Although Four Seasons and Belmond got numerous votes, Aman Resorts proved to be the favorite hotel brand of Andrew Harper members. Travelers repeatedly cited the “consistently excellent service levels” and praised the “fabulous locations,” “beautiful architecture” and a “sense of serenity.”

Some members identified themselves as “Amanjunkies.” (It takes a special kind of hotel brand to foster addictive tendencies!) One told us that she’s “loved every Aman [she’s] been to all over the world, from Greece to Bhutan to Turkey to Montenegro to Cambodia and more.”

Even Manhattan now has an Aman Resort, and one in Bangkok is set to open this year. But the brand made its name with small hotels in tranquil, scenic locations — exactly the sort of thing we Andrew Harper editors seek out. Adrian Zecha famously founded Aman in 1988 with the opening of Amanpuri on the Thai island of Phuket. He and a few friends financed it themselves, since no bank believed that a luxury hotel with so few rooms could be successful! It’s difficult to empathize with that doubt, now that Aman has opened 35 properties in 20 different countries.