With worldwide travel in full swing and our passion for traversing the globe reignited with new vigour, it seems that nowhere in the world is off limits, in fact, now more than ever, travellers are seeking out destinations and experiences that push themselves further than ever before.
And as another year makes its move to wrap up in style, we at LLM are celebrating another successful awards season. 2023 marks our sixth year of highlighting the very best in the travel and hospitality industry, through the LLM Readers’ Travel Awards, showcasing the finest hotels across the world to premium airlines, cruise lines, destinations and tour operators that make these travel dreams possible.
With the sole aim to showcase the best in their sectors and provide some positive publicity for these businesses, it’s safe to say that we have achieved this once again, especially since adding more options and opening up the hotel categories to the whole world, previously limited to the UK.
Our readers like to dream and travel, and they’ve been voting in their thousands – more than 32,400 – to have their say from the carefully curated shortlist of options. So, the results are in and this year, and we can safely say that the winners of each category are well deserved of their place. You can find the full list of winners here, but we have summarised some of the standout winners below, and as our editor-in-chief, Nick Gibbens, said: “We are so pleased to be able to run our awards, for the sixth year, and highlight the best of the best in the industry. Hopefully these results will encourage travellers to seek out these premium picks for their next luxury break.
“Our discerning and dedicated readers have had their say and we are so grateful to all who made it their mission to throw their support behind each and every one of our shortlisted hotels, destinations, cruise lines, airlines, airports, tour operators and travel websites.
“The travel industry is large and employs so very many people who work tirelessly to promote destinations and aim to offer the very best service and experiences for those who like to travel, explore and relax in a variety of exquisite settings. Hopefully, we can give back, albeit in a small way, to those in the industry and throw our support out there too.
“Thank you to those who took the time to enter, for those who voted, for our prize-givers, and we wish the very best to all in the industry.”
So, without further ado, we take a look at some of the standout winners of this year’s awards.
Five-star wellness retreat Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion, Hue in Vietnam scooped the most wins across the board by topping the list for Best Hotel for Sustainability, Best Hotel for Nature Lovers and Best Hotel for Families – beating second place by just one vote! – and also coming second for the Best Spa/Wellness Hotel, proving that this luxurious retreat really is a favourite for our readers.
The coveted Best Beach/Coastal Hotel award was won by Amari Raaya Maldives, which also scooped the top prize for Best Hotel for Romance with more than double the votes for second place for Mexico’s Andaz Mayakoba. COMO Le Montrachet in Burgundy was another winner that received a high proportion of the votes and topped the category for Best Hotel for Wine, with another French hotel, Hotel Chais Monnet and Spa in Cognac coming in second.
Luxe country house hotel, Ellenborough Park, near Cheltenham, came second to Thailand’s Avani Hua Hin Resort in the Best Hotel for Pets section and our readers voted the iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah in Dubai as the Best Hotel for Design, while Burgenstock Resort Lake Lucerne in Switzerland came in second.
Five-star Andaz London Liverpool Street also bagged the top spot in more than one category, taking the crown for Best City Hotel and also Best Hotel for Business, proving that its location are facilities are top notch when it comes to city and business travel.
Royal Caribbean tops the list of Best Ocean Cruise Line for a fourth year running and Viking tops the Best River Cruise Line category. The best city in the world has been voted as Edinburgh, with London closely following and Bangkok just behind, while Italy’s Amalfi Coast once again topped the list of the Best Honeymoon Destination and Rome’s Colosseum ranks as the top tourist destination.
British Airways beat out Emirates for the top spot for Best Airline, once again, after winning in 2021 but being beaten by the Dubai based airline last year as well as in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Hopefully you will agree that this has been another great year for the awards and we look forward to visiting and utilising the services of those fine winners above.
