Choosing the right place to stay usually means measuring it against an exhaustive list of preferences. Most can be categorized by the straightforward and obvious—a specific neighborhood or a big-name brand—though sometimes, such requests veer towards requirements that are more subjective: an infinity pool with a view, a chef-curated F&B program, or the home of an especially hard-to-book bar.

Of late, a new side of the luxury hotel experience joins an ever-growing list of requests: the promise of an exceptional bakery. Warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven pastries and carefully constructed cakes, beautifully piped from end to end, are elevated with local touches and the flair of a celebrated pastry chef for decadent creations to indulge in while on holiday—and then take home.

La Patisserie by Aman Tokyo
Tokyo
We recommend: Strawberry Roll Cake

As Aman Tokyo is well-known for its specific style of minimalist luxury, it only makes sense that a similar, quietly assuming aesthetic finds its way into the hotel’s first standalone patisserie. Located in the basement, La Patisserie by Aman Tokyo expresses a softness amidst the urban hum—making it just the place to savor executive pastry chef Yoshihisa Miyagawa’s elegant lineup of classic French pastries.

Miyagawa, who heads the dessert selection across Aman Tokyo’s three restaurants, develops a wonderfully buttery, flaky narrative that continues the property’s affinity for simplicity. Fresh artisanal bakes like the Pain de Campagne are made with locally sourced organic wheat from Hokkaido, and sit snug beside gleaming rows of French-style pastries crafted with the sole intention of allowing the premium ingredient list and seasonal flavors to shine—sweet chestnuts for the Mont Blanc, and fresh pears in the Charlotte aux Fraises.

Expect an exacting Japanese precision folded into each stylish creation, which includes all-time classics of Tarte Chocolat and Mille-Feuille Framboise with the exceptional showpieces of a delicate Paris-Brest and a cloud-like Baba al’Armagac. Also secreted away at the kiosk: Aman Tokyo jams, handmade chocolates, and curated bite-sized pastries packaged in Japanese kobako gift boxes.

B2, Aman Tokyo, 1 Chome-5-6 The Otemachi Tower, Tokyo, Japan

Butterfly Patisserie
Hong Kong
We recommend: Hokkaido Custard Flan

Butterfly Patisserie, with striking harbor-front views so emblematic of Rosewood Hong Kong, adds a new layer of occasion-worthy confections designed not only to be devoured, but admired and endlessly chattered about. Executive pastry chef Jonathan Soukdéo crafts an excellent assortment of bijoux desserts and cakes that sit, ever-so-temptingly, in polished glass cases, so that any visit to the boutique’s marbled space feels like a treat in itself.

With the arrival of Soukdéo, the bakery returns to simplicity, though only in concept—his dreamy creations reflect an impeccable skillset, massaged and moulded by pastry-world masters Sebastian Serveau, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, and Pastry World Champion Julien Alvarez. Classic French creations and timeless flavors are reinterpreted with refreshing innovation, and on occasion, a nod to the surrounding city. Staples include a Hokkaido Custard Flan that exploded across social media feeds last summer and a wobbly vanilla custard baked gently into a crispy petal-shaped shell that is not to be mistaken with a Hong Kong egg tart.

Other standout creations by Soukdéo that keep hands eagerly awaiting: a luscious Taro Chiffon and aromatic black sesame mille-feuille. Find a more comprehensive sampling of the talented pastry chef’s classical reinterpretations that always manage to impress at the neighboring Butterfly Room.

2/F, Rosewood Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Bakery Bar at Park Lounge
Kuala Lumpur
DA Recommends: Penang Vanilla Mille-Feuille

In Kuala Lumpur, where a host of family-run kopitiam (traditional local cafés) line the streets, the unmistakable aroma of roasted beans is so often accompanied by the deliciously wafting scent of butter.

At Bakery Bar at Park Lounge, nestled inside Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, the sky-high seating is a vertiginous alternative to enjoying the city’s adored pastime at ground level, with scrumptious bakes left to the hands of executive pastry chef Holger Deh. The delicate selection of cakes and pastries—like Deh’s signature mille-feuille, cut and sliced table-side from a pristine dessert trolley—is but a small sampling of a decadent afternoon tea experience of multi-layered flavors informed by local ingredients.

Vanilla, for instance, is extracted from a specific bean grown in Penang that is especially light and fragrant in character, while chocolate is crafted from Malaysian cacao grown in Pahang and Kelantan. Buttery soft financiers are infused with the coconutty notes of homemade kaya (sweet coconut jam).

For something truly exceptional, Cacao Mixology & Chocolate, located just a few floors above, ventures into the wonderful world of chocolate, where a hefty 19-kilogram block of homemade dark chocolate anchors the experience, chiseled away daily for the making of specialty desserts—and cocktails, too, should curiosity take you further.

Level 115, Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Menrar Merdeka 118, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Hotel Bakeries are the Next Bucket-List Destination