HOTEL CIPRIANI SCOOPS TOP HONOURS IN THE 8TH ANNUAL
CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER READERS’ TRAVEL AWARDS
6 September 2005 – In a glittering awards ceremony in London last night, the legendary Hotel Cipriani in Venice was voted Condé Nast Traveller’s best hotel in Europe, Asia Minor and the Russian Federation in the ‘Overseas Leisure Hotels’ category, whilst on an international scale the hotel was placed 6th in the ‘World’s Top 100’ list, covering all categories.
Hotel Cipriani rated highly with scores of 99.78 for location, 98.99 for ambience and 97.65 for standard /comfort of accommodation. Its overall score was 95.67.
Hotel Cipriani was the first property acquired by Orient-Express Hotels in 1976 and Dr Natale Rusconi, who has been managing director since 1977, was at the awards ceremony to collect the coveted prize from editor Sarah Miller.
Also in the ‘Overseas Leisure Hotels’ category for Europe, Asia Minor and the Russian Federation were La Residencia, Mallorca at 4th position and Hotel Splendido, Portofino in 7th place.
Listed in the ‘Overseas Leisure Hotels’ category for Australasia and the South Pacific category, The Observatory Hotel in Sydney was ranked 4th and Lilianfels Blue Mountains in New South Wales in 20th position. In the Americas & the Caribbean category, readers voted the Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro in 14th place.
The only Orient-Express hotel in the UK, Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in the heart of the of Oxfordshire, offers exceptional comfort and perfection in fine food created by chef proprietor Raymond Blanc. As a result, Condé Nast Traveller readers voted for this peaceful country retreat and restaurant as 7th in the ‘UK Leisure Hotels’ category, with scores of 95.43 for food and 97.53 for service.
Condé Nast Traveller prides itself on a ‘truth in travel’ philosophy and has for the last eight years, conducted these annual reader awards that are always eagerly awaited by its readers and the international travel industry.
Readers are asked to write in and vote on the best that the travel world has to offer in categories that range from hotels and spas to airlines and airports. They are then asked to rate their choices accordingly in various categories such as location, ambience and décor, value for money, service, cuisine and environmental friendliness. These votes are calculated as an average on each criterion, which provides the overall satisfaction percentage that decides the winners.
ENDS./
For further information, please contact:
Victoria Legg, Public Relations Manager &
Fiona Duthie, Senior Public Relations Executive
Orient-Express Hotels
Tel – 0207 805 5067/ 09 Fax – 0207 805 5938
Email – vicky.legg@orient-express.com
Email – fiona.duthie@orient-express.com
www.orient-express.com
Notes to Editors:
Orient-Express Hotels, Trains and Cruises (www.orient-express.com) is a hotel and leisure company providing luxury travel experiences for discerning travellers in areas of outstanding cultural, historic or recreational interest. Founded in 1976 when the company acquired Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Orient-Express owns or has investments in 49 businesses: 38 highly individual hotels, three restaurants, six tourist trains and two river cruise operations, located in 25 countries worldwide.
The company believes that discerning travellers will choose a famous individual property in preference to a chain brand, so none of its businesses is called Orient-Express except the fabled Venice Simplon-Orient-Express luxury train which operates through Europe, linking London, Paris and Venice. Orient-Express chooses to own or part-own its businesses, believing equity returns are greater than management fee income alone and continues to seek out unique properties with expansion potential and introduce new experiences, restoring romance, glamour and style to international travel.
Downloadable high resolution photography of Orient-Express’ hotels, trains and cruises is available at www.orient-expressimages.com.
