LONDON - Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has announced Dormy House Hotel in the Cotswolds, UK, as Hotel of the Year at the SLH Awards 2017. Described as ‘very nearly perfect’, it is one of thirteen hotels in SLH’s 500-strong portfolio of independently minded hotels that were honoured with awards at the luxury brand’s International Conference in California last week. The awards highlighted excellence in everything from notable staff and noteworthy suites, to their embracing of social media and the local community.
For the first time, many of the experiential categories were voted for exclusively by members of SLH’s loyalty programme, INVITED, and luxury travel agents. These included the Refinery New York (City Hotel of the Year), Baros Maldives (Resort Hotel of the Year) and Dormy House Hotel (Country House Hotel of the Year), which were then put forward for the ultimate accolade – Hotel of the Year. Meanwhile, immersive spa Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda, two Michelin-starred ABaC Restaurant & Hotel in Barcelona and 137 Pillars Suites Bangkok were all deemed by SLH guests and agents to have the best spa, restaurant and suites respectively, and CastaDiva Resort & Spa on Lake Como was voted Most Romantic Retreat.
Member hotels were invited to enter the awards designed to applaud their own innovation and high levels of service:
- akyra Manor Chiang Mai in Thailand received the Love of Local award based on its ‘give back’ policy, working with the local community not only to source products but also assisting local schools
- Giovanni Sanchez, a waiter at The Arch London’s Hunter 486 restaurant was awarded the Hotel Hero award, thanks to his bespoke and consistent excellence, extensively acknowledged by both colleagues and guests
- Owl and the Pussycat Hotel in Sri Lanka received the Most Instagrammable award based on its daily posts of an imaginary travel journal that travels into the nonsensical world of Edward Lear
- Grand Hotel du Palais Royal in Paris was awarded Best Hotel Video for a ‘work of art’ featuring Royal Swedish Ballet dancer Casia Vengoecha
SLH’s infamous Mystery Inspectors also had their say based on their experiences whilst staying at each and every one of SLH hotels over the last twelve months, with Casas Del XVI in the Dominican Republic coming out top based on a combination of guest reviews, inspection scores and overall quality rating.
Also new for this year was an award to recognise a significant newcomer to the SLH family – this year Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay was the outstanding winner. Since opening in June, the hotel has received an unprecedented level of interest, press coverage and reservations.
Filip Boyen, CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World said: “As curators of the very best small, luxury hotel experiences around the world, we are delighted to recognise these exceptional hotels that showcase our independently minded ethos in such a variety of creative, classy and culturally-relevant ways.”
The full list of winners and shortlisted finalists is as follows:
- Hotel of the Year - Dormy House Hotel (UK)
- City Hotel of the Year - Refinery New York (USA)
Shortlisted Finalists - Flemings London (UK); Ca’Sagredo Hotel (Italy)
- Resort Hotel of the Year - b (Maldives)
Shortlisted Finalists - Pangkor Laut Resort (Malaysia); Twinpalms Phuket (Thailand)
- Country House Hotel of the Year – Dormy House Hotel (UK)
Shortlisted Finalists – Castello di Velona (Italy); Les Sources de Caudalie (France)
- Best Newcomer Hotel – Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay (Spain)
Shortlisted Finalists – Sikelia (Italy); La Zebra (Mexico)
- Mystery Inspectors’ Excellence Award – Casas Del XVI (Dominican Republic)
Shortlisted Finalists – Baros Maldives (Maldives), Dormy House Hotel (UK)
- Hotel Hero – Giovanni Sanchez, The Arch London (UK)
Shortlisted Finalists – Hannah Roberts, Foxhill Manor (UK); Suphamat Namwongphrom, akyra Manor Chiang Mai (Thailand)
- Love of Local – akyra Manor Chiang Mai (Thailand)
Shortlisted Finalists – The Betsy South Beach (USA); Pangulasian Island Resort (Philippines)
- Best Gourmet Experience – ABaC Restaurant & Hotel (Spain)
Shortlisted Finalists – The Iroquois New York (USA); Baros Maldives (Maldives)
- Best Hotel Video – Grand Hotel du Palais Royal (France)
Shortlisted Finalists - Hotel Pashmina Le Refuge (France); Canaves Oia (Greece)
- Most Instagrammable – Owl and The Pussycat Hotel (Sri Lanka)
Shortlisted Finalists – Canaves Oia (Greece); Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay (Spain)
- Most A-List Suite Experience – 137 Pillars Suites Bangkok (Thailand)
Shortlisted Finalists – Baros Maldives (Maldives); Ca’Sagredo Hotel (Italy)
- Most Sensational Spa – Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda (Italy)
Shortlisted Finalists – Aleenta Resort and Spa Phuket (Thailand); Baros Maldives (Maldives)
- Most Romantic Retreat – CastaDiva Resort & Spa (Italy)
Shortlisted Finalists – Pangkor Laut Resort (Malaysia); Carpe Diem Boutique Resort (Greece)
