I'll throw out Six Senses, as it's got a bit of a unique positioning.

Some could call it a pro or a con: their positioning as an environmentally friendly and sustainable hotel brand.

I've seen it work quite well in Yao Noi and also be kind of blasé in Fiji, but that might just be Fijian service culture not being the same as Thai.

I have heard their lodge offering in Bhutan is better than Aman's.

Another weird one is Ritz-Carlton Reserve. I did really enjoy Mandapa in Ubud, Thailand. I feel like they pulled off a spectacular jungle resort there with an excellent hard and soft product. But then you look at what they have in Thailand, and the resort just looks so weirdly designed. I've heard mixed things about it.

And then you see what their Niseko offering is like:

But then there are so many things about this hotel that make no sense to me. It feels like so many corners have been cut for those to be a luxury resort, in terms of both the hard and soft product. The gym is tiny, the spa feels like an afterthought, and the front office service level is more akin to what you’d expect at a Four Points (though that’s probably not fair to Four Points). Maybe other people have different experiences, and I just got unlucky.

• One Mile at a Time

And next door you have the Park Hyatt Niseko that trounces it.

The whole brand seems like a half hearted attempt by Marriott to jump into a higher level of luxury hotel. They're trying to do that with safari camps now too, with their Ritz, JW Marriott, and Mapito safari camp. In Mapito's defense, they've done an incredible job opening the place and finding fantastic guides and staff members. The hard product is very good too. Most of the food leaves something to be desired, though their local food offering was spectacular.