Sandals named World’s Leading All-Inclusive Hotel for 10th straight year
FOR the 10th straight year Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart’s Sandals Hotel chain was Sunday night voted the World’s Leading All-Inclusive Hotel.
Sandals beat such industry giants as Club Med, Iberostar, Palace Resorts and SuperClubs, for the prize presented at the World Travel Awards at the Royal Opera House in London.
Apart from the designation as the top all-inclusive design, Sandals and Beaches Resorts won a record 12 other awards, emerging with the single largest haul of any hotel group worldwide.
More than 500 executives, policy makers, hoteliers and industry players from across the world were present at the event, among the biggest on the world’s travel industry calendar.
For the eighth consecutive year, Beaches Negril was named the World’s Leading Family All-Inclusive, while Sandals Antigua Resort and Spa received the World’s Most Romantic Resort Award for the ninth year running.
Beaches Negril also took the Caribbean’s Leading Family All-Inclusive Award, while Sandals took the Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand award for the 12th consecutive year.
“These awards confirm that we in the Caribbean can be the best at anything that we decide to do. To go up against and beat the rest of the world in such a sophisticated business means that we have the capacity to succeed at anything. It takes the world’s best staff to make us the world’s best operations and so I want to say to every single Sandals and Beaches employee, you are fantastic and you are the best,” said Stewart, in receiving the award.
“These awards are the result of hard work, non-stop training, our commitment to continuously modernise and improve our product and our determination to settle for nothing less than number one,” added the hotel mogul.
The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge exceptional achievements in all areas of the global travel industry and are based on the votes of travel agents from more than 200 countries.
“Since the founding of these awards in 1993, we have seen a growing sophistication in the travel and tourism trade; as well as increased competition. It is, therefore, simply incredible that one hotel chain continues to be adjudged the ‘World’s Best’ by its travel partners year after year. Clearly, when it comes to all-inclusives, Sandals sets the standards,” said Graham Cooke, chairman and founder of the World Travel Awards.
AWARDS WON BY SANDALS/BEACHES
. Antigua & Barbuda’s Leading Spa Resort – Sandals Antigua Resort & Spa (2nd Year)
. Bahamas’ Leading Resort – Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort & Spa and Offshore Island (1st year)
. Bahamas’ Leading Spa Resort – Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort & Spa and Offshore Island (2nd year)
. Cuba’s Leading Resort – Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort & Spa – (1st year)
. Jamaica’s Leading Resort – Royal Plantation Ocho Rios (1st Year)
. St Lucia’s Leading Hotel – Sandals Halcyon St Lucia – (1st Year)
. St Lucia’s Leading Resort – Sandals Grande St Lucian Spa & Beach Resort (1st year)
. Turks & Caicos’ Leading Resort – Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort & Spa – (1st Year)
