Virtuoso® Unveils "Best Of The Best" Award Nominees As Its Hotels & Resorts Program Marks 25th Anniversary

NEW YORK, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ -- Virtuoso®, the international luxury travel network, has revealed the properties and hoteliers in the running for its prestigious Best of the Best awards. This year's 55 contenders in 11 categories were selected by the Virtuoso network and the editors of Virtuoso Life magazine, and represent the crème de la crème of the network's 1,246 hotels, resorts, lodges, spas, luxury camps and villas across more than 100 countries. The Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts program, celebrating its landmark 25^th anniversary in 2017, is the industry's longest running and most prestigious, with more five-star properties than any other organization.

"From its inception in 1992 with just 20 hotels, to today's robust total of more than 1,200, Virtuoso Hotels & Resorts has set itself apart in the luxury travel world as a carefully curated collection of the world's finest properties," said Albert Herrera, Virtuoso senior vice president, Global Product Partnerships.  "It's this commitment to excellence that has served as the hallmark of our program and it's the reason for both its longevity and resounding respect, both within the industry and, more importantly, with Virtuoso clients. It's important to recognize the program's history because when we name a hotel as a Best of the Best nominee, it is a distinguished recognition of the hotel's place within a longstanding tradition."

Virtuoso's travel advisors will vote for their favorites over the next few weeks. Their winning selections will be revealed during Virtuoso Travel Week's Hotels & Resorts Dinner taking place August 16, 2017, at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

Best Achievement in Design
1.      Baoase Luxury Resort, Willemstad, Curaçao
2.      Park Hyatt Mallorca, Majorca, Spain
3.      Six Senses Douro Valley, Lamego, Portugal
4.      The Strand Yangon, Yangon, Myanmar
5.      The William Vale, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Best Dining Experience
1.      Le Louis XV – Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Monte Carlo, Monaco
2.      La Terrazza – Hotel Eden, Rome, Rome, Italy
3.      Meo Modo – Relais Borgo Santo Pietro, Siena, Italy
4.      Manta – The Cape, A Thompson Hotel, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
5.      Majorelle – The Lowell, New York, New York, U.S.

Best Bar
1.      The Blue Bar – The Berkeley, London, UK
2.      Aquarium Bar – Castelbrac Hotel, Dinard, France
3.      Saxony – Faena Hotel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
4.      Bar Hemingway – Ritz Paris, Paris, France
5.      The Long Bar – Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, Shanghai, China

Best Family Program
1.      Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, Oxford, UK
2.      Hotel Castello at Forte Village Resort, Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy
3.      Hotel Sacher Wien, Vienna, Austria
4.      The Reef Atlantis, Nassau, Bahamas
5.      The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Naples, Florida, U.S.

Best Wellness Program
1.      Canyon Ranch, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
2.      Golden Door Luxury Resort & Spa, San Marcos, California, U.S.
3.      Kempinski Hotel Berchtesgaden, Berchtesgaden, Germany
4.      Rosewood San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
5.      SHA Wellness Clinic, Alicante, Spain

Best Virtuoso Experience
1.      Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort, Tangalle, Sri Lanka
2.      Hotel Solar de las Animas, Tequila, Mexico
3.      The Mark, New York, New York, U.S.
4.      São Lourenço do Barrocal, Monsaraz, Portugal
5.      Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya, Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Sustainable Tourism Leadership
1.      Cavallo Point – the Lodge at Golden Gate, Sausalito, California, U.S.
2.      CuisinArt Golf Resort & Spa, Rendezvous Bay, Anguilla
3.      Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley, Wolgan Valley, Australia
4.      Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Machu Picchu Pueblo, Peru
5.      UXUA Casa Hotel & Spa, Trancoso, Brazil

Best Virtuoso Newcomer
1.      Amanemu, Shima, Japan
2.      Chablé Resort and Spa, Chocholá, Mexico
3.      Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, New York, New York, U.S.
4.      Park Hotel Vitznau, Vitznau, Switzerland
5.      The St. Regis Langkawi, Langkawi, Malaysia

Best Virtuoso Ambassador
1.      Kees Hogetoorn – AccorHotels
2.      Leslie Dodson – AccorHotels
3.      Tets Kato – Banyan Tree Mayakoba
4.      Gillian Greenwood – InterContinental Hotel Group
5.      Janet Kato White – Montage Hotels

Hotelier of the Year
1.      Taparahi Tibble – Aman Sveti Stefan, Sveti Stefan, Montenegro
2.      Eric Boonstoppel – Cheval Blanc Courchevel, Courchevel, France
3.      Timothy Ananiadis – Hotel Grand Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens, Athens, Greece
4.      Frank Marrenbach – Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa, Oetker Collection, Baden-Baden, Germany
5.      Susanne Hatje – Mandarin Oriental, New York, New York, New York, U.S.

Hotel of the Year
1.      Four Seasons Resort Lana'i, Lanai City, Hawaii, U.S.
2.      Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
3.      Palazzo Seneca, Norcia, Italy
4.      The Peninsula Beijing, Beijing, China
5.      The Lanesborough, Oetker Collection, London, UK

For more information on these properties, or to book a stay at them, visit www.virtuoso.com/hotels.

About Virtuoso

Virtuoso® is the leading international travel agency network specializing in luxury and experiential travel. This by-invitation-only organization comprises over 800 travel agency partners with more than 15,200 elite travel advisors in over 45 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Drawing upon its preferred relationships with 1,700 of the world's best hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies and premier destinations, the network provides its upscale clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. More than (U.S.) $21.2 billion in annual travel sales makes Virtuoso a powerhouse in the luxury travel industry. For more information, visit www.virtuoso.com .

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