Shangri-La Ulaanbaatar

The Shangri-La is the establishment heart of modern Ulaanbaatar: a glass tower rising a block from Sükhbaatar Square, attached to the mall and cinema complex that made this corner the city's contemporary hub. Since 2015 it has been where mining executives, diplomats and expedition outfitters converge, and it remains comfortably the most complete hotel in Mongolia.

The brand's Asian warmth translates well to the steppe. The lobby lounge, with its double-height glass towards landscaped gardens, is the city's grand meeting room, and rooms above are large and serene—pale golds, deep beds, marble bathrooms—with upper floors looking to the Bogd Khan mountains that frame the capital's smoky winter valley. The club lounge and the pool, under a wall of glass, are genuine assets in a city with six-month winters.

Dining is a strength: Hutong brings refined northern Chinese cooking, alongside international buffets and a whisky-serious bar. The location puts the National Museum, Government Palace and the square's Chinggis Khaan monument within a few minutes' walk. Nearly every Gobi or steppe expedition begins and ends here, and the hotel handles the choreography—gear storage, dawn departures, celebratory returns—with practised ease. For Mongolia, this is the flagship, full stop.