LONDON, Dec 20 — Condé Nast Traveler has released its picks for the world’s best hotels in 2014, with Italy, Colombia, Peru and China singled out as countries to watch when it comes to luxurious, lavish properties.

After tabulating the scores of 80,000 readers in its Readers’ Choice Survey, the US-based magazine released its Gold List 2014, which curates the best places to stay in the world.

Properties—which can range from quaint bed and breakfast inns to restored castles, shiny modern masterpieces and safari lodges—are categorized by destination, type of trip (beach, city getaway, etc.) and property type.

In Europe, Italian hotels made up a quarter of the Gold List, including the Grand Hotel Timeo set in the rugged hills of Taormina in Sicily, which received a top score of 98.7 for offering sweeping views of the Mediterranean and Mount Etna in the distance, and its opulent, baroque-style rooms

While Canada and Mexico have been “old favorites,” this year’s list also sees the debut of properties from increasingly popular destinations such as Peru, Dominica and Colombia, which Condé Nast Traveler recently singled out as one of the top destinations for 2014.

Guests gave the Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena in Colombia, for instance, a score of 96.4 for offering the “pleasures of modern comfort within the walls of a Spanish colonial era.”

A boutique hotel also in Cartagena, Hotel Casa San Agustin, had likewise put Colombia on the map this year, when it was named the best new hotel by readers of TripAdvisor. The same hotel made it onto Fodor’s 100 Hotel Awards 2013 and CN Traveler’s own list for best new hotels 2013.

This year, China led the Asia category with 22 properties cracking the Gold List, seven of which were new. One of the highest-rated hotels in China is the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong, located in the heart of the city’s pulsing financial center.

And finally, the highest ranked hotel in the US isn’t situated in New York or Las Vegas, but Georgia, home to The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club.

Modeled after an English country manor, a stay at the lodge comes complete with a bagpiper who plays at sunset. — AFP-Relaxnews