TotallyOz Posted July 10, 2008 Posted July 10, 2008 Bangkok was voted the world's best city for 2008 and the Galapagos were picked as the best islands in an online poll by Travel + Leisure magazine, winning over last year's winners Florence, Italy and Bali, Indonesia. US-based magazine readers also voted Singita Sabi Sand, at the Kruger National Park, South Africa, as the world's top hotel while Singapore Airlines grabbed the best airline award again. It was the first time that Bangkok and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador topped their respective categories, said Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure. Last year, Bangkok was ranked number 3 and the Galapagos number 8. The 2007 winners of best city and best island -- Florence and Bali -- fell to number 5 and number 2 respectively. Singapore Airlines was voted number one, followed by Emirates, Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific. Last year's number one hotel, the Oberoi Udaivilas in India, fell to number 4 this year. Singita Sabi Sands was voted the number two hotel in 2007. The results were complied from votes by magazine subscribers in an Internet poll which went live between January and March. Travel + Leisure will honour winners on July 24 in New York City. Top 10 cities : 1 Bangkok, Thailand 87.61 2 Buenos Aires, Argentina 87.24 3 Cape Town, South Africa 86.59 4 Sydney, Australia 86.49 5 Florence, Italy 86.24 6 Cuzco, Peru 86.15 7 Rome, Italy 85.12 8 New York, US 85.03 9 Istanbul, Turkey 84.61 10 San Francisco, US 84.42 Top 5 Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific 1 Sydney 86.49 2 Melbourne 80.35 3 Queenstown. New Zealand 79.95 4 Perth 77.78 5 Hobart 77.38 Top 10 Asia : 1 Bangkok, Thailand 87.61 2 Kyoto, Japan 84.27 3 Chiang Mai, Thailand 84.14 4 Hong Kong 83.69 5 Udaipur, India 83.51 6 Shanghai, China 81.83 7 Siem Reap, Cambodia 81.15 8 Beijing, China 81.05 9 Hanoi, Vietnam 80.87 10 Jaipur, India 80.78 Top 10 Europe : 1 Florence, Italy 86.24 2 Rome, Italy 85.12 3 Istanbul, Turkey 84.61 4 Paris, France 82.59 5 Krakow, Poland 82.14 6 Prague, Czech Republic 81.81 7 Venice, Italy 81.74 8 Barcelona, Spain 81.32 9 Vienna, Austria 80.99 10 Salzburg, Austria 80.63 Top 5 Mexico and Central and South America 1 Buenos Aires, Argentina 87.24 2 Cuzco Peru 86.15 3 San Miguel de Allende, Mexico 82.19 4 Rio de Janeiro 80.15 5 Antigua, Guatemala 79.92 Top 10 Africa and the Middle East 1 Cape Town 86.59 2 Jerusalem 84.39 3 Fez, Morocco 80.77 4 Marrakesh, Morocco 80.46 5 Cairo 80.23 6 Dubai 78.86 7 Tel Aviv 78.60 8 Amman 74.52 9 Tunis 71.93 10 Alexandria 70.72 Top 10 Islands : 1 Galapagos Islands 87.64 2 Bali 86.32 3 Maui 86.09 4 Kauai 85.87 5 Tasmania 85.00 6 Easter Island 84.78 7 Hawaii 84.66 8 Santorini 84.52 9 Great Barrier Reef Islands 84.42 10 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia 83.82 Top 3 Asia : |1 Bali 86.32 2 Phuket Thailand 82.64 3 Penang Malaysia 81.67 Top 5 Europe : 1 Santorini, Greece 84.52 2 Dalmatian Islands, Croatia 83.50 3 Sicily, Italy 82.92 4 Ischia, Italy 82.41 5 Cyclades, Greece (Santorini rated separately) 82.40 Top 3 Mexico and Central and South America 1 Galapagos Islands 87.64 2 Easter Island, Chile 84.78 3 Ambergris Cay, Belize 78.08 Top 20 Hotel Spas: 1 Wickaninnish Inn Tofino, Vancouver Island, Canada 92.66 2 Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, Thailand 92.19 3 Lodge at Pebble Beach California, US 90.94 4 Four Seasons Resort Nevis, US 90.88 5 Maroma Resort & Spa Riviera Maya, Mexico 90.79 6 Esperanza Resort Los Cabos, Mexico 90.63 7 Auberge du Soleil Rutherford, California, US 90.37 8 Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris, France 90.28 9 Camelback Inn, A JW Marriott Resort & Spa Scottsdale, Arizona, US 90.14 10 Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 90.10 11 Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa Maui, US 89.66 12 The Oriental Bangkok, Thailand 89.58 13 Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa Asheville, North Carolina, US 89.51 14 One & Only Ocean Club Paradise Island, Bahamas 89.47 15 Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, US 89.42 16 Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, US 88.75 17 The Peninsula Chicago, US 88.64 18 Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch Beaver Creek, Colorado, US 88.62 19 Hotel del Coronado San Diego, US 88.16 20 American Club Kohler, Wisconsin, US 87.99 http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/07/10...al_30077784.php Quote
Guest lester1 Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 You have to remember that there are not any independant travel magazines and that those that are published have very large vested interests in promoting certain places. I would agree with their ranking of airlines. With regards Bangkok, it does have a massive number of superb hotels and is widely visited simply because it is either a hub for further travel or used as a stop over on RTW tickets or Aussie to Europe flights. Bangkok has as many problems for tourists as it does benefits. Quote
