Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Liz Marsh 212 382 5684 elizabeth.c.marsh@aexp.com

- FLORENCE NAMED WORLD’S BEST CITY -
- OBEROI UDAIVILAS, INDIA IS TOP HOTEL WORLDWIDE -
- TU TU’ TUN LODGE #1 IN CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA -

Travel + Leisure Magazine Announces Results of 12th Annual World’s Best Awards Readers’ Survey

New York, NY (July 10, 2007) – Florence, Italy is the World’s Best City for the second consecutive year, according to Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2007 readers’ survey, announced today. Buenos Aires, Argentina ranks second—it highest ranking ever—and Bangkok, Thailand comes in third among cities around the globe. Oberoi Udaivilas wins the award for World’s Best Hotel—the first time a hotel in India has won the top prize. Another first-time winner, SeaDream Yacht Club is top Small-Ship Cruise Line. Ranked #2 among international airlines, MaxJet makes its debut on the World’s Best Awards list.

The complete list of World’s Best Awards 2007 winners in every category—cities, hotels, islands, airlines, cruise lines, tour operators + safari outfitters, and car-rental agencies—including the Top 100 Hotels Worldwide and Top 100 Hotels in the Continental U.S. + Canada, is available on www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest and in Travel + Leisure’s August issue on newsstands July 24.* Thirteen properties are new to the list of Top 100 Hotels Worldwide this year.

Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure said, “This year's results underline T+L readers' ever-increasing embrace of global travel in their search for distinctive and authentic experiences. The extraordinary rise of India among the top hotels and resorts in the world is one sure reflection of this tendency, with the Oberoi Udaivilas ranking number one hotel in the world, and the Oberoi Amarvilas and the Oberoi Rajvilas coming in at 10 and 11 overall; the same can be said of the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet, which occupies the number 4 spot. I'd also like to welcome Virgin Gorda back to its 2001 slot as the best island in the Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas and SeaDream Yacht Club to the top spot in Small-Ship Cruise Lines for the first time ever.”

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S BEST AWARDS 2007 WINNERS

WORLD’S BEST CITY: Florence
WORLD’S BEST HOTEL: Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India
WORLD’S BEST ISLAND: Bali
WORLD’S BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE: Crystal Cruises
WORLD’S BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE: SeaDream Yacht Club
WORLD’S BEST TOUR OPERATOR/SAFARI OUTFITTER: Micato Safaris
WORLD’S BEST DOMESTIC AIRLINE: Midwest Airlines
WORLD’S BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE: Singapore Airlines
WORLD’S BEST CAR-RENTAL AGENCY: Hertz
WORLD’S BEST HOTEL FOR $250 OR LESS: The Peninsula, Bangkok
WORLD’S BEST DESTINATION SPA: Mii amo, a Destination Spa at Enchantment, Sedona, Arizona

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S BEST HOTELS 2007 BY REGION

TOP HOTEL, CONTINENTAL U.S./CANADA: Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge, Gold Beach, Oregon
TOP HOTEL, EUROPE: Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet
TOP HOTEL, ASIA: Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur, India
TOP HOTEL, AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/S. PACIFIC: Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand
TOP HOTEL, AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Singita Sabi Sand/Kruger National Park, S. Africa
TOP HOTEL, MEXICO/CENTRAL + SOUTH AMERICA: La Casa Que Canta, Zihuatanejo, Mexico
TOP HOTEL, HAWAII: Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii
TOP HOTEL, CARIBBEAN/BERMUDA/BAHAMAS: Jumby Bay, A Rosewood Resort, Antigua

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S BEST CITIES + ISLANDS 2007 BY REGION

REGION	CITY	ISLAND
CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA	New York	Vancouver Island
EUROPE	Florence	Santorini
ASIA	Bangkok	Bali
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND/S. PACIFIC	Sydney	Great Barrier Reef Islands
AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST	Cape Town	Seychelles
MEXICO/CENTRAL + SOUTH AMERICA	Buenos Aires	Galápagos Islands
HAWAII		Maui
CARIBBEAN/BERMUDA/BAHAMAS		Virgin Gorda

TRAVEL + LEISURE 2007 WORLD’S BEST HOTEL SPAS BY REGION

CONTINENTAL U.S. + CANADA: Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
EUROPE: Four Seasons Hotel Georges V, Paris
ASIA-PACIFIC/AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST: Four Seasons Resort, Chiang Mai, Thailand
MEXICO/CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA: Esperanza, Los Cabos, Mexico
HAWAII: Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii
CARIBBEAN/BERMUDA/BAHAMAS: Couples Negril, Jamaica

Interactive lists of all the World’s Best Awards 2007 winners will be available at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest along with contact information for winning hotels. Users can find past Travel + Leisure magazine articles on World’s Best Award winning hotels and resorts on the site.

The Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2007 winners will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City on July 23.

Travel + Leisure magazine editors are available for interviews—please contact Jill Davison at 212 382 5679 / jill.s.davison@aexp.com or Liz Marsh at 212 382 5684 / elizabeth.c.marsh@aexp.com.

WBA 2007 Survey Methodology: A questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure, in association with Harris Interactive, was made available to Travel + Leisure subscribers at www.tlworldsbest.com during the first quarter of this year. Respondents reported where they had traveled worldwide, and rated only the destinations, properties, and companies that were relevant to their recent travel experiences. Respondents were asked to rate hotels, cities, islands, spas, hotel spas, outfitters/safari operators, cruise lines, airlines, and car-rental companies on several characteristics. The scores are indexed averages of responses concerning applicable characteristics. The complete survey methodology is available in the August issue of Travel + Leisure, and online at www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest.

*The spa survey results will be featured in a special World's Best Spas report in Travel + Leisure's October issue, on newsstands September 25, and will be posted online at that time.

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