The outstanding winners of the World Boutique Hotel Awards 2014 were announced at the glittering Awards ceremony held at the Montcalm Hotel, Marble Arch, London. The ceremony brought together an array of boutique hoteliers, press, and industry insiders from Australia, Fiji, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Laos, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, UK, USA and many more – making it a truly global event.
The awards were hosted by Kathryn Pretzel-Shiels of American Express and this year’s keynote speech was delivered by Edward Griffiths, Deputy Master of the Royal Household, Buckingham Palace. Other esteemed guest presenters and speakers at the event included Harry Murray MBE, Chairman of Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Russell Kett, Chairman of HVS London, Professor Peter A Jones, Dean of the eHotelier Academy, Alex Buchanan co-owner of Catering in Scotland, David Coubrough, Chairman of Castle Hotel and Ciaran Fahy, Chief Executive Officer of Ellerman Hotels.
Here are the 2014 overall Best in Region and World’s Best Category Winners, as well as our Regional Category Winners below, all of whom delivered unique excellence.
World’s Best Boutique Hotel 2014
Saffire Freycinet (pictured above – Tasmania, Australia)
Best in region winners
Africa’s Best Boutique Hotel – Palala Boutique Game Lodge (Limpopo, South Africa)
Asia’s Best Boutique Hotel – Viceroy Bali (Ubud, Indonesia)
Australasia’s Best Boutique Hotel – Saffire Freycinet (Tasmania, Australia)
Europe’s Best Boutique Hotel – The Toren (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
The America’s Best Boutique Hotel – Echo Valley Ranch & Spa (British Columbia,
Canada)
The Middle East’s Best Boutique Hotel – Les Ottomans (Istanbul,Turkey)
Worlds Best Category Winners
World’s Best Beach or Coastal Boutique Hotel – Pacific Resort Aitutaki (Cook Islands)
World’s Best City Boutique Hotel – Grandhotel Hessischer Hof (Frankfurt, Germany)
World’s Best Classic Boutique Hotel – Poseidonion Grand Hotel (Spetses, Greece)
World’s Best Culinary Boutique Hotel – Parkhotel Surenburg (Germany)
World’s Best Design Boutique Hotel – Olive Boutique Hotel (Puerto Rico)
World’s Best Honeymoon Boutique Hotel – Viceroy Bali (Ubud, Indonesia)
World’s Best New Boutique Hotel – Stora Hotellet (Umeå, Sweden)
World’s Best Relaxation Retreat – Hotel Endsleigh (Devon, United Kingdom)
World’s Best Romantic Retreat – Pondoro Game Lodge (Balule, South Africa)
World’s Best Spa Boutique Hotel – Entre Cielos (Mendoza, Argentina)
World’s Best Sustainable Boutique Hotel – Zeavola Resort (Koh Phi Phi, Thailand)
Regional Category Winners
Beach or Coastal:
The Americas’ Best Beach or Coastal Boutique Hotel – Eden Roc at Cap Cana, Dominican Republic
Asia’s Best Beach or Coastal Boutique Hotel – The Melati Beach Resort & Spa, Koh Samui, Thailand
Australasia’s Best Beach or Coastal Boutique Hotel – Pacific Resort Aitutaki, Cook Islands
Europe’s Best Beach or Coastal Boutique Hotel – Bill & Coo, Mykonos, Greece
City:
Africa’s Best City Boutique Hotel – The Peech, Johannesburg, South Africa
The Americas’ Best City Boutique Hotel – Hotel LM, Cartagena, Colombia
Asia’s Best City Boutique Hotel – The Pottinger Hong Kong, China
Australasia’s Best City Boutique Hotel – Ovolo Laneways, Melbourne
Europe’s Best City Boutique Hotel – Grandhotel Hessischer Hof, Frankfurt
The Middle East’s Best City Boutique Hotel – Hypnos Design Hotel, Istanbul
Classic Elegance:
The Americas’ Best Classic Boutique Hotel – The Great George, Canada
Asia’s Best Classic Boutique Hotel – Casa Colombo, Sri Lanka
Europe’s Best Classic Boutique Hotel – The Poseidonion Grand Hotel, Greece
The Middle East’s Best Classic Boutique Hotel – Montania Special Class Hotel, Turkey
Culinary Excellence:
The Americas’ Best Culinary Boutique Hotel – Rancho Valencia, California, USA
Asia’s Best Culinary Boutique Hotel – Hansar Samui, Koh Samui, Thailand
Australasia’s Best Culinary Boutique Hotel – Saffire Freycinet, Tasmania, Australia
Europe’s Best Culinary Boutique Hotel – Parkhotel, Surenburg, Germany
The Middle East’s Best Culinary Boutique Hotel – Alma Hotel & Lounge, Tel Aviv, Israel
Honeymoon Hideaway:
Africa’s Best Honeymoon Boutique Hotel – Victoria Manor, Queenstown, South Africa
Asia’s Best Honeymoon Boutique Hotel – Viceroy Bali, Ubud, Indonesia
Australasia’s Best Honeymoon Boutique Hotel – The Remote Resort, Vanua Levu, Fiji
Europe’s Best Honeymoon Boutique Hotel – ION Luxury Adventure Hotel, Selfoss, Iceland
The Middle East’s Best Honeymoon Boutique Hotel – Les Ottomans, Istanbul
Inspired Design:
Africa’s Best Design Boutique Hotel – Fusion Boutique Hotel, South Africa
The Americas’ Best Design Boutique Hotel – Olive Boutique Hotel, Puerto Rico
Asia’s Best Design Boutique Hotel – Riverside Boutique Resort, Vang Vieng, Laos
Australasia’s Best Design Boutique Hotel – Saffire Freycinet, Tasmania, Australia
Europe’s Best Design Boutique Hotel – The Toren, Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Middle East’s Best Design Boutique Hotel – Arumaila Boutique Hotel, Doha, Qatar
Hotel Awards Newcomer:
Africa’s Best New Boutique Hotel – Palala Boutique Game Lodge, Groblersbrug, South Africa
Asia’s Best New Boutique Hotel – Buri Rasa Village, Koh Samui, Thailand
Europe’s Best New Boutique Hotel – Stora Hotellet, Sweden
Relaxation Retreat:
Africa’s Best Relaxation Retreat – Rhulani Safari Lodge, South Africa
The Americas’ Best Relaxation Retreat – Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, British Columbia, Canada
Asia’s Best Relaxation Retreat – Hansar Pranburi, Thailand
Australasia’s Best Relaxation Retreat – Pacific Resort Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Europe’s Best Relaxation Retreat – Hotel Endsleigh, United Kingdom
Romantic Retreat:
Africa’s Best Romantic Retreat – Pondoro Game Lodge, Balule, South Africa
The Americas’ Best Romantic Retreat – c/o The Maidstone, East Hampton, USA
Asia’s Best Romantic Retreat – The Ubud Village Resort & Spa, Bali, Indonesia
Australasia’s Best Romantic Retreat – Emaho Sekawe, Fiji
Europe’s Best Romantic Retreat – The Pand, Bruges, Belgium
The Middle East’s Best Romantic Retreat – Taskonaklar, Cappadocia
Sensuous Spa:
The Americas’ Best Spa Boutique Hotel – Entre Cielos, Mendoza, Argentina
Australasia’s Best Spa Boutique Hotel – Te Manava Luxury Villas & Spa, Cook Islands
Asia’s Best Spa Boutique Hotel – The Pavilions Phuket, Thailand
Europe’s Best Spa Boutique Hotel – THIEF SPA, Oslo, Norway
The Middle East’s Best Spa Boutique Hotel – Al Jasra Boutique Hotel, Qatar
Sustainability:
Europe’s Best Sustainable Boutique Hotel – ION Luxury Adventure Hotel, Iceland
Asia’s Best Sustainable Boutique Hotel – Zeavola Resort, Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
Africa’s Best Sustainable Boutique Hotel – Unguja Lodge, Kizimkazi, Tanzania
Australasia’s Best Sustainable Boutique Hotel – The Observatory, Port Macquarie Australia
The 2015 Boutique Hotel Awards are now open! To nominate your favourite boutique hotels, find out about participating in the Awards, and read the reviews of all the winners go to: www.boutiquehotelawards.com
Philosophy behind the World Boutique Hotel Awards
Many decades ago, luxury travellers preferred to stick to the safety that a global hotel chain provided. The decision is understandable since certain standards would be guaranteed: the standard of food, number of square feet in a suite or swimming pool, even the interior design. All would be repeated exactly, no matter where the location. Whilst this had its advantages, it left little room for imagination or flair.
The advent of the Internet has provided transparency in standards. This, together with the increasing discernment that luxury travellers have developed, has led many to seek hotels that offer integrity, individuality and character to their guests in addition to the standards of luxury they desire. Our Awards are the world’s first and only accolades dedicated exclusively to luxury boutique properties, providing a global arena in which hotels can showcase their unique excellence. Above all, the World Boutique Hotel Awards looks for hotels that are undeniably, irrefutably unique.
How we judge our winners: We start by conducting a thorough interview with a hotel’s manager or owner. The questions are tailored to each hotel, since most (or the good ones at least) are very different. We have a collection of well-traveled judges, often with expertise in a field closely linked to the award category they review, that visit each shortlisted hotel. We believe it is of the utmost importance that each hotel shortlisted for one of our awards is reviewed in person, with the judge staying exactly as a guest would do. No matter how detailed your research, there’s no substitute for personally experiencing what a hotel has to offer and meeting the people behind it. Elements of design and concept, dining, facilities, location and service are included in the review they perform. That said, we primarily look to gauge the emotional journey, focusing more on the feel achieved by a hotel rather than using strict quotas or standards in our judging. Our panel then meets once all the hotels have been evaluated to pour over the reviews and other research gathered by our team to decide upon the winners.
