Andrew Harper
TOP 20
HIDEAWAYS CITY HOTELS SAFARI LODGES BEACH RESORTS SPA RESORTS GOLF RESORTS FOOD & WINE RESORTS FAMILY RESORTS PLUS TOP 10 CRUISE LINES
© STEPHEN GOODENOUGH
Otahuna Lodge, New Zealand, voted No. 1 international hideaway
Your Favorite Hideaways, Hotels and Resorts INDEX Hideaways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 City Hotels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Safari Lodges and Camps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Family Resorts. . . . . . . . . . . 4 Golf Resorts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Beach Resorts . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Spa Resorts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Food and Wine Resorts. . . 5 Cruise Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
COVER Acqualina in Miami Beach, Florida, winner in three categories: beach resorts, spa resorts and family resorts
I
am always fascinated by the results of our annual reader survey. It is especially gratifying when recent recommendations turn up in the latest listings. But it is also a pleasure to see old friends continuing to appear. For example, after a change of ownership and a refurbishment program, Petit St. Vincent was this year ranked No. 2 among international hideaways. This tiny private island in the Grenadines is, in many ways, the very definition of a hideaway, and it has been a personal favorite for more than 30 years. I was also delighted to see another distinctive property, Las Alamandas, at No. 3 in the rankings, despite the negative publicity that parts of Mexico continue to attract. Every survey includes at least one major surprise. In 2015, this has been provided by Acqualina, located four miles north of Bal Harbor, which came in first in no fewer than three categories: beach, spa and family. Several respondents noted that Acqualina’s remarkable ability to satisfy the diverse requirements
of both adults and children is what makes it so exceptional. This year, I was particularly pleased by the detailed feedback I received, and I have duly noted the places that you would most like to see covered. (Your favorite countries remain Italy, France, England, Australia and New Zealand.) Many respondents asked me to concentrate on properties that display a high degree of “authenticity” and expressed a preference for “remote” or “unusual” destinations, while urging me to provide “a more unique take than mainstream travel publications.” I will certainly do my best to fulfill these expectations. Overall, I was especially heartened to discover that during a period of international uncertainty, 39 percent of subscribers still expect to travel more in the next 12 months than they have this year.
Thank you for downloading the 2015 Readers’ Choice Awards results. Visit andrewharper.com/who-is-andrew-harper to learn more.
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ANDREW HARPER 2015 READER SURVEY RESULTS
City Hotels 1 The Lowell Four Seasons George V 2 The Goring 3 The Peninsula 4 5 The Peninsula Four Seasons The Biltmore 6 Le Bristol 7 Alvear Palace Hotel 8 The St. Regis 9 The Stafford 10 Claridge's 11 Beverly Wilshire 12 Mandarin Oriental 13 Four Seasons 14 Four Seasons 15 The Langham 16 The Greenwich Hotel 17 Four Seasons 18 The Connaught 19 The St. Regis 20
New York City, New York Paris, France
London, England
Hong Kong, China
Post Ranch Inn
Hideaways
Chicago, Illinois
© KODIAK GREENWOOD
Santa Barbara, California
(hotels and resorts with fewer than 50 rooms)
Paris, France
UNITED STATES
INTERNATIONAL
1 Post Ranch Inn 2 Calistoga Ranch Château du Sureau 3 Auberge du Soleil 4 Little Palm Island 5 Twin Farms 6 Amangiri 7 Triple Creek Ranch 8 San Ysidro Ranch 9 The Inn at Little Washington 10 Rancho Valencia 11 Ocean House 12 Blantyre 13 Amangani 14 The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club 15 Hidden Pond 16 Rosewood CordeValle 17 Poetry Inn 18 The Wauwinet 19 Lake Austin Spa Resort 20
1 Otahuna Lodge 2 Petit St. Vincent Las Alamandas 3 Ballyfin 4 Mombo Camp and Little Mombo 5 Camp Singita Boulders Lodge 6 45 Park Lane 7 Jumby Bay 8 Les Sources de Caudalie 9 Four Seasons Tented Camp 10 Golden Triangle La Casa Que Canta 11 Fogo Island Inn 12 Amansara 13 14 Castello Banfi - Il Borgo Hôtel San Régis 15 Castello del Nero 16 Il Pellicano 17 The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs 18 Amandari 19 Grand Hotel à Villa Feltrinelli 20
Big Sur, California
Calistoga, California Oakhurst, California
Rutherford, California
Little Torch Key, Florida Barnard, Vermont
Canyon Point, Utah Darby, Montana
Santa Barbara, California Washington, Virginia
Rancho Santa Fe, California Watch Hill, Rhode Island Lenox, Massachusetts Jackson, Wyoming
St. Simons Island, Georgia Kennebunkport, Maine San Martin, California Napa, California
Nantucket, Massachusetts Austin, Texas
Christchurch, New Zealand
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Costalegre, Mexico
County Laois, Ireland
Okavango Delta, Botswana
Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa London, England Antigua
Bordeaux-Martillac, France
Chiang Rai, Thailand
Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Newfoundland, Canada
Buenos Aires, Argentina
San Francisco, California London, England London, England
Beverly Hills, California
New York City, New York New York City, New York Boston, Massachusetts Chicago, Illinois
New York City, New York Florence, Italy
London, England
New York City, New York
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Montalcino, Italy
Paris, France
Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Italy Porto Ercole, Italy
Matauri Bay, New Zealand Bali, Indonesia
The Lowell
Gargnano, Italy
2015 READER SURVEY RESULTS ANDREW HARPER
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Safari Lodges and Camps 8 Azura Benguerra Island Tswalu Kalahari 9 Singita Sasakwa Lodge 10 Singita Ebony Lodge 11 Elsa’s Kopje 12 The Oberoi Vanyavilas 13 Singita Lebombo Lodge 14 Aman-i-Khás 15 Mateya Safari Lodge 16 Singita Mara River Tented Camp 17 Gorah Elephant Camp 18 Wolwedans 19 20 Sirikoi Lodge
Mozambique
Kalahari Desert, South Africa Grumeti Reserves, Tanzania
Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa
Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle
Meru National Park, Kenya
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Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle Chiang Rai, Thailand Singita Boulders Lodge Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa
Mombo Camp and Little Mombo Camp Okavango Delta, Botswana Londolozi Sabi Sand Game R eserve, South Africa
&Beyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge Tanzania Galapagos Safari Camp Santa Cruz Island, Ecuador
Ranthambore National Park, India
Kruger National Park, South Africa Ranthambore National Park, India
Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Addo National Park, South Africa
NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
Abu Camp Okavango Delta, Botswana
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya
Golf Resorts 8 Keswick Hall 9 Four Seasons at Wailea 10 Mauna Kea Beach Hotel 11 Esperanza 12 The Lodge at Sea Island Golf C lub 13 The Breakers 14 15 The Cloister 16 The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs 17 The Lodge at Torrey Pines 18 Blantyre 19 Rancho Valencia 20 The Gleneagles Hotel
The Inn at Palmetto Bluff Bluffton, South Carolina Charlottesville, Virginia Maui, Hawaii
Kohala Coast, Hawaii
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
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The Lodge at Pebble Beach Pebble Beach, California
The Resort at Pelican Hill Newport Coast, California
Four Seasons Hualalai Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
The Sanctuary Hotel Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Ashford Castle County Mayo, Ireland
The Broadmoor Colorado Springs, Colorado
One&Only Ocean Club Paradise Island, Bahamas
1 Acqualina The Resort at Pelican Hill 2 Four Seasons Hualalai 3 Four Seasons at Wailea 4 Mauna Kea Beach Hotel 5 Blackberry Farm 6 Caneel Bay 7 The Cloister 8 Four Seasons The Biltmore 9 Arizona Inn 10 Four Seasons Punta Mita 11 One&Only Ocean Club 12 Four Seasons at Peninsula 13 Papagayo Le Bristol 14 Cap Juluca 15 Eden Rock 16 Rancho Valencia 17 Ashford Castle 18 The Inn at Palmetto Bluff 19 1811 House 20 Miami Beach, Florida
Newport Coast, California Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Maui, Hawaii
Kohala Coast, Hawaii Walland, Tennessee
St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands Sea Island, Georgia
Santa Barbara, California Tucson, Arizona
Nayarit, Mexico
Paradise Island, Bahamas
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Paris, France
Pebble Beach Golf Links
Family Resorts
Maundays Bay, Anguilla St. Jean Bay, St. Barths
Rancho Santa Fe, California County Mayo, Ireland
Bluffton, South Carolina
Manchester Village, Vermont
St. Simons Island, Georgia
The Resort at Pelican Hill
Palm Beach, Florida
Sea Island, Georgia
Matauri Bay, New Zealand
La Jolla, California
Lenox, Massachusetts
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Perthshire, Scotland
ANDREW HARPER 2015 READER SURVEY RESULTS
COURTESY OF PELICAN HILL
Beach Resorts
Spa Resorts 1 Acqualina Calistoga Ranch 2 Canyon Ranch 3 Auberge du Soleil 4 The Resort at Pelican Hill 5 Blackberry Farm 6 Meadowood 7 Rancho Valencia 8 Miraval 9 Grand Hotel Tremezzo 10 Amangiri 11 Four Seasons The Biltmore 12 Sanctuary Camelback Mountain 13 Les Sources de Caudalie 14 Enchantment Resort 15 Amangani 16 Post Ranch Inn 17 Rosewood Little Dix Bay 18 Esperanza 19 Amandari 20
8 Four Seasons Punta Mita Peter Island Resort & Spa 9 Halekulani 10 Rosewood Little Dix Bay 11 Petit St. Vincent 12 Eden Rock 13 One&Only Palmilla 14 The Sanctuary Hotel 15 Four Seasons at Peninsula 16 Papagayo Amanpuri 17 Lizard Island 18 Las Alamandas 19 Cap Juluca 20
Mexico
Calistoga, California
British Virgin Islands
Tucson, Arizona
Honolulu, Hawaii
Rutherford, California
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Newport Coast, California
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Acqualina
Walland, Tennessee
St. Jean Bay, St. Barths
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Acqualina Miami Beach, Florida
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel Kohala Coast, Hawaii
Four Seasons Hualalai Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Esperanza Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Four Seasons The Biltmore Santa Barbara, California
Caneel Bay St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Four Seasons at Wailea Maui, Hawaii
St. Helena, California
San José del Cabo, Mexico
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Tucson, Arizona
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Lake Como, Italy
Phuket, Thailand
Canyon Point, Utah
Queensland, Australia
Santa Barbara, California
Costalegre, Mexico
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Maundays Bay, Anguilla
Food and Wine Resorts
Bordeaux-Martillac, France
8 Villa d'Este 9 Twin Farms 10 Bernardus Lodge & Spa 11 Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat 12 Ballyfin 13 Otahuna Lodge 14 Shutters on the Beach 15 Trump International Hotel 16 Belmond Le Manoir aux 17 Quat'Saisons Triple Creek Ranch 18 Farmhouse Inn 19 Domaine Les Crayères 20
Sedona, Arizona
San Ysidro Ranch
Santa Barbara, California
Jackson, Wyoming
Lake Como, Italy
Big Sur, California
Barnard, Vermont
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Carmel Valley, California
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Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat, France
Auberge du Soleil
Auberge du Soleil Rutherford, California
Blackberry Farm Walland, Tennessee
Calistoga Ranch Calistoga, California
Meadowood St. Helena, California
Post Ranch Inn Big Sur, California
Château du Sureau Oakhurst, California
The Inn at Little Washington Washington, Virginia
Miami Beach, Florida
Bali, Indonesia
County Laois, Ireland
Christchurch, New Zealand Santa Monica, California
Chicago, Illinois
Oxfordshire, England
Darby, Montana
Calistoga Ranch
Forestville, California Reims, France
2015 READER SURVEY RESULTS ANDREW HARPER
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Cruise Lines
Seabourn
1 2 3 4 5
Silversea
Seabourn Cruise Line Silversea Cruises Crystal Cruises Lindblad Expeditions – National Geographic Paul Gauguin Cruises
6 SeaDream Yacht Club 7 Sea Cloud Cruises 8 Aqua Expeditions 9 Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection 10 Un-Cruise Adventures
For information on recommended hotels and cruise lines, and to view photos of all of the winners, visit AndrewHarper.com/reader-survey Get immediate access to the world’s most discriminating and independently curated travel intelligence: 1,000+ hotel reviews, itineraries, destination profiles and booking services. Join Andrew Harper today! Call (866) 831-4314 or visit AndrewHarper.com/join
Cheetah cub, Namibia
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ANDREW HARPER 2015 READER SURVEY RESULTS