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NEW YORK,
Oct. 16, 2009 - Conde Nast Traveler today announced
the results of its 2009 Readers' Choice Awards, ranking the best cities,
islands, cruise lines, airlines, hotels, resorts, and car rental agencies
worldwide. The awards appear in the November issue (on newsstands October 20)
and are derived from the Conde Nast Traveler
Readers' Choice survey. This year, 25,008 readers voted on more than 10,000
properties and destinations.
"The big news is
that, undaunted by tough times, our readers are still out there, discovering
the coolest experiences and reaffirming an enduring passion for travel,"
said Conde Nast Traveler Editor in Chief Klara Glowczewska. "It's
clear that our readers are as devoted to the worldwide diversity of travel as
ever."
The results of the 2009
Readers Choice Awards reveal some surprising news:
- With so many superb hotels with fewer than 50
rooms, this year's survey has three new categories: Small Hotels in
Europe, Small Hotels in the United States,
and Small Resorts in the United
States with the Kenwood Inn and Spa
taking first place.
- Fully one-third of the hotels and resorts on
our Top 100 list began their journey on our Hot List of the world's best
new properties, published each May, confirming that Conde
Nast Traveler readers are ahead of the curve and connoisseurs of the
cutting edge.
- The friendliest U.S.
cities are Charleston, Savannah,
and Honolulu, while the least friendly,
by an uncomfortable margin is New
York (54/100--ouch)
- Ubud, Bali, is the
friendliest town of all
- Santa Fe, New Mexico,
bumped New York City out of the #3 spot
for best U.S.
city to visit. San Francisco remained #1
and New York City
slid to #4.
- San
Francisco
takes the Best U.S. Cities category for a whopping 17th year in a row, a
feat never before accomplished by any destination or property. One
reason: its worldwide high restaurant score.
- Ubud dethrones Bangkok
as the Best
Asian City.
Bangkok
held the top spot since the category debuted in 2004.
- Newcomer Virgin America was once again named
the Best Domestic Airline, for the second year in a row, with JetBlue
Airways at #2.
- Singapore Airlines is again the #1 International Route
Airline, and has led this category for 21 of the past 22 years. (Only
Swissair, in 1994, has taken the top spot from Singapore Airlines.)
- The growing number of
mega-ship cruise lines merit their own category for the first
time, led by Celebrity.
The Top Three Winners the Hotel and in
the Resort Category.
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Top Hotels
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Top Resorts
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Top Hotels United
States
21c Museum Hotel, Louisville
The Peninsula, Chicago
Mandarin Oriental, Boston
Top Small Hotels United States
Blantyre, Lenox, Mass.
The Swag, Great Smoky, Mountains, N.C.
Tu Tu' Tun Lodge, Gold Beach, Oregon
Top Hotels Southern Europe
Il San Pietro di Positano, Positano, Italy
Il Pellicano, Porto Ercole,
Tuscany
Four Seasons George V, Paris
Top Hotels Northern Europe
Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski Dresden
Four Seasons
Gresham Palace,
Budapest
Ritz-Carlton, Berlin
Top Small Hotels Europe
La Scalinatella, Capri
La Colombe d'Or, St-Paul de Vence
Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli, Lake Garda
Top Hotels Central America
Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Osa Peninsuala,
Costa Rica
Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua
Villas Caletas,
Costa Rica
Top Hotels Oceana
Blankey Bay, South Island, New
Zealand
Henry Jones
Art Hotel,
Hobart
Park Hyatt, Sydney
Top Hotels British Isles
Chewton Glen, Hampshire
Milestone Hotel, London
The Goring, London
Top Hotels Caribbean/Atlantic
Peninsula House, Samana,
Dominican Republic
The Caves, Jamaica
Hotel Le Toiny, St.
Barts
Top Hotels Asia
Oberoi Udaivilas,
Rajasthan
Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo
The Peninsula, Hong Kong
Top Hotels Africa
The Saxon, Johannesburg
Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town
Cape Grace,
Cape Town
Top Hotels Canada
Auberge Saint-Antoine,
Quebec City
Fairmont Vancouver Airport
Hotel Le Germain-Dominion, Quebec City
Top Hotels Mexico
Casa Natalia, San Jose del Cabo
Las Mananitas, Cuernavaca
JW Marriott Hotel, Mexico City
Top Hotels South America
Hotel Monasterio, Cuzco
Four Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires
Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires
Top Hotels Middle East
Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai
David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem
Park Hyatt Dubai
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Top Resorts Mainland U.S.
Sanctuary at Kiawah Island
Inn at Spanish Bay, Pebble
Beach
Montage Laguna Beach
Top Small Resorts Mainland U.S.
Kenwood Inn and Spa, Sonoma
Casa Palermo, Pebble Beach
Lake Austin
Spa Resort, Austin
Top Resorts Asia
Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai
Oberoi Vanyavilas,
Rajasthan
Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan
Top Resorts Mexico
One & Only Palmilla, Los Cabos
The Tides, Riviera
Maya
The Tides, Zihuatanejo
Top Resorts Africa
Mombo and Little Mombo
Camps, Botswana
Sandibe Safari Lodge, Botswana
Safari Lodges at Phinda Private Game Reserve,
South Africa
Top Resorts Europe
Hotel du Palais, Biarritz
Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo
Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, Co. Limerick
Top Resorts Hawaii
Four Season Resort Maui at Wailea
Four Season Resort Hualalai at Historic Ka'upulehu, Big Island
Four Seasons Resort Lana'i, The Lodge at Koele
Top Resorts Atlantic Ocean
The Reefs, Bermuda
One & Only Ocean Club, Paradise
Island, Bahamas
Grace Bay Club, Turks and Caicos
Top Resorts Middle East
Burj Al Arab, Dubai
Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai
One & Only Royal Mirage, Dubai
Top Resorts Oceana
Bora Bora Lagoon Resort & Spa
Huka Lodge, Taupo, New
Zealand
La Taha'a Island Resort & Spa, French Polynesia
Top Resorts Canada
King Pacific Lodge, Princess Royal Island
Emerald Lake
Lodge, Alberta
Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino,
Vancouver Island
Top Resorts Caribbean
Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
Curtain Bluff, Antigua
Nisbet Plantation Beach
Club, Nevis
Top Resorts Central/South America
Four Seasons Resort Carmelo, Uruguay
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
Hotel Salto Chico, Explora en Patagonia, Chile
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The full list of winners
is on cntraveler.com at: cntraveler.com/readerschoice
The Readers Choice Awards
gala was held on Thursday, October 15th in New York City
at the IAC Building and was hosted by Stanley Tucci and Mary Louise Parker. Select photos and video
from the event are available upon request.
Methodology
Every year since 1988, a select sample of Conde
Nast Traveler readers have taken the Readers' Choice Survey. In 2009, the
questionnaire was available to all readers through a secure Web site. The
final tabulations of 25,008 responses were done by Mediamark
Research, Inc., of New York City.
Poll categories (Cities, Hotels, etc.), and the criteria for each appear at
the bottom of the first page in every category. Questionnaires contained
lists of candidates (individual cities, hotels, etc.), and write-ins were
allowed.
Only candidates that received a required minimum number of responses
were deemed eligible for an award. Each candidate was rated, by various criterion, on a five-point scale: excellent, very good,
good, fair, poor. Criterion scores, which represent the percentage of
respondents rating a candidate excellent or very good, were averaged to
determine the final score - e.g., in the category of Islands, Maui's 90.1 is
the average of its scores for Activities, Atmosphere/Ambience, Beaches,
Friendliness, Lodging, Restaurants, and Scenery.
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