They like us, they really like us. Hawaii hotels and resorts made repeated appearances in the TripAdvisor 2012 Travelers’ Choice Awards, its 10th annual listing as voted upon by site users.
The most oft-mentioned Hawaii property among all the lists is the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, which rates among the Top 25 Hotels in the U.S. (3), the Top 25 Hotels for Service in the U.S. (12) and the Top 25 Luxury Hotels in the U.S. (16).
Also among the Top 25 Hotels in the U.S. are the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Kona at No. 16, and at No. 23, the Koa Kea Hotel & Resort on Kauai (built where the Poipu Beach Hotel used to be).
As the sixth-best Luxury Hotel in the U.S. on the TripAdvisor list, the St. Regis Princeville Resort on Kauai outranked the Four Seasons Wailea. At No. 25 the Kahala Hotel & Resort rounded out the list.
Hawaii properties did not appear on two of the domestic lists: bargain hotels and all-inclusive resorts.
We have no properties among the top Bed-and-Breakfasts or Inns in the U.S. or the world, but one of our own is among the Top 25 Relaxation/Spa Hotels in the United States. It is a list topped by California’s Bella Monte Hot Springs Resort and Spa, followed immediately by Cypress Cove Nudist Resort in Kissimmee, Fla.
Standing a discreet distance away, at No. 25, is the Travaasa Hotel Hana on Maui.
On the global list of top relaxation or spa hotels in the world, fourth place went to the uni-monikered Erika, of Tirolo, Italy (no relation).
TripAdvisor’s annual Travelers’ Choice lists covers 3,943 properties in 30 countries and eight regions, including 19 new markets this year, expanding the information sought by its online users.
New list coming
You now know the TripAdvisor winners, but the list by John Fischer, Philadelphia-based Hawaii Travel Guide for About.com, is just being assembled.
After logging in via About.com or Facebook, you can submit an online nomination for your favorite hotel or resort company in Hawaii through Feb. 15. The site will announce the finalists on Feb. 22, and the voting will commence, with the winner to be announced on March 30. Details are posted online under 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards at gohawaii.about.com.
Free redesign contest
Hawaii-based Designer for a Day LLC will award free design makeover services to some lucky nonprofit groups that enter its Designer for a Dream contest.
The big prize is an afternoon design service makeover valued at $750, while three groups, including a neighbor island community group, will receive detailed consultations valued at $400 each.
Nominations — and nonprofits may nominate themselves — are due by Feb. 3.
Entries, to be submitted online, must include the group’s name, mission, description of the population(s) it serves, a picture, in .jpg format, of the space needing a makeover, and a paragraph of 150 words or less, explaining how the award would make a difference.
Designer for a Day offers online design service by reviewing photos and providing consultation. Examples are shown on its website, www.designerforadayhawaii.com.
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
