Travel site awards 'best haunted hotel' and 'best James Bond approved hotel'
The GoldenEye Hotel and Resort in Jamaica as well as the Yobot, the robot luggage handler at the Yotel hotel in New York, have been recognized by the offbeat awards given out by travel site Oyster.
Travel website Oyster, which specializes in hotels, has published its first-ever annual Osyter Hotel Awards. The awards were given to what the website calls the "wackiest, coolest, weirdest and most interesting" hotels around the world.
The site's editors have traveled around the world visiting different venues before choosing the winners in several categories such as the best James Bond approved hotel, best haunted hotel and best hotel hot tub view.
Moving away from traditional hotel awards which normally include categories such as the best spa and best hotel restaurant, Oyster wanted to give its customers a different take on the most interesting hotels in the world.
Here are some highlights from the selection:
The best expensive hotel spa treatment award was given to the $5,000 Evian bath at the Hotel Victor in South Beach, Miami. The spa also includes a Turkish steam bath and a private hammam with a marble bed.
In the best James Bond approved hotel, the award was granted to the GoldenEye Hotel and Resort located in Oracabessa Bay, on the north coast of Jamaica. The hotel is the former residence of Bond creator Ian Fleming, who wrote some of the famous stories whilst he was there.
The Yotel located in Manhattan, won the best futuristic hotel robot award. One of the hotel's features is Yobot, the robotic luggage handler. Other facilities include a fitness center, free bike loans, a club lounge bar and Latin-Asian specialties served at Dohyo Restaurant and Bar.
The best haunted hotel award was earned by Algonquin Hotel located in Midtown Manhattan. It is said that the Algonquin is haunted by the ghosts of a 1920s literary society that came to be known as the Algonquin Round Table. The 181-room hotel was also the location of the founding of The New Yorker magazine. It underwent extensive renovations in 2012 which included new bathrooms with glass-enclosed walk-in showers.
The best hotel shopping award was won by the Wynn Las Vegas for offering 16 high-end shops including Alexander McQueen and Cartier.
French fashion designer Christain Lacroix was in charge of designing the rooms at the Hotel Le Notre Dame, the choice for the best high-design hotel style award. The 400-year property is centrally located next to the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
The best hotel hot tub view was given to Arenal Kioro Suites and Spa in Costa Rica. Every room offers hot tubs views of the Arsenal volcano.
Finally the best hotel view to dine award was taken by Palazzo Manfredi in Rome. The hotel's rooftop restaurant offers views of the Colosseum.
Last month, travel publication Fodor's published its 100 Hotel Awards for the year, with categories including City Chic, Royal Pedigree, Global Icon as well as Trip of a Lifetime and Local Experience. Among the hotels singled out in its New & Noteworthy section were the The Out NYC, Shangri-La Toronto and the Conservatorium in Amsterdam.
Oyster's complete awards list can be viewed at: http://www.oyster.com/promos/oysters-most-interesting-hotels-in-the-world/
