SAUSALITO, Calif., April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart Meetings, the leading media company and most trusted resource for meeting professionals, is excited to announce the winners of its 2016 Smart Stars Awards contest. The prestigious awards platform, now in its fifth year, celebrates the most popular properties, hotels, resorts, cruise lines and convention and conference centers across North America.

Ranked against thousands of beautiful properties, these exceptional venues have been hand selected as the best in their distinguished categories. Meeting professionals nominate and then vote to select winners in 25 inspiring categories. The Smart Stars Awards have come to serve as an essential resource for meeting planners who look to their peers to recommend leading venues and destinations to hold meetings and events.  

"We are excited that the Smart Stars Awards have become such an industry benchmark and are honored to celebrate these exquisite properties," said Marin Bright, Smart Meetings founder and CEO. "Giving our readers the opportunity to vote for their favorite properties allows both meeting professionals and hotels and destinations to learn from each other and to grow the meeting planning community."

Smart Stars winners will be featured in the June edition of Smart Meetings print and digital magazines, reaching more than 65,000 meeting professionals.  They also will be showcased online for one year.

2016 Smart Stars Winners

Best Airport Hotel
Grand Hyatt Dallas Fort Worth
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
San Mateo Marriott San Francisco Airport

Best Attraction/Theme Park       
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Universal Orlando Resort
Walt Disney World Resort

Best Ballroom   
Amway Grand Plaza Hotel
Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate
The Phoenician

Best Beach Hotel             
Paradisus Punta Cana Resort
The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club
The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach

Best Boutique/Lifestyle Hotel   
Hutton Hotel
Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort
The Brazilian Court Hotel & Beach Club
The Nines, Portland

Best City Hotel 
Hard Rock Hotel San Diego
JW Marriott Marquis Miami
Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago

Best Conference Center               
Hershey Resorts
Lied Lodge & Conference Center
The Woodlands Resort & Conference Center

Best Convention Center
Austin Convention Center
New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Oregon Convention Center
Pasadena Convention Center & Fairgrounds

Best Convention Center Hotel  
Barceló Bávaro
Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center Nashville
MGM Grand Las Vegas

Best Coastal Hotel          
Boston Harbor Hotel at Rowes Wharf
Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay

Best Cruise Line               
Hornblower Cruises & Events
Norwegian Cruise Lines
Royal Caribbean International

Best Desert Hotel            
Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North
JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa
La Quinta Resort & Club

Best Eco/Green Hotel   
Hotel Terra Jackson Hole
Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa
Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay

Best Executive Retreat  
Gateway Canyons
Salamander Resort & Spa
The Resort at Pedregal

Best Family Friendly Hotel/Resort          
Arizona Grand Resort
Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine
The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

Best Gaming/Casino Hotel          
ARIA Resort & Casino
Tropicana Casino and Resort
Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Hotel

Best Golf Resort               
Broadmoor Colorado Springs
JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa
PGA National Resort & Spa

Best Historic Hotel         
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa
The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square
The Wigwam

Best Hotel Pool                
Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa
Hyatt Regency Mission Bay Spa and Marina – San Diego
JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa

Best Hotel Spa  
Enchantment Resort and Mii amo Spa
The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
The Venetian Resort, Hotel & Casino

Best Incentive Hotel      
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana
Nizuc Resort & Spa
Paradisus Playa del Carmen
The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort

Best Island Resort           
Atlantis Paradise Island
El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort
Grand Hyatt Kauai

Best Mountain / Ski Hotel           
Montage Deer Valley
St. Regis Aspen Resort
The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch

Best Outdoor Event Space           
Caesars Palace Las Vegas
Diplomat Resort & Spa, Florida
Terranea Resort

Best Special Event Venue
L.A. Live
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Museum of Glass

About Smart Meetings:
Smart Meetings is the leading media company and the most trusted resource for meeting professionals in the meetings industry. Providing best-in-class service, Smart Meetings publishes cutting-edge meetings content in print and digital magazines, hosts world-class networking events, provides thought-leading and interactive webinars, offers a complimentary site-selection service and offers a myriad of digital resources.

Smart Meetings pioneered the widely-celebrated one-on-one hosted buyer program and has become the most effective media company to connect meeting professionals with premier hotels and destinations.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Harrington
Director of Marketing
jennifer@smartmeetings.com
415-339-9355

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SOURCE Smart Meetings

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