Leading luxury brand Belmond has been ranked the best luxury hotel group in the world in the prestigious LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence annual report.
This latest accolade helps to cement Belmond’s reputation for iconic experiences and exceptional service among the community of discerning luxury travelers.
Mandarin Oriental took second place in the coveted hotel rankings, with Four Seasons in third spot and Amen fourth.
The award comes after a landmark year for Belmond, which in the past 12 months has joined the world’s leading luxury group, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Belmond also expanded their portfolio with their first London property in the heart of Chelsea, the Belmond Cadogan Hotel, and launched three new Grand Suites as part of the iconic Venice Simplon Orient Express.
The LTI – Luxury Travel Intelligence report, now in its second year, assesses over 100 individual factors to grant each brand a final score, with just 12 brands making the ‘World’s Best’ list. The criteria included the brand’s passion, commitment, ethos and values; as well as the quality of its management and staff. Continuing investment, particularly in regard to new properties and the refurbishment of existing ones, was also one of the areas of assessment.
Arnaud Champenois, SVP, Marketing and Brand at Belmond, said: “It was a real honour to learn that we have taken the top spot in the LTI rankings this year. For us, luxury travel means providing exciting, never-been-done experiences combined with genuine, highly-personalised service.
“We strive to continually re-imagine how people might travel and discover a destination, while celebrating the history and heritage of each place. We are delighted that these defining attributes have been recognised by LTI. I am extremely proud of the entire Belmond team – it is their talent, dedication and personality that has enabled us to become a world-leading luxury travel brand.”
Commenting on the rankings, Michael Crompton, Founder of LTI, said: “No other organisation connects with the global luxury hotel industry as LTI does. This is a dynamic sector and we want to reflect what is really happening out there.
“It is fantastic to see the rise of Belmond over the last few years – it is a brand with a distinct offering and one that resonates with our global members-only organisation, a network of affluent travellers who wish to make informed travel decisions, based on our honest and highly detailed intelligence.”
The top 12 luxury hotel brands for 2019 :
1 (4) Belmond 83.1%
2 (5) Mandarin Oriental 81.4%
3 (7) Four Seasons 79.4%
4 (1) Aman 78.9%
5 (2) Oetker Collection 78.6%
6 (6) Auberge 76.8%
7 (11) Rosewood 76.1%
8 (3) Six Senses 74.3%
9 (10) St. Regis 73.1%
10 (-) COMO 71.4%
11 (9) One&Only 69.3%
12 (-) Anantara 67.1%
Image at the very top of the article: Belmond Hotel Caruso, located on the Amalfi Coast