Philippe Kjellgren
Every globetrotter has a bucket list of must-travel destinations — but sometimes the hotel is the draw in and of itself.
Philippe Kjellgren, the founder of PK’s List, knows this more than most.
Originally the founder of luxury hotel website Kiwi Collection, Swedish-born Kjellgren has written seven travel/hotel books, runs a travel advisory service for high-profile clients, as well as a newly-launched hotel app — and he’s currently on an 800 day trip around the world to visit over 1,000 of the world’s best hotels across all seven continents.
He was flying from Tokyo to Sydney when he spoke to Business Insider, and says that he has so far visited “most of Africa, all of Asia” and is “now heading [to] the Pacific, then the Americas after that.”
The goal? To visit the best hotels on the planet in person so that users of his app know every one has been personally vetted by him.
“I decided to travel for 800 days non-stop, for two and a half years, and I’m on day 400-and-something,” he told Business Insider, adding that he’s already been to most of the hotels in the past, but “had to go back and prove I’ve been there.”
“I’m travelling the world visiting the hotels, proving it through social media, then adding them to the app,” he said.
The app — which costs $ 99 per year — allows users to search for anywhere in the world and see which hotels Kjellgren personally recommends within their budget.
“You can press call or email and contact them directly,” he said, adding that it’s “all my research in your pocket.”
Kjellgren said he grew up travelling, and had been to about 100 countries by the age of 25. Now, he says he’s personally stayed in about 2,000 hotels in 139 countries.
After constantly being asked for advice, he decided to start a bespoke travel advisory service after leaving Kiwi Collection — where he is still a shareholder — a few years ago, and now caters to three tiers of business. The top tier is invitation-only for “ultra-high net worths” including royals, according to Kjellgren, who says they pay him a retainer to help with travel advice and work his connections and access.
He has a team in London and people “scattered all over the world” — and claims to have personal relationships with “about 3,000 general managers in about 130 countries.”
Still, he says he’s “not the type of person who only stays in super high-end hotels” — although he says “not every hotel is great.”
We asked Kjellgren for his pick of the absolute best hotels on the planet that everyone should visit in their lifetime.
Scroll down to see his bucket list selection, ranked in ascending order by the starting cost per night.
Ice Hôtel, Sweden — from £124 per room, per night.
Ice Hôtel
This is “the original Icehotel, located in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden — 200 km north of the Arctic Circle,” according to Kjellgren. “This is a world famous hotel and an art exhibition made of ice and snow.”
Taj Lake Palace, India — from £214 per room, per night.
Taj Lake Palace
“Voted the most romantic in the world, it’s the only hotel that’s on the lake and became world renowned when the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’ was filmed at it.”
Dolder Grand, Switzerland — from £313 per room, per night.
Dolder Grand
“History and design perfectly merged in one, this very classic hotel [took] four years of renovation under the direction of famed British architect Lord Norman Foster,” Kjellgren said.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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