Some hotels enter this list through decades of service culture; the Hanging Gardens of Bali entered through a single image. Its twin-tiered infinity pool — two curved decks of water cantilevered over the Ayung river gorge, jungle rising like a green wall beyond — became one of the most shared photographs in travel, crowned by more than one jury as the world's most spectacular pool. Remarkably, the place behind the picture holds up: a small, romantic hideaway in the rainforest north of Ubud where the drama is real and the crowds are not.
Why it stands among the world's best
The setting, and the nerve to build into it. The resort steps down an almost vertical valley side — a funicular carries guests between levels — so that every villa hangs in the canopy with the gorge below and the sacred Dalem Segara temple visible across the river. The pool is the crescendo but not the whole song: this is Bali's jungle at its most theatrical, alive with birdsong and river sound, mist rising through the trees at dawn in a way that makes every balcony breakfast feel ceremonial. And because the property is small, the famous pool belongs to guests in a way the photographs never suggest — early morning, you may well have the world's most spectacular water entirely to yourself.
The stay
Villas are Balinese in material — thatch, timber, stone — each with a private pool suspended over the valley and daybeds built for doing nothing with commitment. The spa treats guests in open pavilions above the river; dinner arrives at candlelit tables on the pool decks; and Ubud's galleries, rice terraces and temples wait twenty minutes away for whenever the valley releases you, which is less often than planned.
Who it suits, and our booking wisdom
This is a couples' hotel almost by decree — honeymooners, anniversaries, proposals (the staff have choreographed hundreds and it shows). Our counsel: villa categories differ mainly in elevation and angle; the panoramic tiers justify their premium at sunrise. Come in the dry season, May to September, for the clearest gorge light — though the wet season's mists have their own drama at gentler rates. Book the floating breakfast once for the ritual, and the couple's spa at the river level always. Two to three nights, paired with beachside Bali, is the classic shape.
The verdict
The Hanging Gardens makes the 51 as proof that a single perfect idea, flawlessly sited, can stand beside century-old legends. The world came for the photograph; the wise stay for the valley.