Sept 19: Making the List

As you probably know, every year Travel &Leisure Magazine publishes its “World’s Best Awards.” The most recent version of this readers’ poll appeared in the August 2007 issue.

It is interesting to note that in the “Top 100 Hotels” list, according to my count, the United States received votes for twelve properties. Of these twelve, Hawaii had the most mentions with four hotels, followed by a tie of California and South Carolina (three hotels each). Florida was not represented at all.

One of the other lists “Top 100 Hotels: Continental U.S. and Canada” included eight hotels in Florida with a variety of locations: Santa Rosa Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Naples, Amelia Island, Orlando Grande Lakes, Key West, and Little Torch Key. No hotels were from our area in south Florida.

After being somewhat disappointed that we weren’t better represented, I turned the page to find a category called “15 to Watch.” These are hotels that the magazine’s editors “predict will make our list in the near future.” At Last!! The third hotel on the list is the St. Regis Resort in Fort Lauderdale.

So, since our chapter is holding our September luncheon at the St. Regis, you might want to make sure you are in attendance. Check out the competition and let us know what you think. Do you think the T&L editors are right?