BEST HOTEL AWARDS
Asiamoney’s hotel awards are a mixed bag this year with most of the familiar international chains getting a look-in but no one dominating Asia overall.
The Hyatt wins Asiamoney’s award for best business hotel brand. Across its network in Asia, the chain has managed to consistently deliver on those features that business travellers most highly prize: location, service and business facilities.
The chain also took out several individual hotel awards for certain cities, including for the Park Hyatts in Beijing and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the Grand Hyatts in Jakarta, Seoul and Shanghai. Its loyalty programme was also named best in the region and its Hong Kong conference facilities were judged best in class.
But the brand to win the award for best vacation hotels is the Shangri-La. While it only picked up one individual city award – in Guangzhou – it receives top honours for its consistent approach to excellence, luxury and service across its properties all over the region.
The award for best vacation resort in Asia goes to Mandarin Oriental’s sprawling Dhara Devi resort in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. It’s modelled on a Northern Thai village and delivers both culture and luxury in spades. Highlights include the 33,000 square foot spa, which is a recreation of a 19th century Burmese palace, a 5,000 volume library and an ampitheater for performances. Along with these trappings is the usual exemplary service and faultless attention to detail that travellers expect from the Mandarin Oriental.
A hotel haven
Hong Kong has a bevy of international hotel names that jostle for both business and vacation dollar, something that has only increased exponentially since mainland Chinese tourists started visiting the special administrative region in greater and greater numbers. Familiar names from both the Hong Kong and Kowloon side of the harbour were in contention.
The Island Shangri-La, the Peninsula, the Langham and the Mandarin Oriental are always in consideration for best hotel in the city, and they were joined by powerful Kowloon-side newcomers attached to the Elements/International Commerce Centre (ICC) development W Hotel and the Ritz Carlton, the latter of which is the highest hotel in the world.
But the Four Seasons won out. Its spa has also been awarded best spa in the region and has long been a haunt for in-the-know locals as well as foreign guests. It contains not one but two three Michelin-starred restaurants - Lung King Heen and Caprice – as well as high quality conference facilities and impeccable service.
It was also named best business resort in Asia, the cherry on top which helped it beat out the likes of the Ritz Carlton and the Peninsula is its location. Despite Kowloon becoming ever more popular for business due to the ICC building attracting names like Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley to Kowloon, the bulk of the city’s business is still conducted in the central district – making the Central hotels by far the most conveniently located.
Philippines’ friendliness
Best hotel in Manila was a showdown between the Peninsula and the Shangri-La, both located in the city’s shopping and business district Makati. And while the Shangri-La has a slightly more modern feel to both its rooms and lobby, the Peninsula won out on sheer class and friendliness of staff.
Known to locals as ‘the Pen’, the hotel was famously the scene of a siege between the Philippine army which remained loyal to then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and a group of dissenters comprising of a senator, general and other officials calling for her ouster. The siege ended with commandos storming the hotel and it sustained heavy damage.
The Peninsula was also in contention for top honours in several other cities, including Hong Kong, Tokyo and Bangkok, where it was also locked in a top-two tussle with the Mandarin Oriental. The latter won out in part due to its history, reputation for excellence in customer service, and features such as a personal butler for every room.
Originally called The Oriental, it was the first hotel in Thailand and opened in 1879, today’s hotel occupies some prime real estate on Bangkok’s Chao Phraya river. The Mandarin Oriental is also rich in literary and political heritage, playing host to a long line of famous authors such as Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham, as well as such global power brokers as George H.W. Bush, Jacques Chirac and Richard Nixon. Its name is derived from its marriage with Hong Kong’s Mandarin hotel, a duo of historic properties famed for service which spawned what is a well regarded luxury hotel chain today.
Fame and fortitude
Asia’s hotels have often played host to the tides of history, and have shown an amazing ability for resilience and adaptability as the decades wear on. No hotel exemplifies that better than Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace & Tower. Playing host to everyone from the Beatles to Michelle & Barack Obama over the years, the hotel opened its doors in 1903.
It was opened by Jamsedji Tata, India’s famed Parsi industrialist that also started the Tata group of companies that comprise one of India’s largest and most powerful conglomerates. In 2008, it was one of the sites employed by terrorists to keep hostages – maintaining a 60 hour siege that left 167 people dead – but has since been fully restored.
The Taj hotel group also took out best hotel in Delhi for their 11-storey Mughal inspired five-star hotel in the nation’s capital.
Singapore’s Shangri-La gave the Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore a run for its money but the latter won out in the end. Designed by award-winning architect Kevin Roche, the Singapore Ritz has a 4,200 piece museum-quality art collection which includes works by Andy Warhol and Frank Stella. Rooms are kitted out with the sort of impeccable luxury knowledgeable travellers have come to expect from the chain, including massive 46-inch LED TVs, Nespresso machines, Ploh bathrobes, and Bvlgari bathroom products. All this with Asia’s best business centre facilities to boot.
The Ritz Carlton was also named best hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The Westin hotel chain had Australia locked up, winning the award for the best hotel in both Sydney and Melbourne. The Sheraton took out top honours in Taipei, the ANA Intercontinental won out in Tokyo, the humongous Venetian was judged best in Macau and the Sofitel Legend Metropole picked up top spot in Hanoi. The landmark Burj al-Arab was number one in Dubai.
AIRLINE AND AIRPORT AWARDS
High oil prices continue to weigh on airlines worldwide, putting a dent into the travel sector’s still-fragile recovery. While Asian carriers are struggling to contain costs and ramping up ticket prices, their customers are demanding more for every penny they spend.
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways seems to know the trick of being cost-efficient, yet without compromising on its service. The airline has been named Asia’s best airline in our inaugural travel awards 2011, beating arch-rival Singapore Airlines who took home the trophy a year ago. Cathay Pacific has also won Asia’s best airline for economy class.
The airline was among the first few carriers to have introduced electronic tickets, comprehensive online booking and check-in tools. These help to save a lot of time and hassle for globe-trotting travelers and the fuss-free online operation also saves the airline some hefty costs.
Cathay Pacific has invested decent money in building the online platform but it’s paying off well. The company has the best online booking tool and the best online check-in facilities in the region. And the popularity and wide-spread use of Asiamiles, Cathay Pacific’s loyalties programme, also bodes well for the carrier. Widely admired for its comprehensive set of earning and spending potential around the region, only Singapore’s Krisflyer compares.
First for first class
Singapore Airlines, however, beats Cathay Pacific in the more up-market categories. Singapore Airlines has been named the region’s best airline for both business class and first class. Asiamoney recommends more posh and pampered travelers choose the Singapore carrier because of its relatively more delicate and personal services.
Singapore Airlines is the first Asian carrier to adopt the Airbus A380. Despite initial hiccups, the Airbus A380 is the world’s biggest and most spacious double-decker passenger airliner, offering its comfort-conscious customers extensive legroom, sleeping facilities and entertainment.
Singapore Airlines’ business class seats are arranged in a 1:2:1 configuration, meaning every seat has access to an aisle. That eliminates having to trip over a seatmate in the middle of the night to use the restroom. The seat pitch is about 55 inches and seat width is of 34 inches (86cm). To compare, the international business class seat width on Lufthansa’s Airbus A380 is 20 inches and All Nippon Airways Boeing 777-300ER has a respectable width of 21 inches.
Business and first class passengers of Singapore Airlines may also choose to use the ‘Book the Cook’ service on some flights, where specific dishes may be selected in advance from a more extensive menu.
Air New Zealand was also considered in these two categories but it failed to impress further as the carrier’s connection and route network is not as comprehensive as Cathay Pacific or Singapore Airlines.
Room for improvement
At the other end, Garuda Indonesia continues to be regarded by travelers – Asiamoney included – as Asia’s worst major airline. Frequent complaints include schedule delays, substandard services and a domestic-focused route network. The company is a listed entity now, and it needs to act fast to convince both business users and shareholders that its quality of service will improve.
The prime factor when it comes to Asiamoney choosing an airline continues to be safety, with comfort being the second most important. Punctuality, hygiene and ticket price are also considered when deciding which airlines to award, as they are often key factors behind the decision many travelers make when they book their tickets.
The competition between the region’s best airports continues to be a toss-up between Singapore’s Changi Airport and Hong Kong International Airport; the two are difficult to separate as the region’s top two contenders. Yet, Hong Kong International Airport narrowly won the title of Asia’s best airport. It boasts flights operated by about 90 airlines to over 150 cities across the globe.
Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, however, was named the worst airport in Asia. Its facilities are widely regarded as old and out-dated.