Following a difficult few years for the travel and hospitality industry, 2022 has seen a resurgence in those seeking out luxury destinations abroad and with a renewed vigour for trips on home turf, too, it seems that keen travellers are back to enjoying the best of both worlds.
As another year makes its move to wrap up with a bang, we at LLM are celebrating another successful awards season. 2022 marks our fifth year of highlighting the very best in the travel industry, from the finest hotels across the world to premium airlines, cruise lines, destinations and tour operators.
With the sole aim of showcasing the best in their sectors and to provide some positive publicity for these businesses and destinations, it’s safe to say that we have achieved this once again. Our readers like to dream and travel, and they’ve been voting in their thousands – (more than 31,000) – to have their say from the carefully curated shortlist of options.
So, the results are in and this year 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. As our editor-in-chief, Nick Gibbens, commented: “We are so pleased to be able to run our awards yet again 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, especially those who are just starting out or have only very recently opened their doors again.”
So, who were the standout winners?
In the UK, Linthwaite House in the Lake District has topped a record three categories in the Best UK Hotels section winning Best Hotel for Food (for a second year running), Best Hotel for Wine and Best Hotel for Golf, proving that this luxurious Windermere retreat really is a favourite for our readers.
Famed hotel DUKES London beat out 23 others to be named Best Boutique Hotel in the UK, while Francis Hotel in Bath topped both the Best City Hotel and Best Hotel for Business categories. The Culloden Estate and Spa in Belfast has been named the Best Spa/Wellness Hotel in the UK and firm favourite Ellenborough Park in Cheltenham topped the list for the Best Hotel for Families after winning in the romance category last year.
Best Tour Operator and Best Specialist Tour Operator was won by The Luxury Travel Book and Emirates is back on top of the list of Best Airline after winning in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and being nudged to second place last year by British Airways. Royal Caribbean tops the list of Best Ocean Cruise Line for a third year running and Best UK City, Bath has beaten London to the top spot for a second year in a row.
Heading overseas, and the biggest category – Best Hotel in Europe (outside the UK) has been awarded to Amada Colossos Resort in Rhodes, Greece, with As Janelas Verdes Hotel in Portugal’s capital city Lisbon coming in second place and Burgenstock Hotel and Resort, Lake Lucerne in Switzerland taking third place.
Thailand certainly offers up some top hotels with akyra Manor Chiang Mai and Aleenta Hua Hin-Pranburi Resort and Spa coming in first and second respectively in the Best Hotel in Asia category. It was the Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Spa in Mahe that took the top spot in the Best Hotel in Africa section, narrowly beating South Africa’s Earth Lodge at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve.
Best Hotel in North America was awarded to NH Collection New York Madison Avenue, while the Hitlon Barra in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil won the award for Best Hotel in South America. Jade Mountain Resort in St Lucia won the Caribbean category and Le Taha’a Island Resort and Spa in Tahiti won for Oceania.
The Amalfi Coast in Italy was the winner for Best Honeymoon Destination, while Verbier in Switzerland won Best Ski Resort and Barcelona in Spain was voted the Best City for a third year running.
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.
