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Time Out
4 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
These are Asia's most beautiful hotels in 2025, according to the prestigious Prix Versailles
From an intimate retreat in bustling Bangkok to a remote private island resort in Cambodia, 2025 has been a good year for hotel openings in Asia. Among them, the cream of the crop – properties so beautiful that they've been given a nod by the prestigious architectural award, Prix Versailles. Every year, the Prix Versailles crowns gorgeous venues around the world: hotels, airports, passenger stations, and more. This May, they recognised two Asian museums among the world's most beautiful. For the World's Most Beautiful Hotels 2025 list, Prix Versailles considered not only visual appeal but also the blend of innovation, heritage, and sustainability in each property's design. Out of the 16 newly opened or reopened hotels recognised as the most beautiful this year, Prix Versailles chose five standouts from Asia. Picks range from Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, consisting of refined hutong courtyard houses in Beijing, to Namia River Retreat, a wellness getaway on a peaceful islet near Hoi An, Vietnam. One notable laureate is Ran Baas The Palace, which reopened in November 2024 within the oldest Sikh fort. It's Punjab's first luxury palace hotel – "a masterclass in heritage restoration – and a joyful celebration of Punjabi culture and heritage", says Time Out travel editor Grace Beard. She was lucky enough to check into the property this year – read her full review of Ran Baas the Palace here. Another cool addition to the list is MGallery Sosei Sapporo. The hotel is located in Sapporo Factory, a mega shopping and entertainment complex that was once Kaitakushi Brewery. The location is significant, harking back to the beginnings of Western trade and industrialisation on Hokkaido during the Meiji era. Prix Versailles describes it as "a dazzling world of contrasts", with Western-style salons and Japanese living quarters ensconced in an industrial exterior. And if you ask us, the MGallery hotel collection is one to watch out for – our travel contributor recently visited Legacy Yen Tu MGallery in northern Vietnam and found a wholly unexpected wellness escape. We'd be remiss not to call out one more laureate: Raffles Sentosa Singapore. It's only been three months since its grand opening, so it must be pretty impressive to make the Prix Versailles list. The Raffles brand is immediately noteworthy thanks to the iconic five-star Raffles Hotel Singapore, but its second property different creature entirely. For one, it feels a world away from Singapore's city centre (while being a mere 15-minute ride from it), set in a leafy 100,000 square metre compound on Sentosa Island. Here, "meandering footpaths lead to dining spaces and hidden nooks, all the way down to the seashore". Find out more about Raffles Sentosa Singapore here. That's plenty to choose from for your next holiday – but if you'd like more inspiration across Asia, here's our round-up of the best hotels in the region right now. Asia's most beautiful hotels, as recognised by Prix Versailles 2025: Mandarin Oriental Qianmen – Beijing, China Ran Baas The Palace – Patiala, India MGallery Sosei Sapporo – Sapporo, Japan Raffles Sentosa Singapore – Singapore Namia River Retreat – Hoi An, Vietnam
Time Out
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
We checked into Punjab's first luxury palace hotel – here's what we thought
Around two hundred years ago, Ran Baas Patiala was the ladies' guest house of the Maharaja, occupying a wing of what was once Asia's largest royal residence, the Qila Mubarak. And only four years ago, it was in ruins, infested with rats and snakes and uninhabited for the past six decades. Enter 'hotel revolutionary' Priya Paul, who, along with conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, has dragged the once-endangered building out of disrepair with a gargantuan, visionary restoration project. Only open since January, the heritage hotel is already one of India's most sought-after stays, hosting Bollywood actors and prominent Indian designers. Now, Ran Baas The Palace is primed to welcome international travellers through its gates. I checked in and experienced a masterclass in heritage restoration – and a joyful celebration of Punjabi culture and heritage. These are my highlights. First impressions: A very royal welcome A labyrinthine street bazaar makes up the immediate surroundings of the Qila Mubarak fortress. The palace's walls loom above jewellery shops and hardware stores; some hotel terraces protrude over the shopfronts. Yet once you're through the huge wooden gates and have crossed the threshold into the central courtyard, all that external clamour is extinguished, replaced by soothing sitar music that plays in an everlasting loop in all outdoor areas (consider it the soundtrack to your stay). I'm told, later on, that the palace's walls are designed to absorb noise, so you're always in this vacuum of quiet, despite being just a few feet away from the cacophony of honking rickshaws and market sellers. But first, an exuberant welcome, with dhol drums and Punjabi dancing, followed by a welcome cocktail at sleek hotel bar The Patiala. It's here I get my first proper glimpse of Paul and Lambah's modern overhauls – Rajput arches, painted charcoal-black, frame the main bar; we work our way through a menu of specialty cocktails on plush pink armchairs under a tassled pink chandelier. It's gloriously indulgent and very, very easy to lose track of time. The rooms: Palatial suites, each its own treasure No two suites are the same at Ran Baas the Palace – their differing sizes and features, at one time, would depend on the status of the person living there – but each is extraordinary. On the upper end, there's the hexagonal Presidential Suite, white and royal blue with a large private terrace, and the Princess Suite, adorned from floor to ceiling with over 200 hand-painted murals in the style of Mughal miniatures. Rooms are themed around a royal gemstone, each with accents of topaz, pearl, coral or sapphire, a nod to the former occupants' vast jewel collection. I stayed in one of the Pearl Suites, a dizzyingly spacious cream-hued room of marble floors and ornate archways, complete with a freestanding tub and a mat for meditation. The suite was one of a handful surrounding a serene courtyard garden (with a resident bunny rabbit, of course); others might overlook the market or the central courtyard, or – most enviably of all – the stuccowork facade of the main palace and darbar hall, once of the most outstanding examples of Sikh architecture you can find. The rest: Outstandingly preserved heritage and the best of Punjabi hospitality On its own, Ran Baas is a cultural treasure trove. Take the Rang Mahal, with its mirrored Belgian glass ceilings, gilded arches and delicately crafted frescoes. Used for private dinners at night, during the day guests are free to visit and pore over the artworks covering its walls, some dating back 600 years. The Lassi Khana spa, formerly the royal kitchen, has a Mediterranean-style pool courtyard with one of the hotel's most arresting views: the fortress's weathered, garlic-shaped dome peering out over blush-pink walls spilling with bougainvillea. Much of the hotel's charm is in this playful harmony between heritage preservation, thoughtful restoration and contemporary, sometimes avant-garde, design. Alongside preserved artworks in halls and bedrooms, hand-painted de Gournay wallpaper is splashed across the staircase hall, while whimsical handblown chandeliers from local design studio Klove hang from above. Contrast these modern updates with the many skilful touch-ups of the palace's existing architecture – the slightly faded, surkhi-plastered entranceway, for example, or the suite's chinikhanas repurposed as alcoves – and you have a masterclass in honouring legacy with thoughtful reinvention. Guest experiences range from history tours and tandoor barbecues to cooking classes and sunset afternoon tea, accompanied by live classical music. Traditional thalis, with flavour-packed curries and rich dhals from eight different princely states, are served up in light-filled, equestrian-inspired restaurant Neel (don't miss the sage green and gold private dining room). Breakfast is a similar feast of Punjabi classics, and there are your benedicts and muesli bowls, for a milder start to the day. The people who keep this vast complex running, led by gregarious General Manager Deep Mohan Singh, are as warm and attentive as you'll find. The hotel, of course, forms only part of the entire Qila Mubarak fortress. The floral facade of the dilapidated Qila Androon, another of the complex's buildings, is astonishing; head inside and you'll find further mirrored halls and miniature frescoes, and an eternally-burning sacred flame. Inside the darbar hall is a prized collection of chariots, vintage cars, magnificent cutglass chandeliers and (sadly bubble-wrapped) life-sized royal portraits.
Telegraph
15-04-2025
- Telegraph
India's Golden Triangle is glorious, but Punjab's grandness is entirely unique
When it comes to Indian tourism, it's common to see the country shrunk down to Rajasthan and its Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. The Golden Triangle is named so with good reason – it's the fulcrum of India's image to most of the world, a space where current, colonial and ancient intersect. Each corner of the triangle is awe-inspiring; it's certainly worth your time, and it would be easy to visit Rajasthan and feel content that you'd seen a valuable cross-section of India. Doing so, however, would be to miss out on Punjab's unique grandness, a particular shame for British travellers who enjoy the UK's deep cultural ties to the area in everyday life. With the state only a few hours north of Delhi, it's a hop from the country's capital to a place that feels a world away from traveller-heavy streets paved in a tourist shade of gold. A fitting barometer is the old Maharaja's palace, Qila Mubarak, in Punjab's southeastern city of Patiala – said to have once been the largest in Asia. It was recently granted renewed life, partly through the opening of boutique hotel Ran Baas The Palace. As part of a government push to protect Qila Mubarak from the passage of time, The Park Hotels group was chosen to spearhead a major renovation of the fortress's guesthouse, focused on saving and restoring its treasure trove of Sikh, Mughal and Rajput architecture. It just so happens that in doing so, Ran Baas has become one of India's most impressive palace hotels – marking a significant investment in the stately but lesser-known Patiala, and serving as the latest sign that Punjab is finally ready to claim its place as a serious alternative to a certain famous, over-trodden neighbour to the south. And it's more than up to the task. Punjab is steeped in thousands of years of human history: the site of one of humanity's earliest societies, the Indus River Civilisation, it has seen empires come and go, kingdoms and dynasties flourish and wilt, and, more recently, become a symbol of a reshaped continent. The city of Amritsar sits by the Indian border with Pakistan, and as such has played a central role in the dramatic history of the last 80 years. This past is rightly inescapable, with the city's Partition Museum the best place to learn more about the turbulent and disastrous events that came to pass as a result of the overnight partition of British India – the effects of which are still felt along the border today. Punjab is also the birthplace of Sikhism, so it makes sense that some of the world's finest gurdwaras are to be found across the state. Open to all, regardless of faith, there's a distinct feeling of warmth when entering a gurdwara or meandering through its grounds. It's as easy to while away an afternoon on peaceful reflection as it is to watch in admiration at the logistics of handling the numbers of worshippers. Amritsar is home to Sikhism's foremost spiritual site, Harmandir Sahib, known more widely as the Golden Temple, a complex that includes the centre of Sikh authority and a community kitchen that serves a vegetarian meal to all visitors – an impressive effort, considering around 150,000 people visit every day. Patiala, meanwhile, is rarely seen on travel itineraries, yet it is as intertwined with the history of its state as Amritsar. From the shining domes, holy waters and calm air of the Dukh Nivaran gurdwara, to the warren of bazaars that skirt the walls of Qila Mubarak, the old opulence of a city funded by some of India's most extravagant rulers still emanates from the palace that kick-started the growth of a major Punjabi hub – and which it already beginning to do the same again for a new generation. India has realised that Patiala, Amritsar and Punjab's other countless crucibles of human richness are worth celebrating with the wider world. There's something special happening in the rarefied space above the Golden Triangle – just make sure you visit before everyone else catches on, too. Essentials Air India has daily flights direct from Birmingham to Amritsar, starting at £927 return; from Delhi, IndiGo flies to Amritsar from £65 return, and to Chandigarh from Delhi from £46 return. David RS Taylor was a guest of Ran Baas The Palace by The Park Hotels, which has rooms from £310 per night.
