Who's the Best of the Best in Starwood Hotels

Spanning from the lush “Hawaiian Islands” of China, to the Alpine charms of Slovenia, to the sun-soaked beauty of the Arizona desert in the United States, Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®) unveiled the winners of the 2015 Member Favorites Hotels & Resorts List. In this annual ranking, SPG is highlighting the Top Thirty Hotels and Resorts from around the globe. For the first time ever, SPG is unveiling a new ‘Wish List’ feature which allows its well-traveled members to seamlessly create and share their ultimate hotel bucket list. SPG is also revealing that perennial favorites such as London, Paris and New York remain among the top destinations for the world’s most elite travelers, while identifying emerging global hot spots that are becoming the next best place to discover.

Among the highlights of SPG’s fifth annual Member Favorites List:

·       Newcomers include Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, known for its stunning views of Victoria Harbour, and the St. Regis Bora Bora with its renowned luxurious overwater villas.

·       The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in Florida is the destination that enjoyed the greatest number of free night redemptions.

·       Four Point By Sheraton Ljubljana Mons in Slovenia opened in June, 2014, making it the newest Starwood hotel to be added to the list.

·       Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers hosted the greatest number of SPG members over the past year.

·       The United States is home to seven of the thirty 2015 Member Favorite Hotels & Resorts, making it the country housing the most properties on the list.

·       For the full 2015 SPG Member Favorite Hotels & Resorts list, please visit spg.com/memberfavorites.

“Member Favorites is truly a collection of exceptional Starwood hotels and resorts, beloved by SPG members,” says Chris Holdren, Senior Vice President of Starwood Preferred Guest. “This is the first time our ‘Wish List’ functionality is being made available, helping our members to document their aspirational travel destinations for future trip planning. For our hotels, it is an honor to be recognized by our members as being best-in-class.”

Members Play Favorites with New ‘Wish List’ Feature

This year, members will have the ability to “like” destinations on the Member Favorite list to create their own collection of “must visit” hotels and resorts for future travel. In addition, they will have the option of sharing their “Wish List” with friends and family on their social channels to get everyone on board for their next Starwood dream vacation.

Members Hit the Hot Spots, Revealing the Latest in Travel Trends

Outside of Member Favorites rankings, SPG dove into the travel data to reveal the top destinations where members are redeeming their points to identify new and next emerging global hot spots.

·       Travelers are in an “Empire State” of mind, with New York City ranking as the most popular city in the world for global travelers to redeem their hard-earned Starpoints.

·       After New York City in the Top Ten Destinations for member redemptions are: San Francisco, Orlando, Chicago, San Diego, Lake Buena Vista, Fort Lauderdale, Maui, Paris and London, based on visits by travelers redeeming points.

·       Fuerteventura, Spain in the Canary Islands leads a luxurious list of the Top Ten Emerging Hot Spots, followed by Adeje Tenerife in Spain, The Red Sea in Egypt, Rhodes in Greece, Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Maspalomas in Spain, Khao Lak in Thailand, Le Morne in Mauritius and Serrekunda in Gambia. This list was ranked based on the destinations where SPG members are using their Starpoints for the longest length of redemption.

Drum roll, please … Meet the 2015 Member Favorites

Asia Pacific

·       Sheraton Qiandao Lake Resort, Zhejiang, China

·       The Royal Begonia, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Sanya, Hainan, China

·       Sheraton Zhoushan Hotel, Zhejiang, China

·       Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, Kowloon, Hong Kong

·       Aloft Ahmedabad, SG Road, Gujarat, India

·       Le Meridien Pune, Maharashtra, India

·       The St. Regis Bali Resort, Bali, Indonesia

·       W Retreat & Spa, Fesdu Island, Maldives

·       W Seoul, Seoul, South Korea

·       W Retreat Koh Samui, Surat Thani, Thailand

Europe/Africa/Middle East

·       Hotel Goldener Hirsch, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Salzburg, Austria

·       The St. Regis Florence, Florence, Italy

·       The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice, Italy

·       Four Points by Sheraton Ljubljana Mons, Ljubljana, Slovenia

·       The St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca Resort, Mallorca, Spain

·       Hotel Maria Cristina, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Sebastian, Spain

·       Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert, Dubai, UAE

·       Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Dubai, UAE

·       Le Meridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre, Dubai, UAE

·       Le Meridien Fairway, Dubai, UAE

The Americas

·       Four Points by Sheraton Puntacana Village, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

·       The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort, Nayarit, Mexico

·       Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne, North Carolina, USA

·       Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel, Pennsylvania, USA

·       The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort, Motu Ome'e, Bora Bora

·       Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North, Texas, USA

·       The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Florida, USA

·       Four Points by Sheraton Midtown – Times Square, New York, USA

·       The St. Regis New York, New York, USA

·       The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician, a Luxury Collection Resort, Arizona, USA

Methodology:

The 2015 Member Favorite Hotels & Resorts list is based on SPG Ratings & Reviews and hotel survey feedback. In addition, this year SPG added new criteria to the mix: the most popular hotels and resorts for free night redemptions. This unique blend of measurement takes a closer look to pinpoint the hot spots most frequent travelers want to stay.