| NEW YORK - May 25, 1999--How far can one man push the nation's
most accommodating hotel? "Jack Spicer" is the alter ego of a perfectly
nice travel writer let's call him John. While John is meek and apologetic,
"Jack" never feels guilty for asking, and he's used to getting exactly
what he wants. So TL sent Jack Spicer to the Mansion on Turtle Creek in
Dallas, rated the nation's top hotel for service in TL's annual readers'
poll. Jack boldly put the Mansion to the test, subjecting the staff to
demands realistic and ridiculous. Then, for the sake of comparison, he
checked into a mammoth chain hotel.
Ten days before his arrival, our outrageous correspondent called with
a list of demands: figs, unwaxed dental floss, a Brita jug, and, for his
reading pleasure, volume two of Peter Guralnick's Elvis bio. After checking
in, Mr. Spicer requested the names of the bluegrass singers he'd just heard
on a local radio station, ordered a little-known $6 Argentinean wine, and
required multiple translations of a memo to his "executive producer in
Berlin."
The responses of the two hotels - and the vast differences between them
- prove hilarious and informative.
Service matters most to experienced travelers, and who has more experience
than the readers of Travel Leisure? Along with Jack Spicer's report,
the issue reveals the results of the magazine's annual poll ranking hotels
throughout the world on the quality of their service. Following are the
Top Hotels for Service, excerpted from Travel Leisure's World's Best
Service article in the June 1999 issue.
THE TOP 10
OVERALL WORLD'S BEST SERVICE
-
Hotel Ritz, Paris
-
Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas
-
Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay
-
The Oriental, Bangkok
-
The Greenbrier, West Virginia
-
The Regent, Hong Kong
-
Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Maui
-
Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Florida
-
Four Seasons Resort, Nevis
-
Halekulani, Oahu
|
WORLD'S BEST SERVICE
BY REGION
| Asia |
-
Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay
-
The Oriental, Bangkok
-
The Regent, Hong Kong
-
The Peninsula, Hong Kong
-
Raffles Hotel, Singapore
|
| Europe |
-
Hotel Ritz, Paris
-
Villa d'Este, Cernobbio, Italy
-
Hotel Cipriani Palazzo Vendramin, Venice
-
Four Seasons Hotel, London
-
Hotel Ritz, Madrid
|
|
Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific
|
-
The Ritz-Carlton, Sydney
-
The Regent, Sydney
-
Hotel Inter-Continental, Sydney
-
Hayman Island Resort, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
-
Sheraton on the Park, Sydney
|
|
Caribbean, Bermuda, and the Bahamas
|
-
Four Seasons Resort, Nevis
-
Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
-
Caneel Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
-
Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
-
Peter Island Resort, British Virgin Islands
|
|
Hawaii
|
-
Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua, Maui
-
Halekulani, Oahu
-
Lodge at Koele, Lanai
-
Manele Bay Hotel, Lanai
-
Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawaii
|
| Continental United States
and Canada |
-
Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas
-
The Greenbrier, West Virginia
-
Ritz-Carlton, Naples, Florida
-
Ventana Inn, Big Sur, California
-
Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
|
|
Mexico and Cental South Anmerica
|
-
Ritz-Carlton, Cancun
-
Four Seasons Hotel, Mexico City
-
Las Brisas, Acapulco
-
Alvear Palace Hotel, Buenos Aires
-
Hotel Nikko Mexico, Mexico City
|
|
Africa and Middle East
|
-
MalaMala Game Reserve, South Africa
-
La Mamounia, Marrakesh
-
Mount Nelson Hotel, Cape Town
-
Londolozi Game Reserve, South Africa
-
Governors' Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya
|
Methodology: The Travel Leisure Reader Profile Study was developed by
the editors of Travel Leisure in association with Yankelovich Partners
Inc.
Travel Leisure, Food Wine, Departures, Travel Leisure
Golf, and Travel Leisure Family magazines are part of the American
Express Publishing Corporation, a subsidiary of the American Express Company
managed by Time, Inc. under the terms of an agreement signed in March 1993.
The company, which also publishes SkyGuide and a variety of cooking, travel,
wine, time management, and financial books and products, recently launched
a custom publishing group. |
