Best hotels

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BANGKOK NAMED WORLD’S BEST CITY

BLACKBERRY FARM IN TENNESSEE IS TOP RESORT IN U.S. AND CANADA

SANTORINI VOTED BEST ISLAND OVERALL

VIRGIN AMERICA RATED NO. 1 DOMESTIC AIRLINE

Results of the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2011 Readers’ Survey Announced Today Revealing Top Hotels, Cities, Islands, Cruise Lines, Airlines, and More

New York, NY (July 7,2011) – Singita Grumeti Reserves in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania is named best hotel in the world, New York City is ranked No. 1 city in the United States and Canada, and car sharing company Zipcar is voted the top car-rental agency in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2011 readers’ survey, announced today. The results of Travel + Leisure’s sixteenth annual World’s Best Awards surveyrevealing readers’ favorite hotels, cities, islands, cruise lines, airlines, car-rental agencies, spas, and tour operators and safari outfitters are listed on www.TravelandLeisure.com now, will be featured in the first-ever World’s Best Awards 2011 iPad edition, available via www.TravelandLeisure.com/iPad and on the iTunes App Store beginning July 11, and is the cover story of the August issue of themagazine, on newsstands July 22.

Singita Grumeti Reserves , composed of Sasakwa Lodge, Sabora Tented Camp, and Faru Faru Lodge in northern Tanzania, is a first-time World’s Best Hotel Overall winner this year and is one of six African properties to place in the Top 10 among hotels worldwide. Posada de Mike Rapu, Explora Rapa Nui , Easter Island makes its debut in the World’s Best Awards surveyresults this year with a No. 1 ranking on the list of Top Resorts in Central and South America. Santorini is a new World’s Best Island Overall winner, moving up from its No. 6 ranking on last year’s list of Top Islands Overall and displacing the Galápagos from the No. 1 position. New York City holds its title for the eleventh year in a row as the Best City in the U.S. and Canada, and rises to itshighest ranking since 2000 among top cities overall at No. 4, while Bangkok retains its number one ranking in the world for a second consecutive year. On the list of Top Cities in the U.S. and Canada, Charleston rises to the No. 2 spot, its highest ranking ever, and New Orleans moves up to No. 6 this year from No. 7 in 2010. Cuba regains the title of Best Island in the Caribbean that it last heldin 2003.

Two companies have held onto their No. 1 rankings every year since the poll began in 1996: Crystal Cruises (Best Large-Ship Cruise Line) and Singapore Airlines (Best International Airline). The 2011 results, including the Top 100 Hotels Overall, Top 50 Resorts in the Continental U.S. and Canada, Top 10 Cities Overall, and Top 10 Domestic Airlines , among other lists, are featured onwww.TravelandLeisure.com/worldsbest now.

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S BEST AWARDS 2011 WINNERS OVERALL
WORLD’S BEST CITY Bangkok
WORLD’S BEST HOTEL Singita Grumeti Reserves (Saskwa Lodge, Sabora Tented Camp, and Faru Faru Lodge), Tanzania
WORLD’S BEST ISLAND Santorini Greece
WORLD’S BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE Crystal Cruises
WORLD’S BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE Seabourn
WORLD’S BEST RIVERCRUISE LINE Tauck
WORLD’S BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE Singapore Airlines
WORLD’S BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE Virgin America
WORLD’S BEST TOUR OPERATOR/SAFARI OUTFITTER Micato Safaris
WORLD’S BEST CAR-RENTAL AGENCY Zipcar
WORLD’S BEST DESTINATION SPA Rancho La Puerta Fitness Resort & Spa Tecate, Mexico
WORLD’S BEST HOTEL SPA Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa New Zealand
“It’s clear that remote and exoticdestinations—places that convey a sense of authenticity and adventure—are ruling the day once again in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards,” said Nancy Novogrod , editor in chief of Travel + Leisure. “The top ten hotels overall are African camps and lodges; resorts in India; a property in Chiang Mai; and a luxury lodge in Montana. The top cities overall span the globe—Bangkok, Florence, New...