Yahoo Finance TripAdvisor reviewers like these hotels the most
Los Angeles isn’t the only destination rolling out the red carpet for awards season. Announced today by TripAdvisor was the Travelers’ Choice Awards for Hotels. Tying in third place for most winners was the United States. Yahoo Travel caught up with several top properties celebrating their wins.
The top-rated hotel in the world, according to the people? The Grand Hotel Kronenhof in Pontresina, Switzerland.
TripAdvisor uses an algorithm to measure the quality/quantity of traveler reviews and opinions, which reach into the millions, when determining winners for the annual Travelers’ Choice Awards. In terms of countries receiving the most awards, Italy topped the list with 152 winners. The U.K. was on its heels with 145 properties, and France tied the U.S. for third position with 144 winners.
This is the 12th year the travel site has presented its Traveler’s Choice Awards. The categories were Top Hotels, Bargain, B&Bs and Inns, Family, Luxury, Romance and Small Hotels.
“Our resort just celebrated its six-year anniversary, and we are more than honored to have received such remarkable recognition in a relatively short amount of time,” says Thomas Voss, president of The Grand Del Mar in San Diego, which was named Top Hotel in the U.S.
The hotel winning the top U.S. spot for Best Bargain was the Desert Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs. The property also received a second-place nod in the Top Romance Hotels. The wins were especially sweet for Martha and Rick Stephen, who became owners of the Desert Riviera four months ago. “We’d never owned a hotel before but bought the Desert Riviera because of its reviews,” Martha Stephen told Yahoo Travel. “There’ve been a lot of renovations/upgrades and the staff has worked really hard. We’re very excited to have won.”
The Desert Riviera’s average rate that garnered it top place is $179. Other average rates amongst Travelers' Choice winners ranged from Top Hotels at $366; Bargain at $91; B&Bs and Inns at $138; Family at $237; Luxury at $467; Romance at $356; and Small Hotels at $301.
Another Palm Springs property taking top honors for Best Small Hotel in the U.S. is La Maison. “We just found out two hours ago and we’re thrilled,” owner Cornelia Schuster told Yahoo Travel. “Guests love it here because it feels like staying at a private villa. Their expectations are high, and they’re still blown away.”
The place to find romance in the U.S., according to the awards, is Honor Mansion, A Wine Country Resort in Healdsburg, Calif. “My very first thought was how humbling,” Cathi Fowler said of learning the four-acre property she owns with husband Steve was in the top spot. “For us to receive this award is huge. We’re a small property and work hard at tailor-making everyone’s stay and making it as special as possible.”
For the second year in a row, Floridays Resort Orlando came away with the win for Best Family Hotel in the U.S.
Customizing guest experiences is one reason Historic Oak Hill Inn in Natchez, Miss., credits its first-place win in the American B&B category, not to mention placing third in the world. “Here, people can stay in an authentic antebellum
Mansion, eat in the actual dining room from 1835 on pre-Civil War porcelain and sip complimentary mint juleps in the gardens,” says Douglas Mauro, who co-owns the property with Donald McGlynn. How they’ll be celebrating the win? With mint juleps, of course.
