CASTRIES, Saint Lucia – Saint Lucia’s small luxury hotels and resorts are among the best in the world, according to more than 25,000 Condé Nast Traveler magazine readers whose passion is travel.
The Eastern Caribbean island nation took top accolades and honors in the prestigious magazine’s 23rd annual Readers’ Choice Awards, which asked their discerning readers to rank the best cities, islands, cruise lines, airlines, hotels, resorts, and car rental agencies worldwide.
For the first time, the survey recognized Saint Lucia’s Jade Mountain, taking the number two slot in the Top Caribbean Resorts category and number 75 in the Top 100 worldwide, eclipsed only by The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman for the top Caribbean billing. Jade Mountain’s sister property Anse Chastanet placed seventh in the Caribbean, while Jalousie Plantation placed 20th.
In the top Caribbean/Atlantic Hotels category, Saint Lucia’s Ladera placed an impressive sixth, while the island itself was ranked the seventh best destination in the Caribbean/Atlantic region.
“These awards confirm the success of our strategy of aggressively marketing the small, luxury properties of Saint Lucia to improve the positioning of the island in the marketplace,” said Senator Allen Chastanet, Saint Lucia’s Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation. “We commend our small hotels and resorts for their consistency in receiving the approval of today’s discriminating travelers, and Jade Mountain in particular for inspiring our industry stakeholders across the island,” he added.
The acclaimed Jade Mountain luxury resort recently received the AAA Five Diamond rating, and the top rank for “World’s Best Service” in a recent edition of Travel & Leisure Magazine.
Recent Saint Lucia destination awards include “Best Caribbean Island in 2010” by Porthole Magazine and “World’s Leading Honeymoon Destination” at the World Travel Awards for the seventh year.
The Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards appear in the November issue which will be available on newsstands on October 19. According to the magazine, the Readers’ Choice Award is considered one of the highest encomiums in the entire travel industry.
