By far the best hotel I have stayed at was THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. It's the new all suites portion.

The Mapenzi Beach Resort in Zanzibar, East Africa was the most exotic place I've ever visited. Our beach cottage faced the Indian Ocean. After a 2-week safari across northern Tanzania through the Serengeti, four days at the beach is just what the doctor ordered.

First,I love classic old hotels with character. If a place I am visiting does not have an old character hotel, then I look first to the Ritz-Carltons as my favorite hotel and resort chain.
1.Ashford castle, cong, county Mayo, Ireland
2.The Connaught, Mayfair, London
3.Il Palaazio at the Bauer, venice, Italy
4.The Savoy, London
5.The Ritz-Carlton, Boston(the original)
6.The Hotel DuPont, Wilmington, Deleware
7.The Plaza, New York City
8.Dromoland Castle, Newmarket, Ireland
9.The Coistor, Sea Island, Georgia
10. The Williamsburg Inn, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia
11.The Brown Palace, Denver, Colorado
12.The Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas, Texas
13.The Driskell, Austin, Texas
14.The Ritz-carlton, New Orleans
15. Windsor Court, New Orleans
16.The Lancaster, Houston, Texas
17.The ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation, Greensboro, Georgia
18.The Ritz-Carlton Liguna Nigel, LIguna Nigel, California
19.Grove Inn Resort & Spa, Asheville, N.C.
20.Casa Monica, St. Augustine, Florida?King and Prince, St. Simmons Island, Georgia

Animal Kingdom Lodge and The Brown Palace in Denver. It was haunted!

Best Hotels I have been to would have to be

The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Michigan
Disney's Port Orleans Resort, Orlando, Florida
Bally's,The Palms,Mandalay Bay,Las Vegas,Nevada

Soon to visit
The Melia , Sitges, Spain (in June 09)

Our favorite is the Hotel Le Cep in Beaune, France. Beaune is perfectly located smack dab in the middle of Burgundy wine country and Le Cep is perfectly located in Beaune. Great service, wonderful restaurants and rooms, a terrific concierge, within walking distance of quaint shops and restaurants galore, plus not far from the wine tasting cellar in town.

I looked it up on Frommers and this is what they wrote: "The chic spot for oenophiles is this former residential mansion in the town center, fit for the ducs de Bourgogne. Each antiques-filled guest room is individually decorated and named after a Grand Cru wine of the Côte-d'Or vineyards; our favorites are the Chambre Montrachet and the Chambre Meloisey. On the grounds are two of the loveliest arcaded courtyards in Beaune, one from the 16th century, another from the 14th century. A tower housing one of the city's most beautiful stone staircases rises from here. A former wine cellar is the breakfast room. One of Beaune's finest restaurants is inside the hotel."

In my opinion, this is the best small hotel in France.

Another really cool hotel is the Grand Hyatt in Pudong, Shanghai located near the top of one of the highest buildings in the world. The rooms are antique style furniture with a glass wall that overlooks the Bund, the bathrooms have sinks molded from a single piece of glass... it's just really nice in every respect. The only drawback is that it IS in Pudong and most of what you want to visit would be in Puxi on the other side of the Huangpu River, but it's within walking distance of the super cheap river ferry, if you're feeling adventurous.

If you take the maglev train from the airport, it's a very short taxi ride from the terminal to this hotel. It's also a short walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower, the one that looks like a space ship about to blast off.
(Steve from San Diego)