World's most incredible hotels named, including seven superb Aussie stays

Judging by the entrants on Fodor's Finest: The Most Incredible Hotels in the World list, an outstanding hotel isn't just the most luxurious stay in the city, it must offer something unique - and our wide brown land has this in spades.

Lizard Island Resort, Australia's northernmost resort on the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, is accessible only by chartered seaplane. The island was named for its monitor lizards and you'll see plenty more wildlife in the midst including sea turtles and fish which you can come up close and personal with during a snorkelling experience.

You can arrive by private plane to Bullo River Station in Baines, Northern Territory - or you can take a three-hour drive from Kununurra.

The isolated station features 12 minimalist rooms on a 400,000-acre working cattle ranch by the Bullo River where you can watch a cattle muster or immerse yourself in a guided cultural walk through Djarrany-Djarrany Country led by the land's traditional owners.

Capella Sydney is the only city hotel in Australia that made the list. It offers old-world charm and history, being a refurbishment of the city's former 1912 Department of Education building. The jewel on the Capella's crown is the Auriga Spa, offering an indoor heated pool adorned in white marble.

A hotel in Australia's red centre, Longitude 131 at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, is a luxury, tented resort with 15 tents set up in such a way that each private terrace has views of Uluru.

Pelorus Private Island at Palm Island in Queensland is the only private island residence in the Southern Great Barrier Reef and is accessible via a helicopter flight from Townsville. It is completely solar- and battery-powered and each suite is designed such that the materials and colour palette blend in with the white sand dunes.

Qualia has a minimum guest age of 16 and the judges said the resort had long been heralded as one of Australia's finest, offering the chance to unwind and do absolutely nothing while gazing at the Whitsunday Coast.

Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island in South Australia burned to the ground during the black summer bushfires of 2019 to 2020 but the hotel has come back from the ashes, with 23 suites facing the ocean. Wildlife encounters include a nocturnal koala safari.

The list of 100 hotels includes Angama Mara, a "suspended in mid-air" hotel on Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya; the Anam Cam Ranh in Vietnam which offers imperial-style aesthetics and idyllic ocean views; and Borgo Santo Pietro, a quintessential Tuscan resort in Chiudsino, Italy.

Lonely Planet's new Best in Travel 2025 list shines a light on 30 incredible destinations around the world, with Tasmania's Launceston and Tamar Valley coming in at number four.

Across Bass Strait, Murray River has been ranked among National Geographic's 25 Best Places in the World to Travel to in 2025.