The movers and shakers of the travel world have been revealed at Luxury Lifestyle Magazine’s 2018 readers’ travel awards. The lengthy list takes in a swathe of luxurious hotels, private islands, idyllic castles, as well as airlines, cruise liners, airports, travel operators and holiday destinations.
London was crowned the world’s best city. New York and Rome took second and third place consecutively. Abercrombie & Kent was named the best tour operator of 2018.
Bali cleaned up in the world’s best island category, the Maldives was selected as the best honeymoon destination and super-luxurious L’Alpaga, Megève in France was crowned best ski resort.
Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace took the title of the world’s most luxurious hotel in the public vote. Costing about £3bn to build, the hotel has 394 rooms and suites, 40 meeting and conference rooms, a white sandy beach, pools and fountains, a luxury spa, and marble imported from 13 countries.
The Grand Hotel & Spa in Yorkshire was named the UK’s best city hotel, finishing ahead of the capital’s Marriott Hotel County Hall and Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire Hotel, who finished in second and third place respectively.
Family-run Soar Mill Cove Hotel in Devon was voted the UK’s best beach and coastal hotel, while Meldrum House Country Hotel & Golf Course in Aberdeenshire took home the award for Britain’s best boutique hotel. Seaham Hall in County Durham finished sixth, with Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa, Wiltshire, finishing in ninth position. Seaham Hall also scooped the fifth spot in the best hotel for romance category.
In other UK hotel awards, Eckington Manor in Worcestershire was voted the best hotel for food, Bovey Castle on Dartmoor secured the title of best hotel for golf, Hoar Cross Hall in Staffordshire was named best spa hotel and Langley Castle Hotel in Northumberland was awarded the coveted crown of Britain’s most romantic hotel.
The Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois was named Europe’s best hotel, Viceroy Bali in Indonesia walked away as Asia’s best hotel and quirky Mashpi Lodge in Ecuador came up trumps in the best hotel in South America category.
Emirates was named best long-haul airline, with KLM crowned the best short-haul airline. Renowned for its impressive facilities, Singapore’s Changi International Airport stole the top spot in the world’s best airport segment.
Celebrity Cruises sailed away with the award for best large cruise line. In other cruise-related categories, Star Clippers secured the most votes for best small cruise line and Amadeus fought off fierce competition from Crystal River Cruises to win best river cruise line.
Nick Gilmartin, editor of Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, said: “Our readers’ travel awards celebrate the very finest in luxury travel. We’ve seen some truly fantastic nominees this year and we congratulate all the winners on their success. I was particularly pleased to see a number of family run hotels secure award wins, especially the Soar Mill Cove hotel near Salcombe in Devon as it shows you don’t have to be a billion dollar travel company to offer your customers a luxury and personalised service.”
THE FULL RESULTS:
HOTELS (UK based entries only):
Best Beach/Coastal Hotel
1.) Soar Mill Cove Hotel, Devon
2.) Seaham Hall, County Durham
3.) Cary Arms & Spa, Devon
Best Boutique Hotel
1.) Meldrum House Country Hotel & Golf Course, Aberdeenshire
2.) Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland
3.) The Alverton Hotel, Cornwall
Best City Hotel
1.) The Grand Hotel & Spa, Yorkshire
2.) Marriott Hotel County Hall, London
3.) Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire Hotel, London
Best Hotel for Business
1.) Marriott Hotel County Hall, London
2.) The Grand Hotel & Spa, Yorkshire
3.) The Midland, Manchester
Best Hotel for Design
1.) De Vere Orchard Hotel, Nottinghamshire
2.) Meldrum House Country Hotel & Golf Course, Aberdeenshire
3.) Hotel Gotham, Manchester
Best Hotel for Families
1.) The Grove, Hertfordshire
2.) South Sands Hotel, Devon
3.) Soar Mill Cove Hotel, Devon
Best Hotel for Food
1.) Eckington Manor, Worcestershire
2.) Brockencote Hall Hotel, Worcestershire
3.) The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire
Best Hotel for Golf
1.) Bovey Castle, Devon
2.) Fairmont St Andrews, Scotland
3.) Stoke Park, Buckinghamshire
Best Hotel for Romance
1.) Langley Castle Hotel, Northumberland
2.) Eckington Manor, Worcestershire
3.) Buckland Tout-Saints Hotel, Devon
Best Hotel for Sustainability
1.) De Vere Orchard Hotel, Nottinghamshire
2.) The Whitebrook, Monmouthshire
3.) Llangoed Hall, Powys
Best Hotel for Wine
1.) The Faversham Creek Hotel, Kent
2.) The Vineyard Hotel, Berkshire
3.) Moor Hall, Lancashire
Best Newcomer
1.) Moor Hall, Lancashire
2.) No.15 Great Pulteney, Somerset
3.) Tewkesbury Park, Gloucestershire
Best Spa/Wellness Hotel
1.) Hoar Cross Hall, Staffordshire
2.) The Midland, Manchester
3.) Kings Head, Gloucestershire
OVERSEAS HOTEL:
Best hotel in the world:
1.) Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi
2.) Burj Al Arab Hotel, Dubai
3.) The Boulders, Arizona
Best Hotel in Europe
1.) The Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, Switzerland
2.) Thalatta Seaside Hotel, Greece
3.) Miraggio Thermal Spa Resort, Greece
Best Hotel in Asia
1.) Viceroy Bali, Indonesia
2.) Chiva-Som, Thailand
3.) Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort
Best Hotel in Africa
1.) Jardin des Douars, Morocco
2.) Essque Zalu Zanzibar, Tanzania
3.) Shangri-La’s Le Touessrok Resort & Spa, Mauritius
Best Hotel in North America
1.) Loews Miami Beach Hotel, USA
2.) Port Ferdinand Barbados, Caribbean
3.) Loews Regency New York Hotel, USA
Best Hotel in South America
1.) Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador
2.) Carmel Charme Resort, Brazil
3.) Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aires, Argentina
Best Hotel in Australasia
1.) The Grand Papua Hotel, Papua New Guinea
2.) The Langham, Australia
3.) The Darling Hotel, Australia
DESTINATIONS
Best UK City
1.) Bath
2.) London
3.) Exeter
Best Honeymoon
1.) Maldives
2.) Mauritius
3.) Madeira
Best City (World)
1.) London
2.) New York
3.) Rome
Best Island
1.) Bali
2.) Madeira
3.) Maldives
Best Ski Resort
1.) L’Alpaga, Megève, France
2.) Vestlia Resort, Geilo, Norway
3.) The Little Nell, Aspen Snowmass, USA
AIRLINES
Best Short Haul Airline
1.) KLM
2.) Norwegian
3.) Swiss International Air Lines
Best Long Haul Airline
1.) Emirates
2.) Virgin Atlantic
3.) EVA Air
Best Airport
1.) Singapore Changi International Airport
2.) London Heathrow Airport
3.) Hong Kong International Airport
CRUISE
Best Small Cruise Line
1.) Star Clippers
2.) Ponant
3.) Silversea Cruises
Best Large Cruise Line
1.) Celebrity Cruises
2.) Crystal Cruises
3.) P&O Cruises
Best River Cruise Line
1.) Amadeus
2.) Crystal River Cruises
3.) Pandaw
OTHER
Best Tour Operator
1.) Abercrombie & Kent
2.) Aardvark Safaris
3.) Tropic Breeze
Best Travel App/Guide
1.) Cruise Critic
2.) Deia VIP
3.) Time Out
Best Travel Booking Website
1.) AlltheRooms.com
2.) Expedia
3.) Unique Home Stays
