CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI), exclusive operators of the luxury Corinthia Hotels brand worldwide and of the Wyndham and Ramada Plaza brands in Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EMEA), announced that its five-star Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa has won the coveted title of ‘Malta’s Leading Hotel’ at the World Travel Awards European regional ceremony held in Praia D’El Rey in Portugal recently. The award was presented to hotel general manager Italico Rota by Kevin Taylor, group vice president, World Travel Awards.‘The Grand Lady’ of Malta’s luxury hotels, the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa was the very first hotel to fly the Corinthia flag when it opened in 1968 in the presence of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Since then, the world renowned hotel has become the benchmark for excellence in Malta’s luxury hotel sector and the catalyst for the ‘Corinthia Hotels’ brand worldwide expansion.
“This World Travel Award is a fantastic addition to the many accolades that the hotel has received over the years” said hotel general manager Italico Rota. “Set in extensive landscaped gardens, the beautiful property, with its air of seasoned luxury and turn of the century columned villa, speaks for itself in terms of opulence. However this award is dedicated not to the monument, but to its soul, the dedicated people who have been running it over the years, setting new standards of excellence along the way” concluded Rota.
Launched in 1993 to acknowledge and recognise excellence in the world's travel and tourism industry, the World Travel Awards are regarded as the very highest achievement that a travel product could ever hope to receive. They have been described by the Wall Street Journal as the ‘Oscars’ of the global travel and tourism industry.
The award winning hotels are selected through the casting of votes by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organizations in over 160 countries across the globe. This year, nearly 1500 travel companies were nominated in 177 categories.
Graham Cooke, president, World Travel Awards commented: “The past 12 months have brought several challenges, namely the economic downturn and the outbreak of swine flu, which has impacted travel and tourism worldwide; today’s winners have remained focused on their long term objectives, and continued to deliver above and beyond the call of duty, setting an industry example.” Vicky Karantzavelou - Thursday, November 05, 2009