The best of the best hotels

WHERE we stay while on our holiday can either make or break the trip, which is why SuperLiving has found the crème de la crème of hotels around the world – as well as in our own backyard.

At TripAdvisor’s 10th annual Traveller’s Choice awards, a total of 3943 hotels were recognised, and unlike other hotel awards, these are based on reviews and opinions of travellers from around the world.

The Phoenix Resort at San Pedro in Belize was named as the world’s best hotel to visit by TripAdvisor. There were 255 reviews for the Phoenix, with 251 of those reviews in the excellent category. The remaining four fell in the very good category.

In second place we head to Greece to the Anastasis Apartments in Imerovigli, third was the Hamanasi Adventure and Dive Resort, Hopkins in Belize, fourth was the Riad Kniza in Marrakech, Morocco, while the Derwent House Boutique Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa came in fifth place.

The best luxury hotel was the Shangri-La in Tokyo, with one reviewer describing it as perfect. At the other end of the scale the best bargain hotel was HueNino Hotel in Vietnam. A traveller said it was, “a model on which all small budget hotels should be run. Clean, prime location, superb staff and fantastic value.”

If a bed and breakfast is more your style, then a visit to the Twenty One in Brighton in the United Kingdom is for you. It topped the list for the best bed and breakfasts and inns in the world, with travellers saying it surpassed their expectations.

A night in one of the best hotels would set us back about $US270, while 45% of the hotels on the list have an average nightly rate of $200 or less. The average nightly rate for the best luxury hotel was $455, best bargain was $106, best service came in at $255, while bed and breakfasts and inns cost $124.

No Australian hotels made the top 25 international list, however, TripAdvisor has made a dedicated list for the best hotels in Australia for those of us who like to explore what’s in our back yard.

The top award for the best hotel in Australia went to the Akama Resort in Hervey Bay, followed by the Southern Ocean Lodge, Kangaroo Island in second place.

Third place honours went to the Martinique on Macrossan in Port Douglas, with Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in the Blue Mountains taking out fourth place, while Summit Apartments Airlie Beach came in fifth.

Meanwhile, TripAdvisor continues to grow globally and now features sites in 30 countries and in 21 different languages.

“TripAdvisor is incredibly proud to announce its Traveler’s Choice award-winning hotels for the tenth year,” TripAdvisor chief marketing officer Barbara Messing said. “We are also thrilled to grow our awards with winners’ lists for twice as many markets globally this year, as we continue our mission to help more travellers around the world plan and have a perfect trip.”