Trump International Hotel and Tower New York voted best hotel on the planet by readers of Luxury Lifestyle Magazine
He may not be everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to politics but one thing Donald Trump and co know is a good hotel. The best in fact. Trump International Hotel and Tower New York has claimed the top spot after being voted the best hotel in the world by readers of premium publication Luxury Lifestyle Magazine.
Voters from across the globe showed their appreciation of the U.S president’s lavish five-star hotel in the big apple by voting in their thousands to put his luxury establishment on top of the world.
The super glamerous hotel, which overlooks Central Park, narrowly beat Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s hotel of choice, Vatuvara Private Island in Fiji, a place they stayed in following their royal tour of Tonga, Aus, NZ and Fiji back in October 2018. Emirates Palace, last year’s number one hotel, took third sport this time around, with Burj Al Arab Hotel in fourth and Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort in fifth.
The Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Readers’ Travel Awards 2019, sponsored by leading travel brand Blue Bay Travel, not only celebrate the world’s best hotels, but also the very best airlines, airports, cruise liners, travel operators and holiday destinations.
Nick Gibbens, editor-in-chief of Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, expressed his thoughts on Mr Trump claiming another coveted accolade. He said: “He clearly divides opinion on a political level but there is no question about it, Trump is a master hotelier. He understands what super luxury is all about and delivers the very best experience possible, usually exceeding expectations. The TV reality star employs only the very best hotel staff and this ensures he can offer guests the most enjoyable of stays.
“It’s also interesting to see a city hotel beat a tropical paradise in the case of Vatuvara Private Island but our readers know luxury when they see it and I am grateful for their assistance in helping us crown the very best hotels in the world.”
Closer to home, The Headland Hotel & Spa in Cornwall was named the best coastal/beach hotel in the UK, edging the likes of The Machrie Hotel in Scotland and Carbis Bay Hotel, who finished in second and third place respectively.
The Grand Central Hotel in Belfast took the accolade for best city hotel, while the iconic Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire took home the award for Britain’s best golf hotel.
In other UK hotel awards, Buckland Tout-Saints Hotel in Devon was voted best hotel for romance, Slieve Donard Resort & Spa in County Down secured the title of best spa and wellness hotel and The Museum Inn in Dorset picked up the best hotel for food award.
The magazine’s readers voted D-Resort Gocek in Turkey as Europe’s best hotel, while Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort was named Asia’s best hotel and the quirky Mashpi Lodge in Ecuador was victorious in the best hotel in South America category.
Moving on to the best travel destinations on the planet, and it was Philadelphia that came out on top for the world’s best city, with London a close second and New York third. Jamaica cleaned up in the world’s best island category, the Maldives was selected as the best honeymoon destination and the super luxury L’Alpaga, Megève in France was crowned best ski resort.
Luxury United Arab Emirates based airline Emirates, meanwhile, was named best long haul airline. Virgin Atlantic took second place in this award category, with Singapore Airlines third and British Airways fourth. There was success for KLM, who were crowned best short haul airline, closely followed by Norwegian in second and Swiss International Air Lines in third.
London Heathrow Airport held of the challenge of Singapore Changi International Airport to secure the top accolade for the world’s best airport. Other airports in the top five included Hong Kong International Airport and Munich Airport.
There was success for Celebrity Cruises, who sailed away with the award for best large cruise line. The runner up spot went to Royal Caribbean International, with P&O Cruises taking third and Princess Cruises fourth. In other cruise related categories, Star Clippers secured the most votes for best small cruise line and Emerald Waterways fought off fierce competition from Crystal River Cruises to win best river cruise line.
Mr Gibbens concluded: “Our readers’ travel awards celebrate the very finest in luxury travel. We’ve seen some truly fantastic nominees again this year and we congratulate all the winners on their success.
“I was particularly pleased to see a number of family run hotels secure award wins, especially The Museum Inn as it shows you don’t have to be a billion dollar travel company to offer your customers a luxury and personalised service.”
An expert judging panel shortlisted up to 30 nominees across 37 different categories in February of this year, while the prestigious world’s best hotel award was a fully open category where voters were simply asked to list their top choice. Luxury Lifestyle Magazine asked its readers to vote for their favourites over a five-month period. In total, 74,915 individual votes were cast in this year’s awards.
Luxury Lifestyle Magazine would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote for the favourite travel companies and Blue Bay Travel for their support of this year’s awards.
Click here to see all the winners in the 2019 Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Readers’ Travel Awards
Image credit at the very top of the article: Trump International Hotel and Tower New York
