The Best Hotels and Resorts in the World: The Gold List 2026 | Condé Nast Traveler

"I feel like The Peninsula Manila belongs to my family. No, I’m not a scion of the Kadoories, founders of the first Peninsula hotel, opened in Hong Kong in 1928. No, my parents had no part in the 1976 creation of the second-ever Peninsula, this double-winged Brutalist beauty built on the corner of Ayala and Makati Avenues in Manila. But after countless stays in its serene rooms, afternoon teas in its resplendent lobby, parties in the glamorous Rigodon Ballroom—my own parents’ wedding, among them—yes, I truly feel it is ours. But it’s also everyone’s. Almost every Manileño I know has a story to tell about Manila Pen, as we call it. At this historic place, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2026, we Filipinos have danced, feasted, mourned, and even instigated political coups. (In 2007 an armored military vehicle stormed the lobby. Bullet holes in the wall behind the check-in desk are now framed by an artistic copper sculpture.) Travelers are welcome too, of course, and should take advantage of the central location and superb concierges, who can organize cultural tours, shopping trips, and chauffeured airport transfers. I did as much during my most recent stay. I had lunch in the lobby, decked out to the nines for the holidays, and recalled my late mother, who took me there for my first shot of espresso when I was a teen, and to break the news of her cancer diagnosis over afternoon tea years later. I watched families take photos with the quintuple-height Christmas tree, before and after kissing and hugging loved ones. Then I ran into my cousins and friends, and so did the kissing and hugging too. The Peninsula Manila belongs to everyone, I know that. Perhaps what I feel is that I belong only to Manila Pen. From $287. —Matt Ortile" - CNT Editors