Atlantis The Royal in Dubai has risen to No. 4 in The World's 50 Best Hotels 2026, and has been named Best Hotel in the Middle East and best beach hotel. The list was announced on Tuesday 15 September at Les Salles du Carrousel in Paris, the first ceremony held outside London since the ranking began in 2023. A second Dubai hotel, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, climbed five places to No. 15.
It is the region's strongest showing yet. Dubai now has two hotels in the global top 15, and Marrakech has one in the top 50 and another on the extended list. Yet no hotel in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Qatar or Jordan made the top 50 this year.
At the very top, Rosewood Hong Kong was named the world's best hotel for the second year running. Capella Bangkok came second and Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River third, with Atlantis The Royal fourth and Passalacqua, on Lake Como, fifth. The rest of the top 10 runs from Rosewood São Paulo and Mandarin Oriental Qianmen in Beijing to The Upper House in Hong Kong, Chablé Yucatán in Mexico and Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.
A steady climb on Palm Jumeirah
Atlantis The Royal opened on Palm Jumeirah in 2023 and entered the list that year at No. 44. It rose to No. 9 in 2024, No. 6 in 2025 and now No. 4. In four editions, Atlantis The Royal has climbed 40 places.
The hotel is built on a large scale. It has 795 rooms and suites, including 44 penthouses with private glass-sided pools, and more than 90 pools in all, along with a waterpark, an aquarium and a dolphin bay. Its restaurants include Nobu, Heston Blumenthal, Jaleo by José Andrés and Carbone. Rates start at $460 a night, according to the 50 Best website.
The two titles it collected in Paris reward different things. Best Hotel in the Middle East places it first in its region; the beach hotel award sets it against resorts on every coastline on the list.
Marsa Al Arab moves up
Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab opened in March 2025 beside the Burj Al Arab and entered the list at No. 20 in its first year. This year it rose to No. 15. The resort has 386 rooms, 11 restaurants, four swimming pools, an 82-berth yacht marina and a three-storey spa.
Not every Dubai address held its place. The Lana, Dorchester Collection, which was No. 35 in 2025, does not appear on the 2026 list.
Marrakech, and the gaps
Beyond the Gulf, Morocco is the only other Arab country with a hotel in the top 50. Royal Mansour in Marrakech is No. 26. Its neighbour in the city, La Mamounia, is No. 75 on the extended 51 to 100 list, which was released on 2 September, and it is the only hotel in Africa in that second half of the ranking.
Faye Huggett, Director of Community for The World's 50 Best Hotels, said that "this extended 51-100 list broadens the spotlight to a remarkable community of properties".
The absences are as telling as the entries. No hotel in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Qatar or Jordan made the top 50. Part of the explanation may lie in how the list works: voters can only choose hotels they have stayed in during the past three years, so a resort that opened recently needs time to gather votes. Several of the region's newest resorts are only months old, and the next editions will show whether they can break through.
How the list is made
The ranking comes from The World's 50 Best Hotels Academy, more than 800 travel experts spread across 13 regions. Each voter names seven hotels based on personal stays in the previous three years. The list does not use occupancy, revenue or guest review scores, and the results were independently adjudicated by Deloitte. This year's top 50 covers 22 territories on six continents. It is the fourth edition of the list, which comes from the organisation behind The World's 50 Best Restaurants.
Alongside the main ranking, several special awards were presented. Passalacqua was named Best Boutique Hotel for the third year. Patina Osaka, at No. 33, won Best New Hotel, and Casa Maria Luigia in Italy took the award for the highest new entry, at No. 18. Hôtel du Couvent in Nice, No. 38, received the Art of Design Award, and Chablé Yucatán the Eco Hotel Award. Las Ventanas al Paraíso in Mexico was the highest climber, up 19 places to No. 25. The Icon Award went to James McBride, co-founder of Nihi Hotels.
For travellers in the region, the result is simple to read. Two of the world's 15 most admired hotels, as judged by people who stay in hotels for a living, are now a short drive apart in Dubai.
Sources: Wallpaper*, The National, Gulf News, Journal des Palaces