Travel + Leisure Readers Give The Leading Hotels of the World Top Billing in Annual "World's Best Aw

. July 23, 2009

NEW YORK, NY, July 22, 2009 - The readers of Travel + Leisure have spoken once again, and the results of the 14th annual poll are in. Leading Hotels' legacy holds strong, with an impressive number of hotels from the collection landing among the winning set.

Making headlines this year, Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina, took the #1 spot in the category of Resorts in the Continental U.S. and Canada (40 Rooms or More). Grand Hotel Baglioni in Bologna, Italy, also boasts a #1 ranking in a distinct category, Europe's Large City Hotels. Both Leading Hotels in Hawaii made the Top 25 Resorts in Hawaii list - Halekulani at #1, and Kahala Hotel & Resort at #9. While the five-star Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa, in Cape Town, South Africa, was voted #1 City Hotel in Africa and the Middle East, The Langham Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia, was named #1 among the Top 15 City Hotels in the region of Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

Among the Top 100 Hotels Overall, a total of 12 Leading Hotels made the cut, with Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina, and Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa in Cape Town, South Africa, named among the Top 15, #14 and #15 respectively. Additional inclusions from this prestigious, all-encompassing Top 100 list include: Esperanza Resort, Los Cabos, Mexico (#23); Saxon Boutique Hotel & Spa in Johannesburg, South Africa (#29); Grand Hotel Baglioni, Bologna, Italy (#31); Halekulani, Oahu, Hawaii (#41); Enchantment Resort, Sedona, Arizona (#51); Cape Grace, Cape Town, South Africa; Taj Lake Palace, Jaipur, India (#78); Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, India (#87); Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina (#98); Hotel Le Royal, Luxembourg (#100).

Following are additional noteworthy Leading Hotel mentions from around the world:

US and Canada

Seven Leading Hotels were named in the Top 50 Resorts, including:

---| Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, South Carolina, #1

---| Enchantment Resort, Sedona, Arizona, #3

---| Calistoga Ranch, Calistoga, California, #18

---| White Face Lodge, Lake Placid, New York, #22

---| Sonnenalp Resort of Vail, Vail, Colorado, #28

---| The Langham Huntington Hotel and Spa, Pasadena, California, #33

---| Tide Inn, Irvington, Virginia, #35

Among the Top 50 Large City Hotels, with 100 or more rooms, six Leading Hotels made the cut:

---| Trump International Hotel & Tower, New York, New York, #17

---| The Hay-Adams, Washington, DC, #24

---| H^otel Plaza Ath'en'ee, New York, New York, #30

---| The Setai, Miami, Florida, #37

---| Casa Del Mar, Santa Monica, California, #39

---| Bellagio, Las Vegas, Nevada, #49

The two Leading Hotels that made the Top 10 Small City Hotels list were:

---| Brazilian Court Hotel & Beach Club, Palm Beach, Florida, #7,

---| Hotel Le St. James, Montreal, Canada, #9.

Caribbean, Bermuda, Bahamas

Among the Top 25 Resorts there were four Leading Hotels:

---| Royal Plantation, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, #6

---| Cap Juluca, Maunday's Bay, Anguilla, #10

---| Grace Bay Club, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, #12

---| One&Only Ocean Club, Nassau, The Bahamas, #15

Europe

The three Leading Hotels among the Top 10 Resorts, were

---| Hotel Caruso, Ravello, Italy, #7

---| Grand Hotel Park, Gstaad, Switzerland, #9

---| Suvretta House, St. Moritz, Switzerland, #10

Five Leading Hotels claimed spots among the Top 15 Large City Hotels:

---| Grand Hotel Baglioni, Bologna, Italy, #1

---| Hotel Le Royal, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, #7

---| Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinksi, Munich, Germany, #8

---| Ritz Paris, Paris, France, #11

---| Hotel Sacher Wien, Vienna, Austria, #13

The Milestone Hotel, London, England, came in at #10 among the Top 10 Small City Hotels.

Central and South America

Llao Llao Hotel & Resort, Golf-Spa in Bariloche, Argentina placed #9 among the Top 10 Resorts, while three Leading Hotels were among the Top 10 City Hotels:

---| Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires, Argentina, #2

---| Hotel Oro Verde, Guayaquil, Ecuador #7

---| Bristol, Panama City, Panama, #10

Mexico

Among the Top 15 Resorts were:

---| Esperanza, Los Cabos, #2

---| One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos, #8

---| Las Brisas, Acapulco, #14

---| The Royal Hideaway Playacar, Riviera Maya, #15

---| Camino Real Club & Suites placed #4 among the Top 5 City Hotels.

Africa and the Middle East

Three Leading Hotels made the Top 5 City Hotels:

---| Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Cape Town, South Africa, #1

---| Saxon Boutique Hotel & Spa, Johannesburg, South Africa, #2

---| Cape Grace, Cape Town, South Africa, #4

Asia

Among the Top 15 Resorts,

---| Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur India, ranked #11, and

---| Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, India, came in at #14.

Among the Top 25 City Hotels, The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai, India ranked #16.

Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific

Among the Top 15 Resorts were

---| Hayman, Great Barrier Reef, Australia at #4, and

---| Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand, at #8.

The Langham Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia, was named #1 among the Top 20 City Hotels in the region.

And making the magazine's It List: 45 Best New Hotels of 2009, were:

---| The Dolder Grand, Zurich, Switzerland;

---| Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa, Phuket, Thailand;

---| Encantado - An Auberge Resort, Santa Fe, New Mexico; ---| The Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast, California.

Methodology:

A questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure- in association with Harris Interactive, an independent research firm, was made available to Travel + Leisure readers at tlworldsbest.com from January 15, 2009, to March 29, 2009. In the February and March 2009 issues of Travel + Leisure, readers were invited to participate. A select group of readers also received invitations via e-mail. Respondents were permitted to complete the survey only once. To protect the integrity of the data, after March 29, 2009, respondents were screened by Travel + Leisure and responses from any identified travel-industry professionals who completed the survey were eliminated from the final tally by Harris Interactive. Only candidates that received a required minimum number of responses were eligible for inclusion.

About The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd.

The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd. is the prestigious luxury hospitality organization representing more than 450 of the world's finest hotels, resorts and spas, and is the operator of www.lhw.com and www.lhwspas.com - the online sources for your luxury lifestyle. As the largest international luxury hotel brand, the firm maintains offices in 24 major markets across the globe.

Since 1928, the company's reputation for excellence derives from the exacting levels of quality it demands of its members, each of which must pass a rigorous, anonymous inspection covering hundreds of meticulous criteria spanning from product to behavioral standards. This set of standards is the most stringent in the industry.

High resolution images are available for downloading at www.lhw.com/press. For reservations and information, visit www.lhw.com or telephone toll-free from the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, (800) 223-6800.

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