Small Luxury Hotels of the World Recognises Best of the Best at Annual Awards
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Small Luxury Hotels of the World Recognises Best of the Best at Annual Awards
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2007-05-08
Les Sources de Caudalie in France Clinches the Coveted "Hotel of the Year" Award
At a gathering of over 200 hoteliers in New York City last week, Small Luxury Hotels of the World culminated its 14th Annual International Conference by recognizing six outstanding properties for their exceptional commitment to the SLH brand and their guests over the past year.
Emerging as the very best out of an already superior group of global properties, Les Sources de Caudalie in France (www.slh.com/caudalie) has been named the Small Luxury Hotels of the World Hotel of the Year. This highly coveted award is presented to the hotel that has excelled in every aspect of its business and has demonstrated a consistent and unwavering commitment to the SLH brand. In short, it is a hotel that is the epitome of what Small Luxury Hotels of the World stands for - exceptional levels of personal service and unrivalled standards of comfort and luxury. Les Sources de Caudalie is a delightful hotel in Martillac, set among the 'Graves de Bordeaux' Grand Cru vineyards of the Gironde in south-west France. With just 49 rooms in an idyllic setting, rejuvenation finds many forms at this hotel and spa whose luxurious style is a therapy in itself.
"With over 400 hotels in what is undoubtedly an outstanding and diverse collection, it has become increasingly difficult to narrow down our choice for this award category to just one hotel," commented Paul Kerr, Joint Managing Director of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. "However, Les Sources de Caudalie is a hotel that has totally embraced SLH's brand marketing philosophy and has demonstrated a sound understanding of the need for hotels to provide guests with unique and memorable experiences, rather than simply a place to sleep," he added.
In recognition of its outstanding contribution, Les Sources de Caudalie will receive complimentary SLH membership for a year, a free place on SLH's corporate stand at key global tradeshows and a special feature in the 2008 SLH Directory. The prize has an estimated value of USD 50,000.
In addition to the Hotel of the Year award, SLH honoured hotels in five other distinct categories. They were:
Best SLH Club Experience
The Club of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (www.clubslh.com) has grown to a loyal 40,000 members that look forward to the personalized service and benefits associated with The Club. One of the reasons for its continued success is SLH hotels' ability to consistently surpass guests' expectations and deliver the exceptional experiences that are at the very heart of the Club proposition. The winner of this award was selected based on the positive comments that Club guests have made on post-stay questionnaires. The winner, Hotel Claris in Barcelona, was commended in particular for the exceptional levels of personal service that it provides its guests in addition to its variety of experience-based Club offers which include for example a helicopter flight over the mountains, the use of a car to explore the city's historical sights and complimentary access to museums.
In appreciation of its efforts, SLH will fund a photo shoot to portray Hotel Claris' Club Experience offer.
Best Hotel Brand Ambassador
This award is presented to the hotel that has done the most to align itself to SLH's brand marketing philosophy. The award is based on the submission of examples of marketing collateral that hotels believe best demonstrate their connection to the SLH brand. This year's "Best Hotel Brand Ambassador" is the 23-room Holbeck Ghyll Country House Hotel in the UK, which has been part of SLH since 1991. Among other things, the hotel was praised for its much improved score in relation to maximising its use of the SLH brand and also for the production of a promotional DVD that focuses on the hotel's association with the brand.
Holbeck Ghyll Country House Hotel will receive a free advertisement in a luxury publication of its choice, selected from a shortlist of titles.
Best Experiential Photo
Creative imagery is key if a hotel is to be successful in the marketing and promotion of its property. The Best Experiential Photo is awarded to the hotel image which best captures a uniquely memorable experience and successfully communicates that a hotel stay should appeal to the senses and the emotions. This year, the award was presented to the 6-room The Rania Experience in the Maldives, which is new to the SLH brand this year. The winning photo, "Dinner in the sand," shows a couple walking along the beach before enjoying a romantic meal at sunset - an image that captures the imagination. The image can be downloaded at www.slhimages.com.
The Rania Experience will receive a new hotel brochure, including design and print.
Caring Luxury
The Caring Luxury award is presented to the hotel which has shown the most dedication and commitment to engaging in responsible, environmental, social and economic practices which in turn have enhanced guests' experiences.
This year's winner, the 54-room Eagles Palace in Halkidiki, Greece, has demonstrated a strong commitment to SLH's responsible tourism initiative. It has done its best to raise guests' awareness of Caring Luxury by placing eco-brochures in each of the guest rooms and having an informative bulletin board. The hotel has also made a concerted effort to integrate into the local community - including arranging for guests to dine in local homes, planning fishing trips with local fisherman, organising the cleaning of the beach and working with the local schools.
In recognition of its efforts, Eagles Palace will receive a GBP2,000 donation to a charity of its choice.
Most Improved Connection to the Brand
The award for the "Most Improved Connection to the Brand" distinguishes the hotel that has made the most effort and improvement in connecting to the SLH brand through marketing and business practices. One particular area of focus for the successful hotel in this category is improved revenue generation measured in revenue per room.
The 62-room Art Deco Hotel Montana in Switzerland was the proud recipient of this year's award. The hotel was applauded in particular for the vast improvement in its efforts to maximise its association with the SLH brand and also its 90% growth in SLH revenue since 2005.
Art Deco Hotel Montana will receive complimentary SLH membership for a year.
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