2012 World's Best Awards Announced by Travel + Leisure Magazine

BANGKOK NAMED WORLD'S BEST CITY
BLACKBERRY FARM IN TENNESSEE IS TOP RESORT IN U.S. AND CANADA
SANTORINI VOTED BEST ISLAND OVERALL (pictured above, photo credit: CSky Hotel, Santorini)
VIRGIN AMERICA RATED NO. 1 DOMESTIC AIRLINE

Singita Grumeti Reserves in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania is named best hotel in the world, New York City is ranked No. 1 city in the United States and Canada, and car sharing company Zipcar is voted the top car-rental agency in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2012 readers’ survey, announced on July 7th. The results of Travel + Leisure's sixteenth annual World’s Best Awards survey revealing readers’ favorite hotels, cities, islands, cruise lines, airlines, car-rental agencies, spas, and tour operators and safari outfitters will be featured in the first-ever World's Best Awards 2012 iPad edition, available via www.TravelandLeisure.com/iPad and on the iTunes App Store beginning July 11, and is the cover story of the August issue of the magazine, on newsstands July 22.

Singita Grumeti Reserves, composed of Sasakwa Lodge, Sabora Tented Camp, and Faru Faru Lodge in northern Tanzania, is a first-time World's Best Hotel Overall winner this year and is one of six African properties to place in the Top 10 among hotels worldwide. Posada de Mike Rapu, Explora Rapa Nui, Easter Island makes its debut in the World's Best Awards survey results this year with a No. 1 ranking on the list of Top Resorts in Central and South America. Santorini is a new World's Best Island Overall winner, moving up from its No. 6 ranking on last year's list of Top Islands Overall and displacing the Galápagos from the No. 1 position. New York City holds its title for the eleventh year in a row as the Best City in the U.S. and Canada, and rises to its highest ranking since 2000 among top cities overall at No. 4, while Bangkok retains its number one ranking in the world for a second consecutive year. On the list of Top Cities in the U.S. and Canada, Charleston rises to the No. 2 spot, its highest ranking ever, and New Orleans moves up to No. 6 this year from No. 7 in 2010. Cuba regains the title of Best Island in the Caribbean that it last held in 2003.

Two companies have held onto their No. 1 rankings every year since the poll began in 1996: Crystal Cruises (Best Large-Ship Cruise Line) and Singapore Airlines (Best International Airline). The 2012 results, including the Top 100 Hotels Overall, Top 50 Resorts in the Continental U.S. and Canada, Top 10 Cities Overall, and Top 10 Domestic Airlines, among other lists, are featured on www.TravelandLeisure.com/worldsbest now.

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD'S BEST AWARDS 2012 WINNERS OVERALL

WORLD'S BEST CITY

Bangkok

WORLD'S BEST HOTEL

Singita Grumeti Reserves (Saskwa Lodge, Sabora Tented Camp, and Faru Faru Lodge), Tanzania

WORLD'S BEST ISLAND

Santorini in Greece

WORLD'S BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE

Crystal Cruises

WORLD'S BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE

Seabourn

WORLD'S BEST RIVER CRUISE LINE

Tauck

WORLD'S BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE

Singapore Airlines

WORLD'S BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE

Virgin America

WORLD'S BEST TOUR OPERATOR/SAFARI OUTFITTER

Micato Safaris

WORLD'S BEST CAR-RENTAL AGENCY

Zipcar

WORLD'S BEST DESTINATION SPA

Rancho La Puerta Fitness Resort & Spa Tecate, Mexico

WORLD'S BEST HOTEL SPA

Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa New Zealand

"It's clear that remote and exotic destinations — places that convey a sense of authenticity and adventure — are ruling the day once again in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards," said Nancy Novogrod, editor in chief of Travel + Leisure. "The top ten hotels overall are African camps and lodges; resorts in India; a property in Chiang Mai; and a luxury lodge in Montana. The top cities overall span the globe — Bangkok, Florence, New York, Istanbul, Siem Reap, and Sydney, to mention a few."

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD'S BEST 2012 HOTEL WINNERS BY REGION

CONTINENTAL U.S. & CANADA

TOP RESORT

Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee

TOP LARGE CITY HOTEL

The Peninsula Chicago

TOP SMALL CITY HOTEL

Eliot Hotel in Boston

TOP INN

Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana

HAWAII

TOP RESORT

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai Hawaii, the Big Island

THE CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA & THE BAHAMAS

TOP RESORT

Nisbet Plantation Beach Club Nevis

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

TOP RESORT

Posada de Mike Rapu, Explora Rapa Nui Easter Island, Chile

TOP CITY HOTEL

Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires, Argentina

MEXICO

TOP RESORT

One&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos

TOP CITY HOTEL

Four Seasons Hotel México D.F. Mexico City

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & THE SOUTH PACIFIC

TOP LODGE/RESORT

Lodge at Kauri Cliffs Matauri Bay, New Zealand

TOP CITY HOTEL

The Langham Melbourne, Australia

EUROPE

TOP RESORT

Hotel Caruso Ravello, Italy

TOP LARGE CITY HOTEL

Stafford London by Kempinski

TOP SMALL CITY HOTEL

Milestone Hotel, London

TOP INN/SMALL COUNTRY HOTEL

Hotel Villa Cipriani Asolo, Italy

ASIA

TOP RESORT

Oberoi Udaivilas Udaipur, India

TOP CITY HOTEL

Mandarin Oriental Bangkok

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

TOP LODGE/RESORT

Singita Grumeti Reserves (Saskwa Lodge, Sabora Tented Camp, and Faru Faru Lodge), Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

TOP CITY HOTEL

Cape Grace Hotel Cape Town, South Africa

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S 2012 BEST CITY AND ISLAND WINNERS BY REGION

REGION / CITY / ISLAND

UNITED STATES & CANADA / New York City / Cape Breton Nova Scotia, Canada

EUROPE / Florence / Santorini Greece

ASIA / Bangkok / Bali

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & PACIFIC / Sydney / Great Barrier Reef Australia

MEXICO, CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA / Buenos Aires / Galápagos

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST / Cape Town

HAWAII / Hawaii, the Big Island

THE CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA, & THE BAHAMAS / Cuba

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S BEST 2012 HOTEL SPAS WINNERS BY REGION

CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA

Ritz-Carlton New Orleans, Louisiana

HAWAII

Grand Wailea Maui

MEXICO

Excellence Riviera Cancun Mayan Riviera

Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Resort & Spa

Los Cabos ( tie )

EUROPE

Rome Cavalieri, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Rome, Italy

ASIA

Discovery Shores Boracay Philippines

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa in New Zealand

CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA AND THE BAHAMAS

Couples Tower Isle St. Mary, Jamaica

CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA

Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires

AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Singita Kruger National Park, South Africa

The top winners in each category will be honored at an awards ceremony on July 14 hosted by Editor in Chief Nancy Novogrod and VP/Publisher Jean-Paul Kyrillos at the new Mr. C Beverly Hills hotel in Los Angeles. Mr. C is the flagship west coast property of the new signature hotel brand from the fourth generation of the Cipriani family. MSNBC’s Alex Witt will emcee the awards program.