Luxury Hotels - The 2012 Luxury Travel Awards (my personal choices)

www.toscanoworldtrip.blogspot.com (Around the World in 90 Days)

AND THE WINNERS ARE:


1) Best Luxury Hotel: Burj al Arab (Dubai)
2) Best Luxury Hotel Chain: Shangri-La (Singapore, Tokyo,
Hong Kong)
3) Best Airline First Class Cabin: All Nippon Airways (ANA)-
Japan
4) Best Airline First Class Service: All Nippon Airways (ANA),
Lufthansa
5) Best Airline Business Class Sevice: Singapore Airlines
6) Best Hotel Concierge Service: Burj al Arab (Dubai),
Shangri-La (Hong Kong and Tokyo)
7) Best Individual Concierge (Steve Warmerdam (Burj al
Arab, Dubai), Milania Milbert (Fairmount Monte Carlo)
8) Country where I would most want to live if I could afford it:
9) Country with the most courteous people: Japan
10)Country with the best food: Italy
11)Best experience: Camel Trek in the Al Liwa Desert (Abu
Dhabi)
12)Best Luxury Travel Consultant: Linda Barber
13)Country with the most friendly people: Brazil
14)Best Hotel "get things done" Person: Guillerrmo Tapia -
(Sheraton Rio- Brazil)
15)Most interesting Pool: 57th Floor Infinity Pool at Marina
Bay Sands (Singapore)
16)Nicest Pool Area: Grand Lapa (Macau)
17)Nicest Hotel Perk for Children: Wild Wadi Water Park
(Burj al Arab- Dubai)
18)Nicest Hotel Suite: Burj al Arab (Dubai)
19)Nicest Beach: Barra da Tijuca (Brazil)
20)Best Hotel Breakfast Buffet: Shangri-La (Hong Kong),
Fairmount (Monte Carlo), Shangri-La Singapore
21)Best Hotel Dinner Buffet: Junsui Restaurant at the Burj al
Arab (Dubai)
22)Most Elegant Hotel Concierge Lounge: Shangri-La (Hong
Kong)
23)Best Hotel Concierge Lounge Service: Sheraton Rio
(Brazil)
24)Best Hotel Concierge Perk: washing and pressing all
your clothes (Valley Wing at the Shangri-La Singapore
25)Most spectacular natural sight: Rochers-de-Naye
Mountain (Swiss Alps, Switzerland)
26)Most spectacular manmade sight: Great Mosque (Abu
Dhabi)
27)Best View: Rio de Janeiro from Corcovado and Pao de
Açucar Mountains
28)Best Kid's Experience: DisneySea (Tokyo)
29)Most Beautiful City: Venice
30)Nicest Spa Service: Burj al Arab (Dubai)
31)Best Massage: Sheraton Rio (Brazil)
32)Best Spa Treatment: Oxygen Facial (Fairmount Monte
Carlo)
33)Best Water View: Lake Geneva from Montreux, Lake
Como from Bellaggio
34)Most interesting Experience: Glass-Blowing on the Island
of Murano (Venice)
35)Most Beautiful Hotel Setting: San Clemente Palace (San
Clemente Island, Venice)
36)Most Serene Hotel Setting: Royal Palace (Montreux,
Switzerland)
37)Most Beautiful View from Hotel Room: Mediterranean Sea
from the Fairmount Monte Carlo
38)Best Airport Lounge; Lufthansa First Class Lounge
(Frankfurt, Germany)
39)Best Airport Lounge Food: Noodle Bar at All Nippon
Airways (ANA) Business Lounge (Hong Kong)
40)Most Beautiful Church: San Maurizio (Milan, Italy)
41)Most Beautiful House of Worship Setting: Buddhist
Temples (Kamakura, Japan)
42)Best Airline Business Class Cabin: Singapore Airlines
43)Most Fun Kid's Attraction: Luge Ride at Sentosa Island
(Singapore)
44)Best Ice Cream: Gelateria Grom (Italy)
45)Best Chocolate: Lac Patisserie (Nice, France)
46)Best Steak: La Maison du Steak (Geneva, Switzerland)
47)Best Mode of Transport to Airport: Helicopter from Monte
Carlo to French Riviera Airport (Nice, France)
48)Best Luxury Hotel Experience: Burj Al Arab (Dubai)
49)Best Luxury Hotel Management Team: Heinrich Morio,
Ahmed Ereiba and Stephanie Zawada of the Burj al Arab,
(Dubai)
50)Most Incredible Feeling: Coming Home and Wanting to Do
It All Over Again!!!!!

I am guessing from looking at the OP's other posts that the blog being quoted and promoted belongs to the OP; i.e., the OP is publicizing their own personal choices here.

My impression is these are posted in good faith and there is no financial connection the travel suppliers other than as a customer. So absent serious objection, I'm inclined to leave the thread open for comments from others.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotel forum

Added: Title edited as suggested below.

Sounds like a great trip.
I agree RinSF - but I do think the title should be amended to reflect that.

I find the title highly misleading :td:

This has to be a joke, yes? Best hotel group Shangri-La? Who is kidding who?

Did you look the blog - this is the OP's personal Awards on an extended RTW trip he took with his family. He stayed at the Island Shangri-La and I think the Valley Wing in Singapore - both quite nice hotels.

I don't think there's an ANA lounge in Hong Kong.

A very nice trip and to the op,the best hotels/places they have visited,but if they get to some of the places frequented on this board,they'll soon forget some of the ones above :D

I'm pretty sure the noodle bar mentioned above is at the cx wing lounge in Hkg and not at a Jal lounge,therefore it's cathay pacific that deserves that award.
They've a new coffee bar too called the loft,if passing through,that is a treat and where they make seriously good coffee.

This has to be a joke, yes? Best hotel group Shangri-La? Who is kidding who?

I agree with you, but being a very personal rating it does just not reflect OUR style. Of course Shangri-La is the example of dull and bland pseudo luxury.

25) Rochers de Naye shows that the OP did not visit really impressive natural sights. His place is Swiss prealps at best. What about Jungfraujoch or Gornergrat for the real thing?

Also he seems not to bother about the human rights situation (especially women and gay rights) in the Middle East when praising their services. But traveling as a straight man with one's wife the Middle East seems to be paradise indeed :D.

I agree with you, but being a very personal rating it does just not reflect OUR style. Of course Shangri-La is the example of dull and bland pseudo luxury.



:confused: I thought the Valley Wing of the S-la was considered to be amongst the best hotel offerings in Singapore and the Island S-la is definitely a nice hotel.

it'll be great if the most experienced travellers will reply to the same questions.