1111-TR-weRc01 - The Resort at Pelican Hill

2011
Readers’
Choice
Awards
Three new hotels jump here
immediately from our 2011
Hot List, published in May
Hotels 665
Resorts 455
Cities 55
Islands 55
South Africa has 11
top resorts, the most
on the continent
Airlines 30
Cruise Lines 25
Charleston, South
Carolina, becomes
the top U.S. city for
the first time
Best in
the
World
Turkish Aegean
islands take top honors
in Europe
pg:
Illustration BY Carl Detorres
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Condé nast
t r av e l e r
Cities, Islands, Hotels, Resorts, Cruises, Airlines
Here they are, the final winners sifted from more than 8 million votes cast in our
annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey, swept up together to form travel’s apex of
excellence. Each cube represents one of the 1,285 top scorers who arrived at their
allotted place on the following pages (color coded by category).
These awards reflect the combined opinions of 28,876 Condé Nast Traveler readers
rating the cities, islands, and hotels they visited in the past year, and the airlines and
cruise ships they traveled with. For its range and depth, the Readers’ Choice Awards
are a unique and trusted source of advice globally, and that is thanks to America’s
most discerning and demanding travelers—you.
135
nov e m b e r
2011
Download our digital
edition, debuting
this month (see page
22 for more) and
you’ll find a photo
gallery of the Top
100 winners (see
next page) as well
as detailed pages on
all 1,120 top hotels
and resorts.
best
World
2011
in the
9
4
United States
2
8
2
It’s a year of firsts on our domestic lists: A perennial top-ten
U.S. city, Charleston grabs the No. 1 spot for the first time in a
list dominated by coastal cities. Chicago’s Elysian Hotel
and Williamsburg’s Colonial Houses each make their Readers’
Choice Awards debuts as our nation’s top hotels.
Resorts
Top 150
Mainland U.S.
1Resort at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast,
California’s Resort
at Pelican Hill
opened in 2008,
appeared on our
2009 Hot List,
emerged among
top U.S. Mainland
Resorts in 2010,
and rises to
No. 1 this year.
Calif. 96.3
2Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa at
Beaver Creek Mountain, Avon, Colo. 96.1
3Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf
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Condé nast
t r av e l e r
Top 10 Cities
Top 10 islands
1Charleston, S.C. 84.7
2San Francisco83.7
3Santa Fe83.0
4Chicago82.2
5Honolulu80.9
6New York80.8
7Savannah 79.1
8Carmel, Calif. 78.5
9Seattle78.4
0Boston78.0
1Maui 92.1
2Kauai 90.0
3Kiawah, S.C. 86.6
4Big Island 85.8
4Oahu 85.8
6Lanai 84.6
7Nantucket 82.4
8Amelia Island, Fla. 81.1
9Cumberland Island, Ga. 80.2
9Hilton Head, S.C. 80.2
/Solage Calistoga, Napa Valley 89.1
@Waldorf Astoria Park City89.0
#Brazilian Court, Palm Beach 88.8
#The Little Nell, Aspen 88.8
#Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra
PBig Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, Mo. 87.3
PChatham Bars Inn, Cape Cod 87.3
]Sanderling Resort & Spa, Duck, N.C. 87.2
\Costa d’Este, Vero Beach, Fla. 87.1
\Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa,
#Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach 88.8
&Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore,
wWaterColor Inn & Resort, Santa Rosa
&Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island 88.7
(Ocean House, Watch Hill, R.I. 88.6
)Inn at Bay Harbor, Little Traverse Bay,
SAmerican Club, Kohler, Wis. 87.0
SCheeca Lodge & Spa, Islamorada, Fla. 87.0
SWilliamsburg Inn, Va. 87.0
GSt. Regis Deer Valley Resort, Dana Point, Calif. 92.1
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9
Calif. 95.2
iThe Breakers, Palm Beach 91.9
oThe Broadmoor, Colorado Springs 91.6
pMohonk Mountain House, 138
8
4
3 9
1
4Hotel Terra, Jackson Hole 95.2
6Lodge at Pebble Beach95.0
7Lodge & Club, Ponte Vedra, Fla. 94.8
8Lodge at Woodloch, Hawley, Pa. 93.1
9Stowe Mountain Lodge, Vt. 93.0
0Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe 92.9
0Whiteface Lodge, Lake Placid 92.9
wLaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, Beach, Fla. 92.6
pg:
7
Resort, S.C. 95.9
rInn at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach 92.5
tArrabelle at Vail Square92.4
yMontage Laguna Beach, Calif. 92.1
yRitz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel,
nov e m b e r
2011
3
10
7
4CordeValle (Rosewood), San Martin,
Naples, Fla. 92.6
Jean-Michel Gathy
and Kelly Wearstler
contributed their
vision and skills to
Colorado’s Viceroy
Snowmass, which
achieves a design
score of 96.6, its
highest score in any
category.
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6
6
New Paltz, N.Y. 91.5
aMiraval Resort & Spa, Tucson 91.3
aWynn Las Vegas91.3
dEnchantment Resort, Sedona 91.2
dRitz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, Tucson 91.2
gFour Seasons Resort Jackson Hole 9 1.0
hRitz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, Calif. 90.8
hViceroy Snowmass, Colo. 90.8
hWequassett Resort and Golf Club,
Cape Cod 90.8
lThe Phoenician and Canyon Suites
(Luxury Collection), Scottsdale 90.4
;Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Fla. 90.3
'Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples, Fla. 90.2
'St. Regis Monarch Beach, Dana Point,
Calif. 90.2
xOcean Key Resort & Spa, Key West 90.0
xSanctuary on Camelback Mountain,
Scottsdale 90.0
vBarnsley Gardens Resort, Adairsville, Ga. 89.9
bStein Eriksen Lodge, Park City 89.7
nRitz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Avon, Colo. 89.6
mThe Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs,
W.Va. 89.5
,Palazzo Las Vegas 89.4
.Inn at Palmetto Bluff, Bluffton, S.C. 89.3
/Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort,
Golf Club & Spa, Fla. 89.1
Beach, Fla. 88.8
Santa Barbara 88.7
Mich. 88.4
-The Cloister, Sea Island, Ga. 88.3
-Inn at Harbour Town, Hilton Head 88.3
-Rancho Valencia Resort, Rancho Santa
Fe, Calif. 88.3
WAlderbrook Resort & Spa, Union, Wash. 88.1
WRitz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds
Plantation, Greensboro, Ga. 88.1
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. 87.1
Park City 86.8
GSundance Resort, Utah 86.8
JDisney’s Wilderness Lodge, Lake Buena
Vista, Fla. 86.7
JEl Monte Sagrado, Taos 86.7
JLa Torretta del Lago Resort & Spa,
Montgomery, Tex. 86.7
JThe Sagamore, Lake George, N.Y. 86.7
JSt. Regis Aspen Resort86.7
JTeton Mountain Lodge & Spa, Jackson Hole 86.7
WRoyal Palms Resort and Spa, Phoenix 88.1
WTulalip Resort Casino, Tulalip, Wash. 88.1
YWest Baden Springs Hotel, XHyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and
UCanyon Ranch, Lenox, Mass. 87.6
UWoodmark Hotel, Yacht Club & Spa,
VRenaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club,
French Lick, Ind. 87.9
Kirkland, Wash. 87.6
OFour Seasons Resort Scottsdale at
Troon North87.4
vintage glory Spanish revival at the
Four Seasons Biltmore, Santa Barbara.
Spa at Gainey Ranch86.6
XPark Hyatt Aviara Resort, Carlsbad,
Calif. 86.6
St. Petersburg, Fla. 86.5
BLodge at Torrey Pines, La Jolla 86.4
NWillows Lodge, Woodinville, Wash. 86.3
NW South Beach Hotel & Residences86.3
<ONE Bal Harbour Resort & Spa, Fla. 86.2
<Resort at Squaw Creek, Lake Tahoe 86.2
?Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite 86.1
{Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island, Mich. 86.0
{Omphoy Ocean Resort, Palm Beach 86.0
|Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. 85.9
|Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort
and Spa85.9
`Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa, Asheville, N.C. 85.8
_Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa, Jupiter, Fla. 85.7
_Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at
Universal, Orlando 85.7
_Pines Lodge, Beaver Creek 85.7
–Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota 85.5
—Biltmore Hotel, Coral Gables 85.4
—Cave B Inn & Spa, Quincy, Wash. 85.4
Top 30
Small Resorts
1Keswick Hall at Monticello, Va. 94.7
2Mii Amo, Sedona 94.0
3Amangani, Jackson Hole 93.5
4New Sheridan Hotel, Telluride 92.9
5Kenwood Inn and Spa, Sonoma Valley 92.7
6Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, Amelia Island, Fla. 92.5
7Lake Austin Spa Resort, Austin 92.4
8Rabbit Hill Inn, Lower Waterford, Vt. 91.6
9Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, Virginia’s Keswick
Hall at Monticello
holds the No. 1
ranking for a
second year in a
row, earning its
best scores for
dining and design.
Little Torch Key 91.2
0Sunset Key Guest Cottages (Westin),
Key West 90.6
qCanoe Bay, Chetek, Wis. 87.3
qTriple Creek Ranch, Darby, Mont. 87.3
eCopperWynd Resort and Club,
Scottsdale 87.0
rLittle St. Simons Island, Ga. 86.8
tCalistoga Ranch, Napa Valley 86.6
yInn at Langley, Whidbey Island,
Wash. 85.7
uMirbeau Inn & Spa, Skaneateles,
N.Y. 85.4
iVail Mountain Lodge & Spa85.2
oLodge at Sea Island Golf Club, St. Simons Island, Ga. 84.8
pInn at Thorn Hill & Spa, Jackson,
N.H. 84.3
ultimate utah The Sagestone Spa and an “adventure concierge”
make the 106-room Red Mountain Resort as healthy as luxury gets.
¶Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel &
Spa, Anaheim 85.3
¶Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach,
Calif. 85.3
1Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club,
Lenox, Mass. 85.2
2L’Auberge Del Mar, Calif. 85.1
2Loews Royal Pacific Resort at
Universal, Orlando 85.1
2Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne 85.1
5JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort &
Spa, Phoenix 85.0
5Williamsburg Lodge, Va. 85.0
7Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa,
Scottsdale 84.9
7Grand View Lodge, Nisswa, Minn. 84.9
7The Homestead, Hot Springs, Va. 84.9
0Hotel Telluride84.8
0Rancho de los Caballeros,
Wickenburg, Ariz. 84.8
=Meadowood Napa Valley, St. Helena 84.7
qFour Seasons Resort and Club Dallas
at Las Colinas84.6
qHotel del Coronado, San Diego 84.6
qLoews Ventana Canyon Resort,
Tucson 84.6
rGasparilla Inn & Club, Boca Grande, Fla. 84.5
rSonnenalp Resort of Vail84.5
rTerranea Resort, Palos Verdes, Calif. 84.5
uDisney’s BoardWalk Inn, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. 84.4
uRenaissance Lodge at Sonoma84.4
oFairmont Scottsdale Princess84.3
oGrand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf
Club & Spa, Point Clear, Ala. 84.3
oRitz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale 84.3
oWestin Monache Resort, Mammoth Lakes, Calif. 84.3
oWild Dunes Resort, Isle of Palms,
S.C. 84.3
aRitz-Carlton Orlando, Grande
Lakes 84.2
sBacara Resort & Spa, Santa Barbara 84.1
sCanyon Ranch, Tucson 84.1
sLegacy Golf Resort, Phoenix 84.1
gHyatt Regency Hill Country, San Antonio 84.0
gMarco Beach Ocean Resort, Fla. 84.0
jGrand Del Mar, San Diego 83.9
jJW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa,
Tucson 83.9
lBeau Rivage, Biloxi 83.8
lHyatt Regency Tamaya Resort, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. 83.8
lMirror Lake Inn Resort and Spa, Lake Placid 83.8
zOjai Valley Inn & Spa, Calif. 83.7
zOsthoff Resort, Elkhart Lake, Wis. 83.7
zRed Mountain Resort, Ivins, Utah 83.7
vHilton Orlando Bonnet Creek83.6
bDisney’s Vero Beach Resort, Fla. 83.4
nHilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort &
Spa, Fla. 83.3
nHyatt Regency Grand Cypress,
Orlando 83.3
nJW Marriott Desert Springs Resort &
Spa, Palm Desert, Calif. 83.3
nWestin Kierland Resort & Spa,
Scottsdale 83.3
/Sandia Resort & Casino, Albuquerque 83.2
`JW Marriott Camelback Inn,
Scottsdale 83.1
`Tortuga Beach Club Resort, Sanibel Island 83.1
`Westin Key West Resort & Marina83.1
@Falling Rock at Nemacolin Woodlands
Resort, Farmington, Pa. 83.0
@Pinehurst Resort, N.C. 83.0
@Woodstock Inn & Resort, Vt. 83.0
aRusty Parrot Lodge, Jackson Hole 84.1
sWinvian, Litchfield Hills, Conn. 83.9
dCharlotte Inn, Martha’s Vineyard 83.6
fJenny Lake Lodge, Grand Teton
National Park 83.4
gOsprey at Beaver Creek82.1
hLitchfield Plantation, Pawley’s Island, S.C. 82.0
jHermosa Inn, Paradise Valley, Ariz. 81.0
kGreystone Inn, Lake Toxaway, N.C. 80.9
lMission Ranch, Carmel 80.5
;Ten Thousand Waves, Santa Fe 80.4
Top 20
Hawaii Resorts
1Travaasa Hana (formerly Hotel
Hana-Maui) 95.0
2Four Seasons Resort Maui
at Wailea93.9
3Trump International Hotel Waikiki
Beach Walk93.7
4Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Big Island 93.4
4Four Seasons Resort Lana‘i at
Manele Bay93.4
6Four Seasons Resort Lana‘i,
The Lodge at Koele93.1
7Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa92.6
8St. Regis Princeville Resort, Kauai 91.8
9Fairmont Orchid, Big Island 91.2
0Kahala Hotel & Resort, Oahu 89.8
qGrand Wailea, Maui 89.3
wFairmont Kea Lani, Maui 89.0
eHyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa87.8
rRitz-Carlton, Kapalua, Maui 86.9
tJW Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa,
Oahu 86.8
yMauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows,
Big Island 86.7
uKauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club84.7
iHilton Waikoloa Village, Big Island 83.7
oHyatt Regency Waikiki Resort
& Spa83.3
pMauna Kea Beach Hotel, Big Island 83.2
A newcomer to the
list of Hawaiian
resorts, the Trump
International Hotel
in Honolulu, which
opened in 2009,
was the first new
luxury property on
Waikiki Beach in
over a decade.
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Condé nast
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Top 100
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1Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong 99.2 2Peninsula House, Dominican Republic 98.8 3Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 98.6 3Safari Lodges at Phinda Private Game Reserve,
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5Kirawira Luxury Tented Camp, Tanzania 98.5 6Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, New Zealand 98.4 7Elysian Hotel, Chicago 98.2 8Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok 97.9 9Mombo and Little Mombo Camps, Botswana 97.8 921c Museum Hotel, Louisville, Ky. 97.8 qCulloden House, Scotland 97.7 qThe Peninsula, Tokyo 97.7 eKyoto Hotel Okura, Japan 97.2 rHotel Caesar Augustus, Capri 97.1 rSofitel Forebase Chongqing 97.1 yKing Pacific Lodge, British Columbia 97.0 uColonial Houses, Williamsburg, Va. 96.8 uOberoi Udaivilas, Rajasthan 96.8 uOne&Only Palmilla, Los Cabos 96.8 uPerivolas, Greece 96.8 aHôtel de Paris, Monte Carlo 96.7 aRancho La Puerta, Tecate, Mexico 96.7 dFour Seasons, Bora Bora96.6 dHotel Fasano, São Paulo 96.6 gPudong Shangri-La, Shanghai 96.5 hIl San Pietro di Positano, Italy 96.4 hLondolozi, South Africa 96.4 hSingita Sabi Sand, South Africa 96.4 lResort at Pelican Hill, Newport Coast, Calif. 96.3 lSabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, k
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MMaroma Resort and Spa, Riviera Maya 94.6 MPark Hyatt Paris–Vendôme 94.6 MRosewood Mayakobá, Riviera Maya 94.6 ~Amandari, Bali 94.5 ~The Swag, North Carolina 94.5 _Anse Chastanet, St. Lucia 94.4 _The Caves, Jamaica 94.4 _Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul 94.4 _MalaMala Game Reserve, South Africa 94.4 _Omni Puerto Aventuras Hotel Beach Resort,
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_Palacio Duhau–Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires 94.4 ¶Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa, South Africa 94.3 ¶Rosewood Crescent Hotel, Dallas 94.3 baja and beyond Capella Pedregal is one of 27
Mexican hotels and resorts with scores above 90.0 this
year—20 of them on the Baja or Yucatán coasts.
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South Africa 96.3 'Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong 96.1 'Nisbet Plantation Beach Club, Nevis 96.1 'Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur 96.1 'The Peninsula, Hong Kong 96.1 'Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, Avon, Colo. 96.1 bChewton Glen, Hampshire, England 96.0 nThe Peninsula, Chicago 95.9 nRitz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street 9 5.9 nSanctuary at Kiawah Island, S.C. 95.9 nThe Tides, Riviera Maya 95.9 /Palazzo Sasso, Ravello, Italy 95.8 !Ayana Resort & Spa, Bali 95.7 !Langdon Hall Country House Hotel & Spa, Cambridge, Ontario 95.7 !Mandarin Oriental, Prague 95.7 !Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai 95.7 !Steenberg Hotel, Cape Town 95.7 ^Château de la Chèvre d’Or, Côte d’Azur 95.6 ^Four Seasons Istanbul at Sultanahmet95.6 *Park Hyatt Dubai 9 5.5 (Mandarin Oriental, Boston 95.3 )Capella Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas 95.2 )CordeValle (Rosewood), San Martin, Calif. 95.2 k
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[Emerald Lake Lodge, British Columbia 94.9 [Fearrington House Inn, North Carolina 94.9 [Four Seasons Bali at Sayan 94.9 [The Halkin, London 94.9 [Moorings Village, Islamorada, Fla. 94.9 [Raffles Beijing 94.9 [The Reefs, Bermuda 94.9 [Swissôtel Tallinn, Estonia 94.9 HCapella Ixtapa, Mexico 94.8 HFour Seasons, Chiang Mai 94.8 HFour Seasons Resort Carmelo, Uruguay 94.8 HLodge & Club, Ponte Vedra, Fla. 94.8 HOberoi Vanyavilas, Rajasthan 94.8 "Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris 94.7 "The Goring, London 94.7 "Jade Mountain, St. Lucia 94.7 "Keswick Hall at Monticello, Va.94.7 "The Peninsula, Beverly Hills 94.7 "Vivanta by Taj–Hari Mahal Jodhpur 94.7 "Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Riviera Maya94.7 MAlvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires 94.6 MAuberge Saint-Antoine, Quebec City 94.6 MEliot Hotel, Boston 94.6 MGrand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa, r
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)Park Hyatt Seoul 95.2 )Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte, N.C. 95.2 )Hotel Terra, Jackson Hole 95.2 EBeau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne 95.1 EFairbanks House, Amelia Island, Fla. 95.1 TAuberge du Soleil, Napa Valley 95.0 TLodge at Pebble Beach, Calif. 95.0 TPark Hotel Kenmare, County Kerry 95.0 TRegent Berlin 95.0 TSwissôtel Ankara, Turkey 95.0 TTravaasa Hotel Hana (formerly Hotel Hana-Maui)
Key to Symbols
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Photograph by williams & Hirakawa; Hair and makeup by adam breuchaud at the wall group; swimsuit by eres,
$635 (Eres, East Hampton, N.Y.), and sandals by michael kors, $1,475 (select michael kors stores)
Welcome to a world of pure pleasure—your
world. This year’s Top 100 travel experiences
touch six continents and islands from Capri
to Bali. Turn the page for regional lists and maps of all 1,285 award winners—the most ever, and the best now