WITH A PICTURE-PERFECT SUNSET as our backdrop, Global Traveler lauded the winners of the 2018 Leisure Lifestyle Awards during an evening cocktail reception at The Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.
Now in its sixth year, the Global Traveler Leisure Lifestyle Awards honors the cream of the crop in destinations, airlines, cruise lines and hotels in the leisure and lifestyle travel categories. Sofitel’s beautiful rooftop venue, overlooking Beverly Hills, was our host for the third year as acceptees and guests set sail with GT.
For the cruise-themed event, Liz Watts and Company treated guests to sailor-inspired swing dance while the accompanying band played a range of hits from multiple decades.
WINNERS’ CIRCLE
BEST HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS
Turkey
BEST BEACHES
Costa Rica
BEST ADVENTURE TRAVEL DESTINATION
Thailand
Second Consecutive Year
BEST CARIBBEAN ISLAND
Saint Lucia
BEST ISLAND IN EUROPE
Santoríni
Fifth Consecutive Year
BEST ISLAND PACIFIC RIM
Cook Islands
Third Consecutive Year
BEST LEISURE DESTINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Nashville
BEST LEISURE DESTINATION IN EUROPE
Lisbon
BEST LEISURE DESTINATION IN ASIA
Taipei
BEST LEISURE DESTINATION IN LATIN/SOUTH AMERICA
Buenos Aires
BEST LEISURE DESTINATION IN MEXICO
Cabo San Lucas
BEST WEEKEND DESTINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Savannah
BEST WEEKEND DESTINATION IN THE WORLD
Bermuda
BEST GLAMPING DESTINATION
The Resort at Paws Up
BEST BABYMOON DESTINATION
Key West
BEST NORTH AMERICAN SKI DESTINATION
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
BEST INTERNATIONAL SKI DESTINATION
Whistler, British Columbia
BEST FAMILY CRUISE LINE
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
BEST CRUISE LINE SPA
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
BEST LUXURY CRUISE LINE
Silversea Cruises
Third Consecutive Year
BEST CRUISE LINE SUITES
Silversea Cruises
BEST ADVENTURE CRUISE LINE
Windstar Cruises
BEST SMALL-SHIP CRUISE LINE
Paul Gauguin Cruises
Third Consecutive Year
BEST LARGE-SHIP CRUISE LINE
Cunard Line
Third Consecutive Year
BEST RIVER CRUISE LINE
Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
BEST CRUISE LINE ENTERTAINMENT
MSC Cruises
BEST CRUISE LINE DINING
Viking Cruises
BEST CRUISE SHIP EXCURSIONS
Princess Cruises
Third Consecutive Year
BEST CRUISE LINE REWARDS PROGRAM
MSC Voyagers Club
FAVORITE CRUISE SHIP
Celebrity Reflection
Celebrity Cruises
BEST LUXURY LEISURE HOTEL GROUP IN THE WORLD
Meliá Hotels International
Fourth Consecutive Year
BEST HOTEL CHAIN RESORTS
Westin Hotels & Resorts
Fourth Consecutive Year
BEST PET-FRIENDLY HOTEL
Westin Hotels & Resorts
BEST FAMILY RESORT CHAIN IN THE WORLD
Westin Hotels & Resorts
Second Consecutive Year
BEST ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORTS
Sandals Resorts
BEST LEISURE AIRLINE
Hawaiian Airlines
Fourth Consecutive Year
BEST PREMIUM-ECONOMY CLASS
Scandinavian Airlines
BEST AIRPORT FOR LAYOVERS
Hamad International Airport
BEST AIRPORT FOR RECREATION
Munich Airport
BEST AIRLINE FOR ONBOARD ENTERTAINMENT
Asiana Airlines
BEST LUXURY VEHICLE
Maserati
BEST LUXURY WATCH BRAND
TAG Heuer
Third Consecutive Year
BEST LIQUOR BRAND
Johnnie Walker Blue
BEST LUXURY TOUR OPERATOR
Elegant Resorts
BEST LEISURE CAR RENTAL
Hertz
CRUISE LINE OF THE YEAR
Azamara Club Cruises
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
OUTSTANDING CUSTOMIZED SERVICES
Denver International Airport
OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Hurtigruten Cruise Line
OUTSTANDING INNOVATIONS
Singapore Changi Airport
OUTSTANDING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Omni Hotels & Resorts
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- Max Knagge, general manager, Americas, Scandinavian Airlines
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- Angela Geissler, director of accounts, North America, Munich Airport
-
- John Petersen, general manager, North America, Cook Islands Tourism
-
- Rui Horta, president, general assembly, Visit Lisboa
-
- Brad Shih, director, Taiwan Tourism Bureau
-
- Sermin Ozduran, director, Turkish Tourism Board, Turkish Culture and Tourism Organization
-
- Sobhana Sucharitakul, marketing manager, Tourism Authority of Thailand
-
- Chantelle Foran, operations and product development manager, Princess Cruises; Mayra Herrera, marketing manager, Princess Cruises
-
- Peter Ingram, CEO, Hawaiian Airlines
-
- Robert Castro, director of marketing, Silversea Cruises
-
- Diane Moore, president, Paul Gauguin Cruises
-
- Jaime Paiko, senior director, marketing, Cunard Line
-
- Shirnett Fleet, vice president, marketing, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Line
-
- Marilys Ward, strategic marketing manager, Celebrity Cruises; Cynthia Rose, regional marketing manager, Celebrity Cruises
-
- Stacey Stegman, senior vice president of communications, Denver International Airport
-
- Lori Goldspiel, director of sales, Azamara Club Cruises
-
- Dayalan Nayager, global travel managing director, Diageo
-
- Brian Povinelli, senior vice president, global brand leader, Westin & Le Méridien, Marriott International
-
- Honorable Dominic Fedee, minister, Saint Lucia Tourism
-
- Eoghan Slye, senior director, media and integration, Hertz
-
- Grigoria Kamaterou, director, Greek National Tourism Organization
-
- Honorable Jamahl S. Simmons, JP, MP, minister of economic development and tourism, Bermuda Department of Tourism
-
- Jason Montague, president & CEO, Regent Seven Seas Cruises; Randall Soy, executive vice president of sales, Regent Seven Seas Cruises
-
- Ji-Ho Choi, deputy general manager, marketing & sales, the Americas, Asiana Airlines
-
- Bill Harber, president, Hurtigruten Cruise Line
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