Condé Nast Traveler today announced the results of its 29th annual Readers’ Choice Awards, ranking the best hotels, resorts, cities, islands, airlines, and cruise lines in the world.
Over 300,000 dedicated Condé Nast Traveler readers cast votes for 7,394 hotels, 606 cities, 500 cruise ships, 236 islands, in the travel publication’s annual survey.
The breadth of the readers top-rated experiences was impressive, from elegant castles in the Irish countryside to tented safari camps trailing the Great Migration across the Serengeti.
The readers chose tiny private islands in the tropics, small culture rich cities in Europe, and intimate river cruises.
Most notably, they declared a passion for the authentic, the personalised, the unexpected—finding all three in both newcomers and stalwarts around the world.
Condé Nast Traveler readers rated COMO The Treasury in Perth the top hotel in Australia followed by Hotel DeBrett in Auckland, New Zealand.
Here are all the results:
The 2016 Readers’ Choice Award Winners
Top Large and Small U.S. Cities: New York City for the second year in a row and Charleston, S.C.,for the sixth year in a row!
Top Hotel in the U.S.: Virgin Hotels Chicago
Top Resort in the U.S.: TheLodge & Spa at Brush Creek Ranch, Saratoga, Wyoming
Top Island in the World: Boracay, Philippines
Top Hotel in Europe: Ballyfin, Co. Laois, Ireland
Top Hotel in Asia: Mandarin Oriental Tokyo
Top Hotel in South America: Hotel Unique, São Paulo
Top Safari Camp: Ulusaba Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sand, South Africa
Top Airline in the World: Singapore Airlines
Top U.S. Airline:Virgin America
Top Large Cruise Line: Disney
Top Midsize Cruise Line: Crystal Cruises
Top Small Cruise Line: Seabourn Cruise Line
Top River Cruise Line: Grand Circle Cruise Line
Top Beach Resort in Mexico: El Dorado Maroma, Playa del Carmen
Top Beach Resort in the Caribbean: Le Sereno, St. Barths
New Travel Trends
Luxury, all-inclusive resorts are for a wide cadre of travellers, not just couples.
Caribbean properties are stronger than ever despite recent health alarms.
Italy cannot be beat.
U.S. secondary cities are more popular than ever.
The Readers’ Choice Awards are announced in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler, on newsstands nationwide on October 25, 2016. The full list is published exclusively online, at www.CNTraveler.com/rca