Travel + Leisure magazine has revealed the 'Top 30 New Hotels in the World' for its 3rd annual "It List".

The magazine says, "We trekked (literally) across the globe to determine the select properties you’ll be going to next. Here, from beach resorts to city hideaways, our editors’ picks for the best new hotels of 2008."

Here’s who made it to the top:

BEACH HOTELS

Banyan Tree Maldives Madivaru Travel + Leisure says: Elaborate tents, a jungle setting, and its own aquarium laps from the shore… Madivaru is accessible by seaplane, and sits on a coral island so small we were able to navigate it on foot in 20 minutes.

J.K. Place Capri, Italy Travel + Leisure says: This charming spot is sing-out-loud gorgeous, and in its mellow atmosphere, we felt like we were staying at a chic friend’s house. The design is nautical with a twist: round porthole-style interior windows, sea-blue walls, crisp white sofas, bronze imitation Greek statues, and houndstooth-print stools.

Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya Travel + Leisure says: The winning Mandarin formula—exemplary service, forward-reaching design, a first-rate spa—has taken root in a pristine Mexican coastal environment. Acres of mangrove forest, including an on-site cenote, surround a lovely—albeit small—stretch of powdery sand. This is the most sophisticated resort on Mexico’s eastern coast.

Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi , Thailand Travel + Leisure says: This is Asia at its best—all the beauty of a remote destination without the hassle of being entirely off the grid. On the island of Yao Noi, only 45 minutes by boat from Phuket, lucky guests are surrounded by lush jungle, tiny fishing villages, and untouched beaches.

Qualia, Hamilton Island, Australia Travel + Leisure says: Billing itself as Australia’s first seven-star hotel, Qualia has the requisite luxury trappings (personal infinity pools, a 1,000-bottle wine cellar). The airy one-bedroom pavilions combine native styles (corrugated-iron roofs, wide eaves) and materials (plantation hoop pine, Bowen granite) with restraint; each pared-down space is both contemporary and authentic.

CITY HOTELS

Haymarket Hotel, London Travel + Leisure says: A perfect balance between a classic English manor and a buzzy film– and art-world haunt.

Regent Bal Harbour, Florida Travel + Leisure says: Here, it’s all about the signifiers of luxury: Anichini bedding, plasma television screens embedded in bathroom mirrors, and a dazzling crystal chandelier. At times, it might seem over the top… but the hotel is a welcome alternative for those in search of Miami’s more grown-up side.

Hotel Fasano, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Travel + Leisure says: Rooms and suites are spare and breezy, with white walls, leather-upholstered Mies daybeds, Amazonian wood side tables, and at least two burnished Sergio Rodrigues chairs.

JIA Shanghai, China Travel + Leisure says: Ensconced in a 1920’s building on fashionable West Nanjing Road, the 55-room JIA brings a much-needed dose of boutique intimacy to the city’s booming hotel scene…. a well-choreographed hideaway of dark wood floors, richly embroidered fabrics, and elegant birdcages, which sit alongside Knoll and Moroso furniture

RUSTIC HOTELS

Onguma Plains, The Fort on Fisher’s Pan, Etosha, Namibia Travel + Leisure says: Northern Namibia is Africa’s Next Great Safari Frontier… [and] Onguma takes the bush lodge in a bold new direction. All carved antique doors, billowy curtains, and reflecting pools, it’s as if a Kasbah were relocated to the continent’s south. El Silencio Lodge & Spa, Bajos Del Toro, Costa Rica** Travel + Leisure says: The 16 cottages are plush enough (gas fireplaces, L’Occitane amenities). It’s all about being out of touch here—there are no computers, in-room TV’s, or even cell-phone reception, which might not work for some type-A travellers.

Azura Lodge, Benguerra Island, Mozambique Travel + Leisure says: Azura is pulling out all the stops: private plunge pools, a chef imported from the U.K.’s Michelin-starred Fat Duck. But what makes it really special is the barefoot vibe: unlike many of its ilk, the resort is thoroughly authentic.

Tierra Atacama Hotel and Spa, San Pedro, Chile Travel + Leisure says: This 32-room adventure hotel in the Atacama Desert is one of the most ambitious new design statements in South America.

RENOVATED HOTELS

Hôtel Meurice, Paris Travel + Leisure says: Just as we were getting ready to write Philippe Starck off as too nineties for words, he bounces back with a tonic redo of this Paris insitution’s principal public spaces… overnight, the crowd has gone from fuddy to fabulous.

Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur, India Travel + Leisure says: Built in the Art Deco style of the 1930’s… Umaid Bhawan Palace sparkles after a $15 million renovation by Taj Hotels Resorts Palaces. If the hotel sounds familiar, that’s because Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar held their wedding celebration here last year—one sure reflection that this sprawling golden yellow structure is ready for prime time.

The Connaught, London Travel + Leisure says: In the newly hip Mayfair district, this landmark brick Victorian has reclaimed the glory of its golden era thanks to a $140 million renovation, creating a sophisticated throwback that no soulless Modernist hotel could ever hope to emulate.

The Plaza, New York City Travel + Leisure says: Honestly, we don’t require 24-karat-gold–plated Sherle Wagner faucets in our hotel bathrooms, though there’s lots that’s pertinent in Fairmont’s $400 million remake of Henry Janeway Hardenbergh’s 1907 Beaux Arts icon. Touch-screen AMX systems in the 282 guest rooms deliver on their promise to make easy the tasks of controlling lighting, contacting the concierge, and summoning your white-gloved butler.

COUNTRY HOTELS

La Merced del Alto, Cachi, Argentina Travel + Leisure says: This regal adobe building looks like a centuries-old Spanish Colonial hacienda. Inside the cloistered, whitewashed rooms you’ll find pitch-perfect indigenous design: terra-cotta floors, woven rugs and embroidered wall hangings, hand-hammered silver chandeliers, soaring cane ceilings, and stylishly austere furniture. The result is a refined estate that’s both traditional and irrefutably contemporary.

Cotswolds88Hotel, The Cotswolds, England Travel + Leisure says: There are plenty of mod manor hotels in the Cotswolds… But the design of Cotswolds88hotel stands above them all. Eschewing the neutral minimalism that has become de rigueur among chic properties, owner Marchella De Angelis combines graphic and unusual upholsteries (vinyl snakeskin is a recurring theme), eclectic Midcentury and antique furniture, an impressive collection of Murano glass, and the odd bit of mock taxidermy (was that a pair of stuffed crows in the dining room?). It’s utterly delightful and unexpected.

The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Te Awanga, New Zealand Travel + Leisure says: Pastoral chic has never looked this good. Located on a working sheep and cattle farm in the North Island’s Hawke Bay, one of the country’s top wine regions, this 26–room lodge uses natural fabrics, woods, and metals in sophisticated ways.

SMALL HOTELS

Hotel Nord-Pinus Tanger, Tangier, Morocco Travel + Leisure says: Tangier is fast recapturing the glamour of its glory days, and with the opening of this five-room riad, located along the seawall of the casbah, the Old Town finally has the chic little inn it deserves.

Casa dell’Arte, Bodrum, Turkey Travel + Leisure says: Over 200 original Turkish paintings are displayed at this beachfront villa, including portraits by well–known Turkish artist Nuri Iyem. Accents in the 12 guest rooms are meant to complement the artwork, from the carefully considered (and primarily natural) lighting to the subtle details (faux skin rugs, sinuous light fixtures).

DESIGN HOTELS

Riad Meriem, Marrakesh, Morocco Travel + Leisure says: Created by New York–based decorator, photographer, and art collector Thomas Hays, the five-room Meriem manages to be delightfully original without going over the top. Everything here is understated—from the soothing Costes-like palette of muted mauves, pale grays, and dark creams to the well-edited mix of art and objets like framed fabrics from Africa and Asia, original paintings by Moroccan and European artists, and photos from Hays’s own extensive world travels.

La Purificadora, Puebla, Mexico Travel + Leisure says: The company enlisted legendary Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta and his son Victor to repurpose a 19th-century former water purification plant (from which the hotel takes its name) into this 26-room property. By far our favorite spots are the lobby—with its triple-height ceiling, gray slate floors, purple low-lying couches, and a completely open wall—and the rooftop bar, which has a transparent swimming pool that runs along the building’s edge.

Hôtel Le Bellechasse, Paris Travel + Leisure says: Three years after garnering raves as the creator of the Marais’s fanciful Hôtel du Petit Moulin, couturier Christian Lacroix is back with a discreet (at least from the outside) 34-room hideaway, seconds on foot, our stopwatch confirms, from the Musée d’Orsay. (Indeed, you can practically hear management crow, “Location, location, location.”)

GREEN HOTELS

Posada de Mike Rapu, Explora en Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile Travel + Leisure says: Finally, with the opening of Explora’s 30-room LEED-certified lodge on Easter Island, there’s a top-notch hotel fit for this legendary destination. Located about 10 minutes outside the main town of Hanga Roa and built to blend into the landscape, the hotel uses local wood and stone.

Hotel Terra, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA Travel + Leisure says: The 72-room property is modern, high-tech, and seriously committed to the environment. Where Terra shines is in delivering green in subtle ways. Those floor-to-ceiling windows? They regulate temperature and capture natural light, all a part of the building’s LEED-certified design. The linens are 100 percent organic, as are the products at the spa. And the rooftop hot tub is maintained with nonchemical cleaners.

Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island, Australia Travel + Leisure says: Southern is contemporary in design—and it’s extremely green to boot. The 21 spacious suites cascade down a ragged cliff face overlooking remote Hanson Bay; they’re outfitted with limestone floors, artwork by island artisans, and outdoor terraces complete with daybeds.

BUSINESS HOTELS

St. Regis Singapore Travel + Leisure says: This 299-room property just off Orchard Road marks both the debut of St. Regis in Southeast Asia and the first international luxury hotel to open in Singapore in more than a decade. This is all impressive, but where the property stands out is in the service. The multilingual butlers are rigorously trained, and we found their graciousness refreshing in the midst of Singapore’s often harried atmosphere.

The Peninsula Tokyo Travel + Leisure says: The 24-story tower is the first freestanding luxury hotel to be built in a decade. The incredible palace views—the best of any Tokyo hotel—won us over, but Peninsula didn’t stop there. The rooms are among the city’s largest, starting at 544 square feet, and—appropriately—its most high-tech.

Photo Credits

La Azzurra di Capri by Stephanie Costa via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Îles sur la route de Ko Yao Noi by nesposit via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Etosha Sunset by jonrawlinson via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Umaid Bhawan Palace by colros via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Cotswolds by JB55 via Flickr (Creative Commons)

Kneek On The Door by MsAnthea "Anthéaïs" via Flickr (Creative Commons)

barn in jackson hole, wyoming by greg westfall via Flickr (Creative Commons)