Dubai hotel named best in the world
Luxury, sail-shaped hotel the Burj Al Arab in Dubai has snagged the lofty title of being named the best hotel in the world by readers of a travel magazine distributed by The Daily Telegraph.
Announced this week in London, the iconic Dubai landmark beat the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, Raffles in Singapore, Le Touessrok in Mauritius and The Savoy in London to take home the title at the Ultratravel awards 2013.
It’s the latest in a string of accolades and titles for the property, which has become the standard bearer in the luxury industry for offering services that range from helicopter transfers, 24-hour private butlers and a fleet of chauffeur-driven Rolls Royces.
Most recently, the hotel debuted 24-carat gold-plated iPads for use among all their in-house guests as a virtual concierge service.
In addition to being named the Best Hotel in the World, the Burj Al Arab was also named the Best Hotel in the Middle East, a title it maintains from the Ultratravel awards last year.
Likewise, last year the property was named Dubai’s Leading Hotel at the World Travel Awards.
Meanwhile, readers also named Canadian brand the Four Seasons the Best luxury hotel chain over runners-up like the Mandarin Oriental, One&Only, Shangri-La and the Waldorf Astoria.
The Four Seasons counts 90 properties across 36 countries.
About 500,000 copies of the luxury magazine Ultratravel are distributed to readers of The Daily Telegraph.
Here are the other winners of the Ultratravel awards for 2013:
Best hotel in Australasia: Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney
Best hotel in Africa and the Indian Ocean: Le Touessrok, Mauritius
Best hotel in the Americas: Waldorf Astoria, New York
Best hotel in Europe: Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris
Best hotel in the Middle East: Burj Al Arab, Dubai
Best hotel in Asia: Raffles Singapore
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