kamui Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/index.cfm WORLD'S BEST Cities Readers name Sydney and Bali the world's top city and island once again this year?for the eighth and fourth time, respectively. Several destinations have their best World's Best performance ever, including Prague; Chiang Mai, Thailand; Hobart, Tasmania; and Easter Island, Chile. And kudos to our sole first-time winner: Harbour Island, in the Bahamas. Top 10 Overall Rank Last_Year Name Score 1 1 Sydney 88.30 2 4 Bangkok 87.08 3 2 Rome 86.26 4 3 Florence 86.20 5 n/a Chiang Mai, Thailand 84.93 6 6 New York 84.82 7 8 Istanbul 84.78 8 5 Cape Town 84.51 9 7 Oaxaca, Mexico 84.41 10 n/a San Francisco N/A WORLD'S BEST Cities: Asia Top 5 Asia Rank Last_Year Name Score 1 1 Bangkok 87.08 2 n/a Chiang Mai, Thailand 84.93 3 3 Hong Kong 82.52 4 2 Kyoto 82.50 5 4 Hanoi WORLD'S BEST Islands Top 10 Overall Rank Last_Year Name Score 1 1 Bali 89.83 2 6 Santorini 86.30 3 3 Maui 85.64 4 2 Kauai 85.03 5 10 Great Barrier Reef islands 84.50 6 n/a Vancouver Island 84.49 7 n/a Cyclades, Greece (Santorini rated separately) 84.46 8 7 Sicily 84.30 9 5 Hawaii 84.25 10 9 Mount Desert Island, Maine 83.67 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 WORLD'S BEST Hotels In the past decade, no region of the world has dominated our hotel rankings like Asia. This year marks the sixth time the No. 1 spot has been occupied by an Asian property, and the seventh that Asian hotels have claimed the lion's share of the top 10. Top 100 Hotels Overall Rank Last_Year Name Score 1 6 Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan 95.00 Although Sayan is topping our charts for the first time, this is actually the second year readers have rated a Balinese Four Seasons No. 1: Sayan's sister resort at Jimbaran Bay finished first in 2001. 2 1 Singita Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sand, South Africa 94.57 Last year's winner is the only African property to crack the top 10 in 2005. 3 29 Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur, India 94.00 Rajvilas beats its own record, set last year, as the highest-ranked Indian hotel in the history of our survey (it was 29th in 2004). 4 10 Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai, Thailand 92.84 With nine properties in this year's top 100, Thailand is the most represented country after the United States. 5 9 Château Les Crayères, Reims, France 92.33 Since being voted the best hotel in the world in 2002, Les Crayeres has remained one of Europe's star performers. 6 3 The Peninsula, Bangkok 92.10 Book It 7 28 Rusty Parrot Lodge & Spa, Jackson Hole, Wyoming 92.05 8 22 Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay 91.85 Jimbaran Bay is one of two hotels to rank among the top 25 in the world every year since we began our survey (the Oriental, Bangkok, is the other). 9 16 Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia 91.82 10 24 Four Seasons Hotel, Istanbul 91.74 11 15 The Oriental, Bangkok 91.71 The Oriental is the only hotel that has bested all others more than once (in 1996, 1999, and 2000). 12 27 Blackberry Farm, Walland, Tennessee 91.24 13 n/a Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France 91.15 14 44 Amandari, Bali 91.02 15 96 Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand 91.00 16 35 The Point, Upper Saranac Lake, New York 91.00 With just 11 rooms, the Point is the smallest hotel in this year's top 100. 17 11 La Casa Que Canta, Zihuatanejo, Mexico 90.86 18 2 Kichwa Tembo, Masai Mara, Kenya 90.81 19 20 The Peninsula, Beverly Hills 90.64 20 17 Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii 90.53 21 n/a Amankila, Bali 90.44 This is Amankila's best finish yet in our survey. Bali, with an incredible four properties in the top 25, dominates the upper reaches of our 2005 hotel rankings. 22 91 Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra, India 90.11 23 41 Halekulani, Honolulu, Oahu 90.02 Halekulani is one of two hotels in Hawaii that have placed in the top 100 every year since 1996. 24 13 Cape Grace, Cape Town 90.00 25 18 Hôtel de Paris, Monte Carlo 89.88 26 n/a Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin 89.86 27 19 The Peninsula, Hong Kong 89.84 The Pen in Hong Kong has placed in the top 50 for 10 years running. Its best finish: No. 3, back in 1996. 28 n/a Palazzo Sasso, Ravello, Italy 89.80 Palazzo Sasso is Italy's best performer for the first time this year. Although France has more hotels listed in the top 100 than any other European country (eight), Italy has more in the top 50 (four). 29 n/a Aerie Resort, Malahat, Vancouver Island 89.77 30 48 Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, Vancouver Island 89.76 31 63 Çiragan Palace Hotel Kempinski, Istanbul 89.62 Book It 32 64 Le Sirenuse, Positano, Italy 89.48 33 26 Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California 89.44 34 46 Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, Sabi Sand, South Africa 89.41 35 n/a Tu Tu'Tun Lodge, Gold Beach, Oregon 89.34 36 n/a Four Seasons Hotel, Prague 89.24 37 n/a Bauer Il Palazzo, Venice 89.07 38 45 Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea 89.05 Maui's top property is one of eight that have ranked in the top 100 every year for the past decade. Four Seasons is the only company with more than one hotel in this group. 39 n/a Marquesa Hotel, Key West, Florida 89.03 40 n/a Banyan Tree, Phuket, Thailand 89.00 41 33 Lodge at Koele, Lanai 88.96 42 85 Four Seasons Resort, Nevis 88.94 43 43 Four Seasons Hotel, Singapore 88.89 44 90 Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris 88.72 45 70 Il San Pietro, Positano, Italy 88.71 46 n/a Inverlochy Castle, Fort William, Scotland 88.69 47 n/a JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, Thailand 88.50 48 n/a The Sukhothai, Bangkok 88.48 The Thai capital has five hotels in the top 100 this year, more than any other city. The Sukhothai and Four Seasons (No. 69) join 2004's three qualifiers?the Peninsula, Oriental, and Shangri-La? all of which again make the cut. 49 n/a Four Seasons Hotel México D.F., Mexico City 88.44 50 n/a Monmouth Plantation, Natchez, Mississippi 88.32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbaron Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Thailand and Italy the only countries with 2 spots in the top bracket. Well done to them. (Florence and Rome; CMai and BKK) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 I was wondering.. i guess it's about best vacation spots, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharcyde Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 ...or about best working traffic infra structure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglesoup Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Good to see. I wonder who they actually surveyed to get the details. Tourists at the airport,hotels etc. It seems like alot like a contradiction to opinions held about nightlife and Thai Gov etc,its not like the Bangkok of the "good old days" Personally I am a newcomer,2 years and I cant compare it with the old times but I think its a fantastic city and I would vote number 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Bangkok is great but basicly is a basket case, who voted?...best city to live in or have a short holiday?.....no parks to speak of, horrible pollution, horrible traffic, rampant corruption, big slums....hardly cultured like paris is it....Worlds Best Cities; asia....that makes no sense to me :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 pattaya127 said:I was wondering.. i guess it's about best vacation spots, no? From a travel mag so i think you are right.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Travel and Leisure is the biggest travel mag in the US. Therefore the results are not the best places chosen by international travellers (Europe, Japan, Americas, eg.) but only by US Americans. It says probably more about the interests of American luxury tourists than about the absolutely best places around the world... Actually I was surprised about the ranking of Bangkok. IMHO Tokyo is much more interesting (architecture, arts, clubs, concerts, e.g), but of course it doesn't have that kind of nightlife for western males. :hubba: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted July 13, 2005 Report Share Posted July 13, 2005 Well, Americans can not afford 5 star hotels in Tokyo, but can in Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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