I happen to be picking up my mail and noticed on a table November 2018 and January/February 2019 issues of Conde Nast Traveler, the former featuring the Readers' Choice Awards (tallied from 429,000 responses to their survey--and they've been doing this for 31 years), and the latter, The Gold List for 2019, on their editors all-time favorite destinations to visit and places to stay.
I was amazed at how swiftly things change. You can click on those links for additional information. I'll just provide a personal analysis.
- Kimpton hotels are widely mentioned. Never heard of them. Made a check, and that's the new name for the Intercontinental Hotels Group, which was founded in 1981 by Bill Kimpton.
- I couldn't recognize any top ten hotel in the USA. The Kimpton Hotel Van Zandt in Austin, Texas was rated #9. There is a Waldorf Astoria, but this one is in Beverly Hill as #6. #1 in the country is the Sagamore Pendry in Fells Point. Where? Baltimore.
- I live in Hawaii and have stayed in eight of the top ten. One, the newly opened Laylow Autograph Collection of Marriott, is in the 50-year old structure of the former Aqua Wave. The other new to me is the Surfjack Hotel & Swim Club in the refurbished Hokele Suites, located a long walk to Waikiki Beach. I guess the relatively low introductory room prices of these hotels drew support.
- I've stayed in five of top ten Japan hotels, with #1 being Suiran in Kyoto, a Starwood. There are only 39 rooms, the location is secluded and the best explanation is shibui, or simple beauty, in Japanese. Prices start around $500/night. Here is a photo of one dish I had there. I can't imagine why this is the top rated place to stay in Japan.
- There is something mildly discrepant about some of the cruise rankings. For example:
- #1 for mega ships is Royal Caribbean (largest is Harmony of the Seas)
- #1 for large ships is Disney
- #1 for small ships is Crystal, but #2 is Viking
- They also had Viking as #1 for river cruises, but when I went on the Tauck European river cruise, the ship services far exceeded Viking's. It might well be that Viking charges much less, but more that they have so many more passengers, and they do the voting.
- CNT lists the top 20 world cities, and, amazingly enough, I've been to every one.
- Not one city from the USA qualilfied, where the top four are:
- #1 Tokyo
- #2 Kyoto
- #3 Melbourne
- #4 Vienna
- I've spent time in 15 of the top 20 small cities, led by:
- #1 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico (right, never heard of this place)
- #2 Salzburg
- #3 Lucerne
- #4 Basel
- About resorts in Hawaii, I've stayed at 16 of the 25 listed, led by:
- #1 Hotel Grand Wailea, Maui
- #2 Four Seasons, Maui
- #3 Turtle Bay, Oahu (what...this is beyond the pale--maybe I should catch The Bus and spend a night there)
- #4 Four Seasons Hualalai (which is among my three favorites)
- The top 20 airlines are listed, and not one is from the USA, led by:
- #1 Singapore Air
- #2 Emirates
- #3 Qatar
- #4 Air New Zealand
- The top ten airports, again, with the USA missing, and I've landed in all of them, led by:
- #1 Singapore
- #2 Dubai
- #3 Seoul Incheon
- #4 Hong Kong
- For the record, they do list the top ten U.S. Airports, with nothing from New York, DC or California:
- #1 Indianapolis
- #2 Portland
- #3 Hartford
- #4 Minneapolis-St Paul
About The Gold List, these Conde Nast editors picked super expensive hotels, except for one, The Robey in Chicago for $240. I went to one site and saw a price for $125! Sure the building is getting close to being a century old and it doesn't look like much outside, but it certainly deserves some consideration.
However, one fascinating pick was Oceania Insignia around world, with a Cuba stop and six months long. To quote:
There have been global circumnavigations before, but nothing quite like Insignia’s 180-day journey departing Miami on January 8, 2020. Though visiting an impressive 95 destinations in 38 countries...
Cost? $38,000. That's only $211/day. And the ship just got refurbished. I've got to add this option to my 2020 fantasy world cruise, something I honestly thought would not happen, and now might. Further:
Sleek and elegantly charming, Insignia’s decks are resplendent in the finest teak, custom stone and tile work, and her lounges, suites and staterooms boast luxurious, neo-classical furnishings. Insignia offers every luxury you may expect on board one of our stylish ships. She features four unique, open-seating restaurants, a world-class fitness center and spa, eight lounges and bars, a casino and 342 lavish suites and luxurious staterooms, nearly 70% of which feature private verandas. With just 684 guests to pamper, our 400 professionally trained European staff ensure you will wait for nothing.
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