Two Australian hotels have made it into the top 100 in the inaugural Expedia Insiders’ Select™ list of the world’s very best hotels and resorts, chosen by over 300,000 customers of the world’s leading online travel company, Expedia.
The Expedia Insiders’ Select list showcases the world’s rich diversity of travel destinations and variety of accommodations Expedia travellers from all over the world can choose from, and formally recognises the hotels that consistently deliver excellent service, a great overall experience and a notable value.
The hotels that made it on the Insiders’ Select list represent only the top one percent of the more than 75,000 hotels Expedia offers travellers.
Topping the list was the four-star colonial-style Cozumel Palace in Mexico, with the Hong Kong Langham, the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne in Florida and the Sofitel New York making it into the top 10.
Melbourne’s Langham Hotel and The Lakes Cairns Resort & Spa came in as Australia’s best hotels, in 63rd and 99th places respectively. A further seven other Australian hotels and resorts were also ranked on the list.
To compile the Expedia Insiders’ Select list, Expedia developed a mathematical formula weighing several components, the most significant of which was Expedia’s collection of more than 250,000 Traveler Opinions®, the largest collection of qualified traveller reviews on the web. The ratings were completely independent of advertisers and partners.
Expedia.com.au Managing Director Arthur Hoffman said, “Expedia is home to more traveller reviews than any other online travel agency. Our travellers from all over the world submitted more than 160,000 new Traveler Opinions® on hotels across the globe in 2006 alone.
“Expedia is committed to delivering the tools and information that help people book their travel with confidence, knowing they’ve selected the best hotel for their trip. The Expedia Insiders’ Select list gives our customers another powerful way to easily identify the hotels that have received high marks from fellow travellers for the value and experience they deliver,” he said.
Mr Hoffman said that in addition to Expedia’s Traveler Opinions®, Expedia.com.au customers can also access TripAdvisor®, the largest travel community of more than 5 million registered members, directly from the Expedia.com.au site. He said this was very timely, given consumers’ increased interest in traveller feedback as part of their overall research when booking their trips.
“Through Expedia’s Traveler Opinions®, Australian travellers planning their trips can now access real traveller reviews and opinions on more than 23,000 destinations and 75,000 hotels and attractions around the world,” he said.
The world’s top 10 best international hotels and resorts, as ranked in the Expedia Insiders’ Select list are:
|
Rank |
Hotel / Resort |
Destination |
|
1 |
Cozumel Palace |
Cozumel Mexico |
|
2 |
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club |
Jacksonville Florida |
|
3 |
Langham |
Hong Kong |
|
4 |
The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne |
Miami Florida |
|
5 |
Las Brias Acapulco |
Acapulco Mexico |
|
6 |
The Davenport Hotel and Tower |
Spokane Washington |
|
7 |
The Peninsula Beijing |
Bejing China |
|
8 |
Secrets Capri Rivera Cancun |
Riviera Maya Mexico |
|
9 |
Hyatt Regency Kyoto |
Kyoto Japan |
|
10 |
Sofitel New York |
New York USA |
Australian hotels which made it to the Expedia Insiders’ Select list are:
|
Rank |
Hotel / Resort |
Destination |
|
63 |
Langham Hotel, Melbourne |
Melbourne |
|
99 |
The Lakes Cairns Resort & Spa |
Cairns and Northern Beaches |
|
153 |
Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney |
Sydney |
|
239 |
Sydney Marriott Hotel |
Sydney |
|
244 |
On the Beach Holiday Apartments |
Cairns and Northern Beaches |
|
437 |
Amora Hotel Jamison Sydney |
Sydney |
|
498 |
Rendezvous Hotel Brisbane-Clarion Collection |
Brisbane |
|
650 |
Four Points By Sheraton Sydney |
Sydney |
|
655 |
Star City Hotel and Casino |
Sydney |
Report by The Mole
