Looking for a little luxury at the best of the best around the world? Look no further, Travel + Leisure Magazine released its 2013 World’s Best Awards Readers’ Survey on July 2.
“The World’s Best Awards are a testament to Travel + Leisure readers’ continued curiosity, spirit of adventure and commitment to excellence, as well as their appreciate for authenticity and great service,” says Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of T+L, about the exhaustive list that is also broken down into various categories includeing Top 100 Hotels, Top 50 Resorts in the Continental U.S., Top 10 Cities Overall, and Top 10 Islands Overall among other lists.
Topping the list of the best of the best of the 18th annual survey is:
WORLD’S BEST CITY Bangkok
WORLD’S BEST HOTEL Mombo Camp and Little Mombo Camp
Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
WORLD’S BEST HOTEL BRAND Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
WORLD’S BEST ISLAND Palawan Philippines
WORLD’S BEST MEGA-SHIP CRUISE LINE Celebrity Cruises
WORLD’S BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE Crystal Cruises
WORLD’S BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE Seabourn
WORLD’S BEST RIVER CRUISE LINE Tauck
WORLD’S BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE Singapore Airlines
WORLD’S BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE Virgin America
WORLD’S BEST AIRPORT Singapore Changi Airport
WORLD’S BEST SAFARI OUTFITTER Rothschild Safaris
WORLD’S BEST TOUR OPERATOR Absolute Travel
WORLD’S BEST CAR-RENTAL AGENCY Hertz Rent a Car
WORLD’S BEST DESTINATION SPA Rancho La Puerta Fitness Resort & Spa Tecate, Mexico
WORLD’S BEST HOTEL SPA Ritz-Carlton, Toronto
Safari destinations continue to rank high with T+L readers. For the third straight year in a row safari camps took the number one spot overall as the World’s Best Hotel. This year Mombo Camp debuted in the spot, Nancy points out.
“It’s no surprise that safari destinations continue to rate high with our readers, as they provide the one-of-a-kind memorable experiences that so many travelers are looking for today,” says Nancy.
This year the survey marks a number of firsts. Istanbul trumped cities around the world as the number one destination city in the world, the highest it’s ever ranked in the survey. Bangkok maintained its position in second place for the fourth consecutive year.
In North America, the South rises with Charleston named as the top destination city for the first time in the history of the survey, jumping from fourth place last year.
Three new categories were added to the survey: World’s Best Hotel Brands, World’s Best Airports, and World’s Best Mega-Ship Cruise Lines. Nabbing the number one spot in these categories are Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, Singapore Changi Airport and Celebrity Cruises, respectively.
Something has to be said about oldies but goodies. Two companies have claimed the number one spot in its category since the poll began in 1996: Crystal Cruises for Top Large-Ship Cruise Line and Singapore Airlines as Top international Airline. Nancy points out that while there were a “significant number of newcomers” in the hotels categories – 78 in total this year – many places have endured over time appearing on the survey consistently for more than a decade making up T+L’s 45 Hall of Fame properties.
The top winners in each category will be honored at an awards ceremony hosted by Nancy and Jay Meyer, vice president and publisher of T+L, in New York City July 18.
T+L survey results are available online at TravelandLeisure.com and will be published in the August issue of T+L which will be on newsstands and tablets July 19.
The annual reader survey was developed by the editors of T+L in association with ROI Research Inc. T+L readers were invited to participated in the survey at TLWorldsBest.com through a variety of T+L print and new media platforms between December 1, 2012 and April 1, 2013. T+L vetted the readers to ensure hospitality and travel industry professionals were removed from the process.
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