Facebook Voters Have Spoken! Thousands Cast Votes For Best Western's Most Unique And Impressive Hotels Worldwide

PHOENIX, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Best Western International recently asked Facebook users to cast their votes for the first-ever Fan Awards on the Best Western Facebook page. Best Western's more than 4,000 hotels from around the world were encouraged to submit nominations in categories ranging from Most Unique Hotel to Best View from a Hotel Room and a panel of travel industry experts reviewed the nominations and selected the five finalists for each category.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120113/MM35506LOGO-b)

More than 30,000 Facebook users answered the call voting for their favorite hotel in each category and the winners are:

• Most Unique Hotel – Best Western Studley Castle Hotel, Studley, England
  Deep in the Warwickshire countryside, on a 28-acre estate near Birmingham, BEST WESTERN Studley Castle Hotel is full of character and bursting with charm.

• Most Historic Hotel – Best Western Angel and Royal Hotel, Grantham, Great Britain
  Located in the ancient market town of Grantham, the BEST WESTERN Angel and Royal Hotel is reputed to be oldest inn in England, dating back to 1203.

• Most Beautiful Hotel Setting – Best Western Plus Viva Porto De Galinhas, Porto de Galinhas, Brazil
  Porto de Galinhas, named best beach in Brazil, is home to the BEST WESTERN Solar Porto de Galinhas, an ocean front property only two kilometers from Porto de Galinhas Village.

• Best View from a Hotel Room – Best Western Hotel Prince De Galles, Menton, France
  Located just outside of Monaco, this former barracks for the Carabineers of the princes of Monaco has welcomed lovers of the French Riviera since 1865.

• Most Impressive Lobby – Best Western Shenzhen Felicity Hotel, Shenzhen, China
  The BEST WESTERN Shenzhen Felicity Hotel is in the heart of Lo Wu District, convenient to business, shopping and Hong Kong.

• Most Impressive Guest Room – Best Western Plus Swan Hotel, Wells, Great Britain
  In the shadow of Wells Cathedral and close to the Bishops Palace, this historic hotel was built in the 15^th century and is full of history and charm.

• Most Unique Guest Room – Best Western Hotel Springhouse, Rome, Italy
  This modern and completely refurbished hotel located in the historical centre of the city, is just few steps away from St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museums.

"The response on Facebook has been tremendous and our Fan Award finalists had a lot of fun campaigning for votes in their local communities around the world. Congratulations to all of the winners," said Best Western President and CEO David Kong. "What has been most gratifying is to read all of our guests' Facebook posts nominating their favorite Best Western hotels. The Fan Awards provided us the opportunity to showcase many of our unique and distinctive hotels, encouraging travelers to discover new Best Western hotels around the world." 

The seven winning hotels get to proudly display the award of "Fan Favorite" and one lucky Best Western Rewards member will be chosen at random to win a trip to one of the seven award winning hotels. The winner will be selected by October 31, 2012. 

For photos of the winning hotels, please email Laura Cherry at [email protected]

Best Western Resources:

• For bookings: www.bestwestern.com
• For rewards: www.bestwesternrewards.com
• For Best Western's mobile offerings: http://www.bestwestern.com/mobileapps/
• Like Best Western on Facebook: www.facebook.com/BestWestern
• Read the Best Western blog: www.youmustbetrippin.com
• Follow Best Western on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thebestwestern

ABOUT BEST WESTERN INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Best Western International, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., is a privately held hotel brand made up of more than 4,000* BEST WESTERN®, BEST WESTERN PLUS® and BEST WESTERN PREMIER® hotels in more than 100* countries and territories worldwide. Now celebrating 66 years of hospitality, Best Western welcomes hundreds of thousands of guests nightly. Best Western provides its hoteliers with global operational, sales, marketing and promotional support, and online and mobile booking capabilities. More than 15 million travelers are members of the brand's award-winning loyalty program Best Western Rewards®, one of the few programs in which members earn points that never expire and can be redeemed at any Best Western hotel worldwide. The brand's partnerships with AAA/CAA, racecar driver Michael Waltrip, and Harley-Davidson® provide travelers with exciting ways to interact with the brand. Best Western in 2011 was named AAA's and CAA's Hotel Partner of the Year and bestwestern.com was named the 2011 Compuware Best of the Web Gold award winner. For more information or to make a reservation, please visit bestwestern.com.

*Numbers are approximate and may fluctuate.

SOURCE Best Western International, Inc.