Some places are synonymous with coffee. Italy is the birthplace of the espresso, with its roots in Turin and Milan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Immigration from Italy to Australia after World War II introduced espresso culture, which has since grown into the country's obsession with quirky independent cafés and crafting the perfect flat white. (The flat white originated here, but don't tell New Zealand—they stake that claim, too.) Japan's approach to the bean is one of down-to-the-pixel precision, honouring techniques that have been honed over decades, such as hand-drip coffee in traditional kissaten (meaning "tea-drinking shop") cafés.
Luxury hotels across these destinations and beyond have taken note. No longer content with serving a decent cappuccino at breakfast, they're investing in top-notch baristas, sourcing exceptional beans, partnering with local producers and, in some cases, creating coffee programs that rival the best independent cafés.
Whether you're after an espresso in Milan or a tour of a Costa Rican coffee estate, these are the hotels taking coffee mighty seriously.
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Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
First opened in 1876 on the Chao Phraya River, The Oriental was Thailand's first luxury hotel. The hotel joined Hong Kong's The Mandarin in 1974 to create the global Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. On the first floor of the original Oriental Hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok), the Authors’ Lounge garden party decor is reminiscent of the early 1900s with its wicker furniture and grand arching stairway. It's famous for its afternoon tea (and still upholds a strict dresscode) and the coffee menu is plentiful. There’s a specially crafted drip coffee blend made with premium organic Colombian Arabica beans and a unique roasting technique, bringing notes of dried fruit, hints of orange and honeycomb. There’s also a ‘Fiaker,’ a classic Viennese coffee with rum and chipper cream, or the Story of Love – a double espresso with lycee juice, rose syrup, soda, and lime juice.
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Four Seasons Hotel Milano
A popular haunt for Milanese locals and fashion execs (it’s located in the Fashion Quadrilateral, steps from Via della Spiga and Via Montenapoleone), Four Seasons Hotel Milano has a somewhat hidden secret. Stilla Garden, set within the hotel’s 15th-century cloister and once part of a convent from the same era, is a surprising enclave of greenery and blooming florals. Come in the morning to slowly sip on an espresso and enjoy the early slices of sunshine — you’ll be joined by locals doing the same thing.
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Six Senses London
The first UK outpost for the wellness-centric brand, Six Senses London occupies the restored Whiteleys department store in the city’s Bayswater neighborhood. The 100-year-old Grade II listed Art Deco building was carefully restored by Foster + Partners to uphold its classical stone architecture. Unlike other grand dame, big-name hotels in the city, the Six Senses London sits on an assuming residential street; the quaint neighborhood setting is pleasantly unusual, and this extends to Whiteley’s Cafe — it has the air of a neighborhood cafe (albeit a very posh one).
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Nekajui, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve
The first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Central America, Nekajui is set across 250 acres on Costa Rica's Peninsula Papagayo, and is built around three distinct ecosystems: dry forest, mangroves and Pacific coastline. It’s also probably the best example of a hotel taking coffee seriously right now — Café Rincón, named for the Rincón de la Vieja volcano, offers a lot more than just a cortado. Guests can attend coffee tastings led by the hotel’s head barista, learn about Costa Rican terroir, watch beans roasted on-site by local producer Wilfredy Leitón Salazar (or, take it even further and arrange a visit to his farm). Back at the Cafe, you choose which ‘zone’ you’d like to try (or ask the barista to recommend) and then pick from the pour over, hot, or iced options.
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Capella Sydney
Housed in a renovated Baroque-style ministerial building from the early 20th, Capella Sydney lords over Sydney's Sandstone Precinct and is the hotel group’s first location outside of Asia. Now, this is Sydney, where there are some 4,000 cafes and coffee shops, and the majority are run by single owners instead of major chains with unmistakable logos. Capella has partnered with Single O, a pioneering specialty coffee roaster founded in Sydney back in 2003. A serious name in the world of beans, the brand is known for championing single-origin coffees, sustainable practices, and clever batch-brew systems. There’s a ‘Coffee is Life’ experience where guests are taken to ECRE (Ensemble of Coffee Research & Education) in Alexandria for roastery tours, roasting demonstrations, sensory training, and brewing sessions.
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Finca Rosa Blanca
It can’t get much more serious than this. Finca Rosa Blanca, standing in the highlands of Santa Barbara de Heredia in Costa Rica (roughly 20 minutes from San Jose International Airport), this boutique hotel was built around a working organic coffee plantation and has been producing shade-grown Arabica for more than three decades. It’s proudly family owned and operated, and guests can tour the farm with a guide to follow the coffee’s journey. The estate doubles as a wildlife sanctuary with more than 130 bird species calling it home.
