Five Bhutanese Hotels Among Asia’s Top 25
According to the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, the magazine listed 25 top hotels in Asia. The list is part of the survey conducted by the magazine every year.

Five high-end hotels from Bhutan have made it to the list of Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s top hotels in Asia this year.
The travel and vacations magazine contains features that provide in-depth coverage of notable tourist destinations around the world including the locations’ tourist attractions, cultural and political issues.
According to the travellers’ choice, the magazine listed 25 top hotels in Asia. The list is part of the 30th Reader’s Choice Awards survey conducted by the magazine every year.
This year, about 300,000 travellers took part in the reader’s choice award survey by submitting ratings and comments. The magazine also announced the best hotels, resorts, islands and airlines.
COMO Uma in Punakha ranks 3rd; Gangtey Lodge, 5th; Taj Tashi 7th; Zhiwa Ling, 12th and COMO Uma in Paro, 16th.

General Manager with Taj Tashi, Mevlyn Saldanha, said that the ranking was a reward for the hard work and dedication of the staff over the last eight years. “Having won this award not only for the hotel but also for Bhutan, we are hopeful that this will help in ushering more tourists to the country and help showcase its rich culture and religion.”
The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards serve as the longest-running and most prestigious recognition of excellence in the travel industry. The magazine has 6 National Magazine Award wins and 26 nominations in its 28-year history.
General Manager with COMO Uma, James Low, said that the hotel management is overjoyed to be recognised in the magazine’s readers’ choice award. “These accolades compare our Bhutanese properties with the world’s best and we are truly humbled by the recognition.”
He added that the success was because of the hard work of COMO teams.
Hotel managements shared that the unique architecture and landscape of the hotels and the country might have contributed to the selection.
Top Hotels in Asia
- The Reverie Saigon, Vietnam
- Hotel Mulia Senayan, Indonesia
- COMO Uma Punakha, Bhutan
- Raffles Jakarta, Indonesia
- Gangtey Lodge, Bhutan
- Sofitel Phnom Penh Phokeethra, Cambodia
- Taj Tashi, Bhutan
- La Résidence Hotel & Spa, Vietnam
- Villa Maly, Laos
- Mandarin Oriental, Taiwan
- Alila Jakarta, Indonesia
- Zhiwa Ling, Bhutan
- Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta, Indonesia
- Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, South Korea
- Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- COMO Uma Paro, Bhutan
- Belmond La Résidence d’Angkor, Cambodia
- Park Hyatt Saigon, Vietnam
- JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, South Korea
- Park Hyatt Seoul, South Korea
- Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Vietnam
- Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Cambodia
- Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Edsa Shangri-La, Manila, Philippines
- The Peninsula Manila, Philippines
Chief executive officer with Zhiwa Ling Heritage in Paro, Karma Lotey, said that the Bhutanese hospitality which the management and employees provide could have made it to the selection.
“Asia has some of the finest hotels in the world and for Bhutanese owned hotels to be rated 12th in Asia is a huge achievement. It does put Bhutanese tourism on the map in our own small ways.”
By Phurpa Lhamo (This article has been edited for the Daily Bhutan)
This article first appeared on Kuensel.