World's best hotel restaurants

Since 1961, El Motel in the northeastern Spanish town of Figueres has been preparing inventive, unfailingly delicious Catalan cuisine, says The Daily Meal of the 10th best hotel restaurant on its annual list.

One of two José Andrés restaurants in the top 10, é by José Andrés is an eight-seat bar tucked away within the chef's Jaleo restaurant in The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The menu? It's a secret, says The Daily Meal of its number nine entry.

Thanks to chef Raymond Blanc's leadership, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in the UK -- number eight on The Daily Meal list -- has kept its two-Michelin-star status for three decades.

Coming in at number seven, Blue is the only AAA Five Diamond award-winning restaurant on the island of Grand Cayman, says The Daily Meal.

Jean Georges at New York's Trump International Hotel & Tower -- led by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten -- has three Michelin stars and was voted world's 6th best hotel restaurant. Its menu features dishes inspired by American, French and Southeast Asian cuisine.

The Bazaar by José Andrés at Los Angeles' SLS Hotel is number five on The Daily Meal's best hotel restaurants list. It's actually composed of four different bars and eateries: Bar Centro, Patisserie, Rojo y Blanca (seen here) and SAAM.

Number four on the list is Il Palagio at Four Seasons Hotel Firenze. With one Michelin star, it features views of the hotel's inner gardens and offers a seasonal menu featuring regional cuisine.

Even the simple business of handing out the bread rolls is a theater act at Monte Carlo's regal Le Louis XV-Alain Ducasse restaurant at Hôtel de Paris, number three on The Daily Meal's list.

For traditional English with a twist there's Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at the Mandarin Oriental in London. The celebrated restaurant serves big flavors inspired by recipes from the UK's daddy of molecular gastronomy.

The three-Michelin starred Epicure, voted world's best hotel restaurant by The Daily Meal, is led by chef Eric Fréchon. Considered one of the best chefs in town, his dishes include purple sea urchin with smooth egg mouse and blue lobster roasted in shell with grilled chestnuts.

• Food and drink site The Daily Meal just released its third annual list of the world's top 101 hotel restaurants


• A panel of experienced bloggers, restaurant critics and other food and lifestyle writers were invited to vote on the venues


• Paris restaurant Epicure at Le Bristol was voted world's best hotel restaurant


• According to the rules, the hotel has to have at least 15 rooms for its restaurant to be considered

(CNN) -- It's a familiar refrain among jet-lagged travelers, usually accompanied by a despondent shrug.

"Well, I guess we could just grab a quick bite at the hotel."

Hotel restaurants have long had a reputation for offering over-priced, unremarkable meals, frequented only by guests too tired or unadventurous to brave the streets of a new city in search of anything better.

But over the last few years, a wave of incredible new restaurants has come onto the scene to change the way we view hotel dining.

For proof, look no further than American food and drink website The Daily Meal's third annual list of the 101 Best Hotel Restaurants Around the World.

"In recent years, hotel restaurants have stepped up their game so much so that they have become coveted dining spots for locals and travelers alike, who are often either waiting in line or booking reservations months in advance just to be able to pull up a chair at the hottest restaurant in town — which happens to be in a hotel," says the site.

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To curate the list, The Daily Meal staff considered winners and nominees from the 2013 list of best hotel restaurants, consulted the Michelin Guide and other sources for further recommendations and drew hotel restaurants from its annual lists of the 101 Best Restaurants in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Then they grouped the selections by continent and invited a panel of experienced bloggers, restaurant critics and other food and lifestyle writers from around the world to vote for their favorites in an online survey.

According to the rules, the hotel has to have at least 15 rooms and restaurants must be under the same roof as the hotel as well as the same proprietorship.

Below are the top 20 to make The Daily Meal's list.

For the full list of the 101 Best Hotels Around the World check out The Daily Meal website.

1. Epicure at Le Bristol (Paris)

2. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Hyde Park (London)

3. Le Louis XV at Hôtel de Paris (Monte Carlo)

4. Il Palagio at Four Seasons Hotel Firenze (Florence)

5. The Bazaar by Jose Andres at the SLS Hotel (Los Angeles)

6. Jean Georges at the Trump International Hotel & Tower (New York City)

7. Blue by Eric Ripert at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman (Grand Cayman)

8. Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons Restaurant at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons (Great Milton, UK)

9. e by Jose Andres at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

10. El Motel Restaurant at Hotel Emporda (Figueres, Spain)

11. La Pergola at Rome Cavalieri (Rome)

12. Al Mahara at Burj Al Arab (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

13. La Marocain at La Mamounia (Marrakech, Morocco)

14. Relish at The Westin Grand (Berlin)

15. Caprice Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

16. Acquerello Restaurant at The St. Regis Venice San Clemente Palace (Venice)

17. Altitude at Shangri-La Hotel (Sydney)

18. Huang Ting at The Peninsula Hotel Beijing (Beijing)

19. The Dining Room at Domaine de la Baume (Tourtour, France)

20. Square One at Park Hyatt Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

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