Anantara Kicks off 2010 in Multiple Award Winning Style

Anantara Hotels & Resorts Spas

Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is celebrating a glowing start to the New Year, with a string of accolades highlighting the brand’s elite recognition by both the travel industry and consumers.  Four Anantara properties have been named in Travel & Leisure USA’s 500 World’s Best Hotels, while a fifth shone out in Conde Nast’s 2010 Gold List.

Every year Travel & Leisure USA asks hundreds of thousands of its loyal readers to select their top hotel picks from around the world to ascertain the 500 World’s Best Hotels.  This year their readers’ poll ranked not one, but four Anantara Resorts & Spas worthy of inclusion.

Out of a portfolio of seven Anantara Thailand properties, an impressive hat trick made the grade.  Anantara Golden Triangle Resort & Spa in the country’s legendary northern jungle sits on a hill ridge overlooking the misty forested slopes of Myanmar and Laos, as well as the Mekong and Ruak rivers.  Highlights of the 160 acre resort include the on-site Elephant Camp which offers a range of captivating guest adventures alongside a strong focus on elephant conservation and wider philanthropic initiatives.

Proving that quintessential seaside charm in Thailand’s Royal Paradise delivers equal allure, Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa also made Travel & Leisure USA’s 500 World’s Best Hotels.  Nestling the golden sands and temperate waters of the Gulf of Siam, this picturesque resort is designed to resemble an authentic southern Thai-style village.

The brand’s third Thailand property named in this year’s Travel + Leisure awards is Anantara Bophut, Koh Samui Resort & Spa.  The first of Anantara’s two resorts on the beautiful island of Koh Samui, this romantic haven blends island magic with Thai charm and Anantara style.

Most notably Anantara Dhigu Resort & Spa was the only hotel chosen by Travel + Leisure readers in the Maldives, clearly demonstrating its unsurpassed uniqueness in the world’s most famous paradise. Anantara Veli, a sister property in the Maldives was also recently named in the Trip Advisor Reader’s Choice Poll for ‘Top 10 Hotels for Romance in Asia’.

Anantara’s immersion into Abu Dhabi’s desert charms also received distinction, with Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara featuring in Conde Nast’s Gold List 2010.  The sixth annual Gold List to date, this guide to the world’s greatest hotels is chosen by the magazine’s editors and travel experts based on service, location, facilities, as well as ambience and design.  Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara ranked in the location category for Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean for its unrivaled setting on Sir Bani Yas Island – a unique nature reserve roamed by rare Arabian wildlife.

William E. Heinecke, Chief Executive Officer of Minor Group under which the Anantara brand operates, comments, “These multiple award wins place Anantara on an unquestionable pedestal, highlighting the brand as a globally revered luxury hotel company and a leader in the hospitality business. We are delighted to once again be celebrating Anantara’s interactive concept of indigenous luxury in the most exotic destinations around the world, and look forward to launching equally compelling resorts as we implement our expansion plans.”

For intrepid globe trotters and travel experts alike, the year ahead promises a wealth of fresh Anantara horizons to explore.  Anantara Kihavah Villas Maldives, set upon a large, pear-shaped coral island in the stunning Baa Atoll, is due to welcome its first guests in July 2010, to be followed by Anantara Al Madina A’Zarqa Resort & Spa in Oman occupying a natural peninsula jutting into the Gulf’s crystal clear waters, and Anantara Sanya Resort & Spa on Sanya Island just off the southern tip of Hainan in China, both due to open towards the end of this year.

Make an award winning choice at anantara.com

Editors Note:

For hundreds of years throughout Thailand, people would leave a jar of water outside their house to provide refreshment and extend a welcome to the passing traveller. Anantara is taken from an ancient Sanskrit word that means ‘without end’, symbolising this sharing of water and the heartfelt hospitality that lies at the core of every Anantara experience.

Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas initially opened in the seaside town of Hua Hin and on Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand, and in the Golden Triangle in the country’s north. In the world-renowned destination of the Maldives, Anantara Dhigu and Anantara Veli are a 30-minute boat ride from the capital Male.

Anantara Seminyak debuted in April 2008 in the most fashionable district of Bali – the Island of the Gods. Late 2008 saw the opening of Anantara Phuket, situated in the serenity of Mai Khao Beach, Thailand, followed by Desert Islands on Sir Bani Yas Island off the coast of Abu Dhabi, and Anantara Si Kao which lies on the secluded Changlang Beach area south of Krabi, Thailand.

Anantara Baan Rajprasong in Bangkok opened its doors in April 2009 to become the first serviced suites property for the Anantara group, while Qasr Al Sarab opened in October 2009 in the legendary Liwa desert near Abu Dhabi.  In November 2009 with the unveiling of Anantara’s second Koh Samui hideaway, the Chinese-inspired Anantara Lawana nestling the island’s famously long Chaweng Beach, Anantara Koh Samui became known as Anantara Bophut.

2010 will see a trio of new properties welcoming guests across Asia and the Middle East to further enhance Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas’ enviable worldwide portfolio.  Anantara Kihavah Villas Maldives is poised for its grand opening in July 2010, to be joined by Anantara Al Madina A’Zarqa in Oman and Anantara Sanya in China towards the end of the year.

For more information on Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, please visit www.anantara.com

This entry was posted on Saturday 27 February 2010 à 17 h 25 min and is filed under Awards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.