The world's best luxury hotel brands 2026, and how they really do families

Mandarin Oriental has been named the world’s best luxury hotel brand for the fourth year running, according to the annual ranking from LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence, published today.

The members-only organisation, which takes no advertising and sells no travel, scores brands across 134 touchpoints, from how well they uphold their values to the quality of their staff and how wisely they invest in new and refurbished hotels. This year the list has grown from 15 to 20 brands, each with at least eight properties.

The biggest movers tell the story. Oetker Collection climbs from fourth to second, Dorchester Collection jumps from 12th to sixth and Capella arrives as the highest new entry in eighth. Aman falls from second to ninth, which LTI attributes to “a significant and unaddressed client data breach”. Airelles, COMO, Jumeirah and Ritz-Carlton are also new to the ranking.

A brand ranking does not tell parents everything, of course. What matters to us is whether a hotel is as good with a four-year-old as it is with a honeymooning couple. So we have taken LTI’s top ten, looked at what each group offers families and picked the hotel in each portfolio we love most for a stay with children, along with our own family verdict.

The top ten, with our family verdict

1. Mandarin Oriental, 81.1% (last year: 1st)

The most consistent brand in the world for four years running. Born in Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental is best known for its city hotels, though its resorts are increasingly where families head. Across the group, children’s menus, babysitting and welcome amenities are standard, with dedicated kids’ clubs and holiday programmes at the resort properties.

The family hotel we love: Mandarin Oriental, Bodrum. Set on a private beach on Turkey’s Aegean coast, its Kids Club is open seven days a week for three to 12-year-olds and is run with child development specialists Gymboree Play & Music, mixing arts and crafts with games and watersports.

Family verdict: best for polished city breaks with children who can handle a smart restaurant, with Bodrum the pick for a beach holiday with a proper kids’ club.

2. Oetker Collection, 80.6% (4th)

Oetker calls its properties Masterpiece Hotels, and the small portfolio reads like a list of the world’s grandest addresses: Le Bristol Paris, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, The Lanesborough in London and L’Apogée Courchevel, alongside Eden Rock in St Barths and Jumby Bay in Antigua. Each hotel has its own character rather than a brand template, so family facilities vary.

The family hotel we love: Le Bristol Paris. Its Kids Club, created with French childrenswear label Bonpoint, is filled with teepees, chalkboard walls, dolls’ houses and electric car tracks, and the spa offers Bonpoint treatments for children, including parent-and-child facials and massages for six to 12-year-olds.

Family verdict: a natural choice for Paris with little ones and for a smart family ski week in Courchevel.

3. Bulgari, 80.2% (3rd)

The Italian jewellery house’s hotels are mostly in major cities, including Milan, Rome, Paris, London and Tokyo, and the mood is glamorous and more grown-up in feel. Its two resorts, in Bali and Dubai, are where the brand is most geared up for families, each with its own Little Gems kids’ club.

The family hotel we love: Bvlgari Resort Dubai. Set on the island of Jumeira Bay, it has not one but two Little Gems clubs, at the Beach Club and the Yacht Club, open daily from 10am to 10pm, so children are entertained while parents make the most of the beach and spa.

Family verdict: the city hotels are a treat for older children rather than toddlers, while Dubai is the easy win for a winter-sun family break.

4. Four Seasons, 78.7% (6th)

The benchmark for family luxury, and with well over 100 hotels and resorts worldwide, the most widely available brand in the top ten. Many of its resorts run the complimentary Kids For All Seasons club, and cots, high chairs and children’s menus are typically provided as standard, which takes much of the guesswork out of booking.

The family hotel we love: Four Seasons Hampshire. Around an hour from London on the Dogmersfield Estate, it has a complimentary Kids For All Seasons club for children aged four and over, Sharkie’s Reef family pool with a slide and fountains, an equestrian centre with resident Shetland ponies and falconry sessions. Under-fives eat free at Wild Carrot for the length of their stay.

Family verdict: the safest bet in the list if you want a proper kids’ club as standard.

5. Rosewood, 78.0% (5th)

Rosewood’s philosophy, which it calls A Sense of Place, means each hotel is designed to reflect its location rather than a house style. Its family programme follows the same thinking: Rosewood Explorers, the group’s children’s club, is built around local nature, creativity and culture, with locally inspired children’s menus and a nanny service so parents can have time to themselves. Age ranges vary by hotel.

The family hotel we love: Rosewood Baha Mar, the Bahamas. Its Rosewood Explorers clubhouse, the Ship of Wonder, is complimentary for four to 12-year-olds and runs daily from 9am to 5pm, with evening movie nights under the stars. Children can visit the resort’s marine sanctuary to learn about turtles and stingrays, feed the flamingos and join Junkanoo music and dance parties.

Family verdict: thoughtful and design-led, ideal for curious younger children.

6. Dorchester Collection, 76.9% (12th)

The biggest climber in the top ten. Dorchester Collection is a tight portfolio of grand hotels, including The Dorchester and 45 Park Lane in London, Le Meurice and Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris and The Beverly Hills Hotel. The service is impeccable, though the city addresses are better suited to older children.

The family hotel we love: Coworth Park, Berkshire. The group’s country house hotel sits in 240 acres around 45 minutes from London, and its Coworth Park Kids house has seven playrooms for baking, building, reading and crafts, plus a teen den. There are stables on site, family swimming sessions in the spa and free activities such as archery and falconry during the school holidays.

Family verdict: the best UK bolthole in the ranking for families, under an hour from London.

7. Belmond, 76.6% (11th)

Owned by LVMH, Belmond spans hotels, safari lodges, river cruises and luxury trains, including the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. The trains and many of the city hotels are better suited to adults, but several of its resorts have dedicated kids’ clubs, from Hotel das Cataratas at Iguassu Falls to Maroma on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, Romazzino in Sardinia and Villa Sant’Andrea in Sicily.

The family hotel we love: Reid’s Palace, Madeira. The clifftop grande dame in Funchal has two pools and a children’s paddling pool set in subtropical gardens, and its Fun@Reid’s children’s club runs daily in the school holidays, with treasure hunts, face painting and mask-making. Older children have their own teen club.

Family verdict: pick carefully; the beach resorts suit families far better than the city and train experiences.

8. Capella, 76.1% (new entry)

The highest new entry in this year’s ranking. Capella is a small, Asia-Pacific-focused group with hotels in Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney and Hanoi, plus Capella Ubud in Bali. The properties are intimate, the service is highly personal and its hotels are built around a strong sense of place, which makes them an easy fit for families who travel at a slower pace.

The family hotel we love: Capella Singapore. Set on Sentosa island, it runs a complimentary Little Stars programme of crafts, scavenger hunts and heritage tours. Its Island Explorer package, launched this year for five to ten-year-olds, gives children an explorer journal and an instant camera to document their stay, with breakfast for two adults and two children and late check-out included.

Family verdict: one to watch, particularly for a Singapore stopover.

9. Aman, 75.5% (2nd)

Aman falls seven places, which LTI attributes to a client data breach. The brand’s 30-plus resorts are known for space, privacy and calm, and it has a reputation as an adults’ escape. In practice, several resorts are well set up for children, and the large suites and villas suit families who want room to spread out.

The family hotel we love: Amanzoe, Greece. Overlooking the Peloponnese coast, it has a children’s host running daily activities at the pool and Beach Club over the summer, a toddlers’ splash pool, a children’s pool at the Beach Club, children’s yoga and tennis lessons, a ceramics studio and children’s menus in every restaurant.

Family verdict: best for families who want space and calm, with children old enough to enjoy it.

10. Airelles, 75.2% (new entry)

A French collection of palace hotels in Courchevel, Val d’Isère, Gordes, Saint-Tropez and within the Palace of Versailles. Every property has its own kids’ club, which Airelles calls its Children’s Kingdoms, and they are some of the most imaginative in Europe, from a treehouse and Lego workshop at Château de La Messardière in Saint-Tropez to pony rides at Le Grand Contrôle in Versailles.

The family hotel we love: Airelles Courchevel. Ski-in, ski-out in Courchevel 1850, it has a heated treehouse, a magical ice rink, a private cinema, magic shows and a teenager room, so there is something for every age once the skis come off.

Family verdict: the most fun in the top ten for children, especially in ski season.

The rest of the ranking

Family favourites Six Senses and One&Only both slip, to 13th and 15th, while Ritz-Carlton, the most widely known of the new entries, arrives in 19th.

11. Auberge Collection, 73.2% (last year: 8th)

12. Rocco Forte, 72.9% (last year: 9th)

13. Six Senses, 71.8% (last year: 7th)

14. Raffles, 70.0% (last year: 15th)

15. One&Only, 69.3% (last year: 10th)

16. Peninsula, 68.6% (last year: 13th)

17. COMO, 68.3% (new entry)

18. Jumeirah, 68.2% (new entry)

19. Ritz-Carlton, 68.0% (new entry)

20. Banyan Tree, 67.4% (last year: 14th)

LTI restarts its assessment from scratch every year, so last year’s scores have no bearing on this year’s results. That explains some of the bigger swings.

Ranking courtesy of LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence, a members-only organisation that takes no advertising and sells no travel. Membership is by invitation; readers can use the code INVITE350 at lti-members.com.