Soem facts.
The official height of Baiyoke II is 304m, as antennas are not counted in the structural height. So the Burj Al Arab is substantially higher at 321m. The current second highest hotel though (also in Dubai....), the Emirates Hotel Tower, surpasses Baiyoke by just 5 meters.
But actually it doesn't really matter anymore, as they are busy setting one construction record after the other in Dubai, with the Abbco Rotana Hotel (333m) scheduled to open in 2006.
Yes, The Stamford in Singapore (226m) was the tallest before Baiyoke II was finished and shortly held the record. Not sure about the regulations though, I also thought it has to be all-hotel, not mixed use. Oh, wait...... I just saw they defined that "90% of the occupiable height" must be devoted to hotel uses.
And the Ryugyong in Pyongyang is certainly an interesting contender - but never held any title as it is not completed. Just recently they found out that it is actually 330m, not 300m!
All the related links on Emporis:
Stamford:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=106471
Baiyoke:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=107136
Emirates Tower:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=107806
Burj Al Arab:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=107803
Abbco Rotana:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=203224
Ryugyong:
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=130967
On the other hand, the "World's 50 tallest hotels" list on Emporis (
http://www.emporis.com/en/bu/sk/st/tp/ty/ho/) contradicts what they write elesewhere, as it is headed by the Ryugyong (because here all "topped out" structures are counted):
# Building City Height Height Floors Year
1. Ryugyong Hotel Pyongyang
330 m 1,083 ft 105 1992
2. Burj Al Arab Dubai
321 m 1,053 ft 60 1999
3. Emirates Hotel Tower Dubai
309 m 1,014 ft 56 2000
4. Baiyoke Tower II Bangkok
304 m 997 ft 85 1997
5. JR Central Hotel Tower Nagoya
226 m 741 ft 53 2000
6. Swissôtel The Stamford Singapore
226 m 741 ft 73 1986
7. Marriott Renaissance Center Detroit
221 m 726 ft 73 1977
8. Westin Peachtree Plaza Atlanta
220 m 723 ft 73 1976
9. Four Seasons Hotel New York City
208 m 682 ft 52 1993
10. Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong Shanghai
207 m 679 ft 46 2002