Indian luxury hospitality is having a significant global moment, and The Leela is at the centre of it.
The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has been ranked the No. 2 Best Hotel Brand in the World in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2026 Survey, a reader-voted ranking closely watched across the travel industry.
The result lands during the brand’s 40th anniversary year, giving the milestone a broader meaning beyond trophies and lists.
At a glance
- The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts has been voted the No. 2 hotel brand in the world in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2026 Survey.
- The Leela Palace Udaipur placed No. 2 among resorts in India and appears in the Top 100 Hotels in the World.
- The ranking arrives as The Leela marks 40 years of Indian luxury hospitality and enters its fifth decade.
A global ranking rooted in Indian hospitality
The Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards are shaped by votes from international readers, with hotels assessed across rooms and facilities, location, service, dining and overall value.
For The Leela, the No. 2 global brand ranking reinforces a position it has been building for years, both at home and abroad.
The group was previously named the World’s Best Hotel Brand in 2020 and 2021, and ranked No. 3 in 2023 and 2024.
This latest result confirms that its appeal hasn’t been built on a single flagship property or a short-lived wave of attention.
Its identity remains tightly linked to the Indian philosophy of Atithi Devo Bhava, often translated as “Guest is God”, but the execution is designed for a global luxury traveller who expects precision as much as warmth.
Udaipur and New Delhi add weight to the brand story
The Leela Palace Udaipur was ranked the No. 2 Resort in India and also appears within the Top 100 Hotels in the World.
That matters because Udaipur has become one of India’s most competitive luxury resort destinations, where lake views, palace architecture and highly choreographed service are now baseline expectations rather than differentiators.
The property’s placement suggests that guests are responding not just to setting, but to consistency across the full stay experience.
The Leela Palace New Delhi was also ranked No. 2 among the Best City Hotels in India, adding an urban counterpoint to the Udaipur result.
In a city where luxury hotels serve diplomats, business travellers, wedding guests and design-conscious leisure visitors, a strong city-hotel ranking carries its own kind of authority.
Forty years of True Indian Luxury
The Leela is marking four decades under the banner of True Indian Luxury, a phrase that has become central to how the brand frames its place in the market.
Unlike hospitality concepts that lean on a generic international language of luxury, The Leela’s strength has been its emphasis on Indian culture, heritage and craftsmanship.
That can be seen in the palace-inspired architecture, regional design details, ceremonial service and the way its properties try to connect guests with a sense of place.
The challenge for any heritage-minded hotel group is relevance, especially as younger luxury travellers look for experiences that feel less formal and more personal.
The Leela’s current momentum suggests it has found a balance between tradition and contemporary expectations, without flattening its Indian character into a decorative theme.
Guest loyalty and the next phase of growth
The brand’s guest advocacy is underlined by a Net Promoter Score of 86, a notably strong figure in hospitality where consistency across properties is difficult to maintain.
Chief Executive Officer Anuraag Bhatnagar described the global ranking as especially meaningful in The Leela’s 40th year, noting that the brand was founded on the belief that Indian values could stand confidently among the world’s leading hospitality names.
He also credited the group’s associates, guests, owners and partners for shaping that journey.
As The Leela enters its fifth decade, its priorities are expected to centre on thoughtful expansion, investment in people and luxury experiences that present Indian heritage with contemporary relevance.
For travellers, the appeal is straightforward.
The Leela offers a distinctly Indian hospitality experience without asking guests to compromise on the standards expected from the world’s best hotel brands.
That combination is exactly why its latest global ranking feels less like an isolated accolade and more like a marker of where Indian luxury travel now stands.
