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UDAIPUR, INDIA; CAPE TOWN; AND BANGKOK TOP LIST OF WORLD’S BEST CITIES

NEW YORK CITY RATED #1 IN U.S. + CANADA

Bushmans Kloof, South Africa; Inn at Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina; and Jade Mountain, St. Lucia Among Top Hotels in Travel + Leisure ’s 2009 World’s Best Awards Readers’ Survey

New York, NY (July 10, 2009) – For the first time, Udaipur, India is named World’s Best City, displacing last year’s winner Bangkok, in Travel + Leisure’s fourteenth annual World’s Best Awards readers’ survey announced today. Other newcomers to the top spots in their respective categories include: Bushmans Kloof, Cedar Mountains, South Africa (Best Hotel Overall); Sixt (Best Car-Rental Agency); and Austin-Lehman Adventures (Best Tour Operator), among others. Bali regains its title from 2007 as World’s Best Island (the Galápagos took the top spot in 2008). Inn at Manitou, Canada is the Best Inn in the U.S. and Canada; Inn at Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina is the highest-rated resort in America. New this year: hotels are listed according to select categories within their regions such as Top Large City Hotels, Top Small City Hotels, Top Resorts, and Top Inns.*

Only two companies have retained their number one ranking every year since the survey began in 1996: Crystal Cruises (Best Large-Ship Cruise Line) and Singapore Airlines (Best International Airline). The 2009 results, including the Top 100 Hotels Worldwide, Top 10 Cities Worldwide, and Top 10 Domestic Airlines, among other lists, are featured on www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest now and in Travel + Leisure’’s August issue, available on newsstands July 24.**

TRAVEL + LEISURE 2009 WORLD’S BEST AWARDS WINNERS OVERALL

WORLD’S BEST CITY Udaipur

WORLD’S BEST HOTEL Bushmans Kloof Cedar Mountains, South Africa

WORLD’S BEST ISLAND Bali

WORLD’S BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE Crystal Cruises

WORLD’S BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE The Yachts of Seabourn

WORLD’S BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE Singapore Airlines

WORLD’S BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE Virgin America

WORLD’S BEST TOUR OPERATOR Austin-Lehman Adventures

WORLD’S BEST CAR-RENTAL AGENCY Sixt

WORLD’S BEST DESTINATION SPA Mii amo, A Destination Spa at Enchantment, Sedona

Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure, said: “This year’s results reflect our readers’ travel interests in this challenging economic reality—value, intimacy, service, and discovery are top priorities. As for that so-last-August-sounding word, luxury, it’s all about enclaves that shelter stealth wealth, from Amankora Paro in Bhutan to San Ysidro Ranch in California, where casual and laid-back are the names of the game. Dramatically sited outposts like Jade Mountain, in St. Lucia, rank high, and an adventurous spirit also prevails at places such as Bushmans Kloof, in the Cedar Mountains of South Africa. For a number of top-ranked cities—Udaipur, Cape Town, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Chiang Mai, and Luang Prabang—value ratings were sky-high. And while so many far-flung metropolises made a strong showing, they did not entirely steal the show; old favorites, like T+L’s hometown, New York City, as well as Florence, Rome, and San Francisco remain in the top 10 overall.”

TRAVEL + LEISURE 2009 WORLD’S BEST HOTEL WINNERS BY REGION

CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA

TOP LARGE CITY HOTEL London West Hollywood CA

TOP SMALL CITY HOTEL Eliot Hotel Boston, MA

TOP RESORT Inn at Palmetto Bluff Bluffton, SC

TOP INN Inn at Manitou McKellar, Ontario

HAWAII

TOP RESORT Halekulani Oahu

CARIBBEAN

TOP RESORT Jade Mountain St. Lucia

MEXICO

TOP CITY HOTEL Four Seasons Hotel Mexico, D.F. Mexico City

TOP RESORT Rosewood Mayakobá Riviera Maya

CENTRAL + SOUTH AMERICA (excluding Mexico)

TOP CITY HOTEL Palacio Duhau – Park Hyatt Buenos Aires

TOP RESORT Blancaneaux Lodge San Ignacio, Belize

EUROPE

TOP LARGE CITY HOTEL Grand Hotel Baglioni Bologna

TOP SMALL CITY HOTEL Sofitel Berlin Gendarmenmarkt Berlin

TOP RESORT Il San Pietro Positano, Italy

TOP INN Domaine des Hauts de Loire France

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST

TOP CITY HOTEL Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa Cape Town, South Africa

TOP LODGE/RESORT Bushmans Kloof Cedar Mountains, South Africa

ASIA

TOP CITY HOTEL Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Thailand

TOP RESORT Oberoi Vanyavilas Ranthambhore, India

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND SOUTH PACIFIC

TOP CITY HOTEL The Langham Melbourne

TOP RESORT The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs North Island, New Zealand

TRAVEL + LEISURE 2009 WORLD’S BEST CITIES + ISLANDS BY REGION

REGION CITY ISLAND

CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA New York Cape Breton Island

EUROPE Florence Aeolian Islands

ASIA Udaipur Bali

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/S. PACIFIC Sydney Tasmania

MEXICO/CENTRAL + SOUTH AMERICA Buenos Aires Galápagos Islands

AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST Cape Town

HAWAII Kauai

CARIBBEAN/BERMUDA/BAHAMAS British Virgin Islands

TRAVEL + LEISURE 2009 WORLD’S BEST HOTEL SPAS BY REGION

CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA Hawks Cay Resort Ducks Key, Florida

HAWAII Four Seasons Resort Hualalai

MEXICO Esperanza Resort Los Cabos

EUROPE Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris

AFRICA + THE MIDDLE EAST Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa Cape Town

ASIA Anantara Resort Koh Samui, Thailand

AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/SOUTH PACIFIC The Langham Melbourne

CARIBBEAN/BERMUDA/BAHAMAS Couples Sans Souci Ocho Rios, Jamaica

The winners will be honored at an awards ceremony on July 21 at the Cooper Square Hotel in New York City.

Extended World’s Best Awards lists in select categories, as well as the list of 20 Hotels to Watch, will be featured on www.travelandleisure.com.

For the first time, ratings from readers of Travel + Leisure’s international editions—Travel + Leisure Mexico, Travel + Leisure Australia/New Zealand, Travel + Leisure Turkey, Travel + Leisure China, Travel + Leisure South Asia, and Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia—were counted in the results.

*The number of categories differs from region to region; there are anywhere from one to four categories in a given region. The Continental U.S. and Canada region and the Europe region list hotels in four categories: Large City Hotels, Small City Hotels, Resorts, and Inns. In certain regions, there is a Top City Hotels category, rather than both a Top Small City Hotels category and a Top Large City Hotels category. In Africa/Middle East, the Top Resorts category is expanded to include Lodges. In Europe, the Inns category includes Small Country Hotels. Small City Hotels are defined as those with fewer than 100 rooms. Large City Hotels are defined as those with 100 or more rooms.

**Spa winners will be featured in Travel + Leisure’s October 2009 issue.

2009 World’s Best Awards Survey Methodology

Travel + Leisure and its website www.travelandleisure.com propel readers to travel now, travel smarter, and travel often. With an eye for the authentic, the innovative, and the irresistible, T+L fuses expert reporting on style, culture, food, and design with stunning photography to transport its readers to the places—and the experiences—that matter most. The long-standing authority in its field, Travel + Leisure has the largest, most affluent audience of any travel magazine and is an indispensable read for today’s global citizen. Travel + Leisure has a network of international editions, including Travel + Leisure Mexico, Travel + Leisure Australia/New Zealand, Travel + Leisure Turkey, Travel + Leisure China, Travel + Leisure South Asia, and Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia.