineer-turned-executive—asked what I thought of the car’s lack of turbo lag. He smiled when I confirmed that indeed […]

As the CEO of Auberge Resorts, Mark Harmon presides over a collection of intimate retreats designed for relaxation, rejuvenation, and romance. But when it comes time for the 57-year-old Northern Californian to recharge, he usually embarks on an adventure—from heli-skiing in the backcountry of Alaska to cycling along the back roads of Majorca. “I’m an […]

The majestic hotels that gleam like beacons of refuge amid the bustling boulevards of the world’s metropolises entice the traveler with their picturesque panoramas and storied pasts (see “The Robb Report 100,” page 91); yet few if any of these establishments can claim the same curious distinction as Monaco’s Hôtel de Paris (pictured), whose city […]

Winemaking for William Ballentine Jr. has always been a family concern. He began his career tending vines owned by his father, who established Ballentine Vineyards at the foot of Napa’s Howell Mountain. The knowledge and experience he gained there—and through his work with other growers throughout the valley—now informs the wines of William Cole Vineyards, […]