Conde Nast Traveler Announces the Winners of its 23rd Annual Readers' Choice Awards

NEW YORK, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Conde Nast Traveler today announced the results of its 2010 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 19) and are derived from the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice survey.  This year, an overwhelming 25,916 readers voted on more than 10,000 properties and destinations. This year, the ratings are stratospheric, as 281 places and properties achieve scores of 90 or above.

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"The big news is that our readers' appetite for travel has proven to be undeterred and indestructible, and their standards are more exacting than ever," said Conde Nast Traveler Editor in Chief Klara Glowczewska.   "They are an army of trusted judges, and their votes and evaluations have rendered a Readers' Choice Award one of the highest encomiums in the entire travel industry."

The results of the 2010 Readers Choice Awards reveal some surprising news:  

• 915 hotels and resorts are among the 2010 Readers Choice Award winners, and their average rating is a phenomenal 87.9
• This year's list include 13 airlines, 11 cruise lines, 59 hotels, and one island that have all won our World Savers Award
• Of the 530 hotels on the list, 80 began on the Conde Nast Traveler Hot List
• The number one property in the World this year with a perfect score is Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle
• With TK countries represented, this year's list is more geographically diverse than ever.
• San Francisco takes the Best U.S. Cities category for a whopping 18th year in a row
• Charleston, South Carolina is considered the friendliest city in the U.S.
• After a three-year absence, Marrakech returns to the list, and two cities in Lebanon—Byblos and Beirut—made the list of Top Five in Africa/Middle East.
• Bangkok reclaims the top spot as the Best Asian City, after slipping to Ubud last year for the first time since the inception of the list.
• On the seas, Disney's fleet topples its mega-sized competition, while Crystal Cruises shares its now four-year reign with Regent Seven Seas for Large-ship line.
• Topping the scores for cruises is Yachts of Seabourn for the small ship category, with a near perfect score
• Three of the five aircraft carriers that score the highest for inflight entertainment fly the Virgin Flag: Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, and V Australia.

Below are results for the top three winners in each category.

Top Cities United States

1. San Francisco
2. Charleston, SC
3. Santa Fe

Top Cities Europe

1. Florence
2. Rome
3. Barcelona

Top Cities Asia

1. Bangkok
2. Chiang Mai
3. Kyoto

Top Cities Africa/Middle East

1. Cape Town
2. Jerusalem
3. Byblos, Lebanon

Top Cities The Americas

1. Vancouver
2. Quebec City
3. Buenos Aires

Top Cities Australia/Pacific

1. Sydney
2. Melbourne
3. Queenstown, N.Z.

Top Islands Caribbean/Atlantic

1. Bermuda
2. St. John
3. St. Barts

Top Islands Oceania

1. Maui
2. Kauai
3. Bora Bora

Top Islands Asia/Indian Ocean

1. Maldives
2. Bali
3. Phuket

Top Islands North America

1. Kiawah, SC
2. Longboat Key, Fla.
3. Vancouver Island

Top Islands Europe

1. Mykonos and the Cyclades
2. Bozcaada and the Turkish Aegean Islands
3. Ibiza

Top Resorts Asia

1. Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai
2. Oberoi Vanyavilas, Rajasthan
3. Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan

Top Resorts Mexico

1. One & Only Palmilla, Los Cabos
2. Maroma Resort and Spa, Riviera Maya
3. Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas

Top Resorts Africa

1. Mombo and Little Mombo Camps, Botswana
2. Safari Lodges at Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa
3. Singita Sabi Sand, South Africa

Top Resorts Europe

1. Ashford Castle, Co. Mayo
2. Villa d'Este, Lake Como
3. Hotel du Cap Eden-Roc, Cote d'Azur

Top Resorts Hawaii

1. Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea
2. Hotel Hana-Maui and Honua Spa
3. Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Big Island

Top Resorts Atlantic Ocean

1. The Reefs, Bermuda
2. The Reef Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas
3. Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos

Top Resorts Middle East

1. Burj Al Arab, Dubai
2. Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai
3. Ritz-Carlton, Dubai

Top Resorts Oceana

1. Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, Northland, New Zealand
2. Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand
3. Le Taha'a Island Resort & Spa, French Polynesia

Top Resorts Mainland U.S.

1. Westin Riverfront Resort and Spa at Beaver Creek Mountain
2. Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Beach
3. Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort

Top Small Resorts Mainland U.S.

1. Keswick Hall at Monticello
2. Kenwood Inn and Spa, Sonoma
3. Amangani, Jackson Hole

Top Resorts Canada

1. King Pacific Lodge (Rosewood), British Columbia
2. Emerald Lake Lodge, Alberta
3. Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre, British Columbia

Top Resorts Caribbean

1. Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman
2. Jade Mountain, St. Lucia
3. Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, Nevis

Top Resorts Central/South America

1. Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
2. Llao Llao Hotel and Resort, Bariloche, Argentina
3. Kanantik Reef and Jungle Resort, Dangriga, Belize

Top Cruise Lines Mega-Ship

1. Disney
2. Celebrity
3. Cunard (Queen Mary 2)

Top Cruise Lines Large Ships

1. Crystal

1. Regent Seven Seas Cruises

2. Cunard (Queen Victoria)

Top Cruise Lines Small Ships

1. Yachts of Seabourn
2. Regent Seven Seas Cruises
3. Grand Circle

Top Airlines Global

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Etihad Airways (UAE)
3. Emirates

Top Airlines North America

1. Virgin America
2. JetBlue Airways
3. Hawaiian Airlines

Top Car Rental Agencies

1. Hertz
2. Enterprise
3. Avis

Top Hotels Southern Europe

1. Il San Pietro di Positano, Italy
2. Four Seasons Hotel in Istanbul at Sultanahmet
3. Hotel de Paris, Monte Carlo

Top Hotels Northern Europe

1. Four Seasons Gresham Palace, Budapest
2. Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne
3. Baur au lac, Zurich

Top Small Hotels Europe

1. Perivolas, Santorini
2. Villa San Michele, Fiesole, Tuscany
3. La Reserve de Beaulieu, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Cote d'Azur

Top Hotels Central America

1. Lapa Rios Ecolodge, Osa Peninsuala, Costa Rica
2. Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua, Guatemala
3. Hotel Captain Suizo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Top Hotels Oceana

1. Blue Sydney, Woolloomooloo Bay
2. Park Hyatt Sydney
3. Sydney Harbor Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay

Top Hotels British Isles

1. Milestone Hotel, London
2. Chewton Glen: New Forest, Hampshire
3. The Goring, London

Top Hotels Caribbean/Atlantic

1. Peninsula House, Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
2. The Caves, Negril, Jamaica
3. Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France, St. Barths

Top Hotels Asia

1. The Peninsula, Tokyo
2. Pudong Shangri-la, Shanghai
3. Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok

Top Hotels Africa

1. Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa, South Africa
2. The Saxon, Johannesburg
3. Cape Grace, Cape Town

Top Hotels Canada

1. Hotel Le Germain-Dominion, Quebec City
2. Auberge du Vieux-Port, Montreal
3. Auberge Saint-Antoine, Quebec City

Top Hotels Mexico

1. Las Mananitas, Cuernavaca
2. Villa Premiere Hotel & Spa, Puerta Vallarta
3. JW Marriott Hotel Mexico City

Top Hotels United States

1. 21c Museum Hotel, Louisville
2. The Peninsula, Chicago
3. Mandarin Oriental, Boston

Top Small Hotels United States

1. Chanler at Cliff Walk, Newport
2. Fearrington House Country Inn, Pittsboro, North Carolina
3. The Wauwinet, Nantucket

Top Hotels South America

1. Hotel Fasano, Sao Paolo
2. Palacio Duhau Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires
3. Bobo Hotel, Buenos Aires

Top Hotels Middle East

1. Park Hyatt Dubai
2. Four Seasons, Doha
3. David Citadel Hotel, Jerusalem

The Readers' Choice Awards gala was held on Tuesday, October 12th in New York City at the IAC Building and was hosted by Angie Harmon and Liev Schreiber. Select photos and video from the event are available upon request.

Methodology

METHODOLOGY Every year since 1988, a select sample of Conde Nast Traveler readers have taken the Readers' Choice Survey. The questionnaire is available to all readers through a secure Web site. The final tabulations of 25,916 responses were done by Global Market Insite, Inc., of Boston. Organization: Poll categories (Cities, Hotels, etc.) are followed by the criteria for each. 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. Evaluation: Each candidate was rated, criterion by criterion, on a five-point scale: excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. Criterion scores, which represent the percentage of respondents rating a candidate excellent or very good, were averaged to determine the final score. For example, in the Islands category, Maui's 90.7 is the average of its scores for Activities, Atmosphere/Ambience, Beaches, Friendliness, Lodging, Restaurants, and Scenery.

SOURCE Conde Nast Traveler