India, Nov. 24 -- I like hotels for different reasons. Some feel like home, because I am there so often. Some seem beautiful and different. Some have decades of history. Some epitomise luxury. This is a mixed list. Judged on objective standards, they may not be the best hotels in each destination. But they are the ones I enjoyed staying at the most this year. Also read | The Taste by Vir Sanghvi: Revisiting Amsterdam with a newfound appreciation

Possibly the most stunning hotel in the world, this medieval palace has been restored to its glory days by Puneet Chhatwal and its owner Lakshyaraj Singh, the Maharana of Mewar. There is no hotel like it anywhere in the world.

This may be the most luxurious property you don't know enough about. ...