Travel + Leisure names Bali hotel Capella Ubud as World’s Best in 2020

Capella Ubud describes itself as a luxury tented retreat. Photo: Capella Hotels
Capella Ubud describes itself as a luxury tented retreat. Photo: Capella Hotels

It’s certainly no time to be traveling just yet; not with countries across the globe reporting over 12 million COVID-19 cases. There are good reasons why global leisure travel has been placed on a halt for the past couple of months, even if that means the hibernation of Bali’s tourism industry.

And yet, In spite of all that is going on in the world, we’ve arrived at the time of year when Travel + Leisure publishes their annual World’s Best Awards, as voted by their readers. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that some spots in our beloved Bali were voted some of the world’s best.

This year, the survey closed on March 2, just before officials began issuing stay-at-home orders to control the coronavirus outbreak, and the results therefore reflect T+L’s readers’ experiences before the pandemic. 

The title for the World’s Best Hotel was awarded to Capella Ubud, a luxury hideaway in the highlands that was designed by visionaire Bill Bensley. The Ritz-Carlton, Belmond Jimbaran Puri, and The Mulia also made it to the list this year ⁠— ranking fourth, 23rd, and 35th, respectively ⁠— for the top 100 hotels in the world. 

The magazine’s readers again voted Ubud as one of the best cities in the world this year, ranking ninth out of a list of 25. When it comes to the best 15 cities in Asia, Ubud placed sixth.

Though Bali was ranked the third best island in the world last year, the Island of the Gods places 17th on the list in 2020. Last year, Bali became an honoree of the World’s Best Award Hall of Fame, which means the destination has placed on the Best Islands in the World list for 10 consecutive years. 

There are ongoing discussions on what travel would look like after the pandemic, which might be starkly different than what we have gotten used to. Perhaps this list would come in handy for when it’s safe and appropriate to be traveling again. For the time being, though, let’s all do our best to stay safe and healthy.



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