Best Of Malaysia Awards 2011 Ceremony, Results and Winners List

Best Of Malaysia Awards 2011 Ceremony, Results and Winners List

 

Yesterday, I was invited to the Best of Malaysia Awards 2011 Ceremony. This showpiece event, organised by Expatriate Lifestyle, Malaysia’s number one expatriate magazine, took place this evening at View, GTower in central Kuala Lumpur. Around 250 of the top names from the Travel and Hospitality industry in Malaysia, including General Managers from the top Hotels, Resorts & Spas, joined the celebration, eager to find out whether their properties were among the successful few.

After 10 weeks of voting in 16 categories, thousands of expatriates have spoken and the results were unveiled tonight at the Official Ceremony for the Best of Malaysia Awards 2011.

 

Best City Hotel was won by Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, with Excellence Awards for Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur and One World Hotel. The Excellence Awards are given for outlets who have achieved a significant proportion of the vote and only narrowly missed out on winning the category.

 

Other notable winners include Hilton Kuala Lumpur as Best Business Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur for Best Weekend Break, Four Seasons Resort Langkawi for Best Romantic Stay, Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La, Penang for Best Family Stay, and Tiger Rock in Pangkor as the Best Boutique Stay.

 

It was the first time Tiger Rock had won a Best of Malaysia Award and they followed it up with further success in the Best Eco-Resort category. The popularity of this quaint, elegant property demonstrates how Malaysian-based expatriates are discovering more of the country and how impressively the tourism sector is developing in this country.

 

George Town, Penang won the Best Authentic Malaysian Experience Award, while Pavilion KL was voted Best Attraction, proving expatriates love their shopping.

 

There were more winners from outside of Kuala Lumpur than ever before in this year’s Best of Malaysia Awards, with nine of the sixteen winners coming from beyond KL, further proof that expatriates are more familiar than ever with life beyond the capital.

 

There were also a record number of awards given away, with 58 Excellence Awards across the sixteen categories. This reflects an extremely competitive voting process where the lead changed hands many times. In fact, in two of the categories the eventual winner achieved fewer than five votes more than the property in second place.

 

The Best of Malaysia Awards (#BOM2011 on Twitter) are the awards where the people’s vote on all things travel and leisure are counted, where the vox populi decides the Best of Malaysia! The awards take an overview of the Malaysian hospitality industry from hotels, beach resorts, attractions, spas and more, providing a 100 per cent public-driven award system, the only one of its kind in the country.

 

Winners were chosen from shortlists in 16 categories over a 10-week voting period until September 1, 2011 on www.expatriatelifestyle.com

 

At the glittering award ceremony at View, GTower the MC’s of the evening, Amanda Ting and Matt Bellotti, presented each of the delighted representatives with their certificates and iconic trophies for the winners.

Guests at the event at one of KL’s newest, coolest venues held on the balcony overlooking Kuala Lumpur City Centre, were entertained by Dulcet Rhytms , DJ Faith and enjoyed refreshments courtesy of GTower. There was also a lucky draw with luxury prizes from Bric’s (www.travelwithbrics.com).

 

Matt Bellotti, who is also Editorial Director for Expatriate Lifestyle was very excited about the awards, he said, “These awards are now in their sixth year and are the only award of their kind. The Best Of Malaysia is a celebration of tourism and hospitality experiences in Malaysia, which surely rank among the very best in the world. These awards were voted for by expatriates who never cease to impress me with their knowledge and opinions of the best places to see, stay, eat and enjoy. The field of winning properties this year is stronger than ever.”

 

Bellotti continued, “I have watched these awards grow over the past six years, during which time the landscape of the tourism industry in Malaysia has developed remarkably. New hotels, resorts, spas and attractions are opening all the time, making the country more enticing to overseas visitors and it is hugely satisfying to be able to acknowledge the hard work of the individuals and properties responsible for presenting the best of Malaysia to the world. These awards are not just about giving away a few trophies, but celebrating excellence across the industry and promoting the excellence in hospitality that makes Malaysia one of the preferred holiday destinations in the world.”

Best Of Malaysia Awards 2011 Results and Winners List

BEST CITY HOTEL

 

Winner

MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR

 

Excellence Awards

SHANGRI-LA KUALA LUMPUR

SHERATON IMPERIAL KUALA LUMPUR

ONE WORLD HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR

 

BEST BUSINESS HOTEL

 

Winner

HILTON KUALA LUMPUR

 

Excellence Awards

LE MERIDIEN KUALA LUMPUR

FRASER PLACE KUALA LUMPUR

PULLMAN KUCHING

TRADERS HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR

 

BEST WEEKEND BREAK

 

Winner

THE RITZ-CARLTON, KUALA LUMPUR

 

Excellence Awards

THISTLE PORT DICKSON

PARKROYAL PENANG

MARRIOTT PUTRAJAYA

CASA DEL RIO MELAKA

THE SMOKEHOUSE HOTEL & RESTAURANT CAMERON HIGHLANDS

 

BEST ROMANTIC STAY

 

Winner

FOUR SEASONS REOSRT LANGKAWI

 

Excellence Awards

CAMERON HIGHLANDS RESORT

JAPAMALA RESORT

TANJUNG SANCTUARY

PANGKOR ISLAND TIGER ROCK

 

BEST FAMILY STAY

 

Winner

GOLDEN SANDS RESORT BY SHANGRI-LA, PENANG

 

Excellence Awards

CLUB MED CHERATING

HARD ROCK HOTEL, PENANG

WESTIN LANGKAWI

PANGKOR ISLAND BEACH RESORT

 

BEST BOUTIQUE HOTEL

 

Winner

PANGKOR ISLAND TIGER ROCK

 

Excellence Awards

BON TON RESORT, LANGKAWI

CHEONG FATT TZE MANSION, PENANG

CLOVE HALL, PENANG

LONE PINE HOTEL, PENANG

 

 

 

BEST BEACH RESORT

 

Winner

SHANGRI-LA RASA SAYANG, PENANG

 

Excellence Awards

FOUR SEASONS RESORT LANGKAWI

PANGKOR LAUT RESORT

TANJUNG JARA RESORT

THE ANDAMAN, LANGKAWI

WESTIN LANGKAWI

 

BEST SPA RESORT

 

Winner

PANGKOR LAUT RESORT

 

Excellence Awards

TANJONG JARA RESORT

TANJONG ARU RESORT & SPA, SABAH

THE BANJARAN, PERAK

 

BEST ECO-RESORT

 

Winner

PANGKOR ISLAND TIGER ROCK

 

Excellence Awards

BON TON RESORT, LANGKAWI

THE DATAI, LANGKAWI

MUTIARA TAMAN NEGARA

 

BEST ATTRACTION

 

Winner

PAVILION KL

 

Excellence Awards

KL BIRD PARK

AQUARIA KLCC

SUNWAY LAGOON THEME PARK

 

BEST AUTHENTIC MALAYSIAN EXPERIENCE

 

Winner

GEORGE TOWN, PENANG

 

 

Excellence Awards

JONKER STREET, MELAKA

SARAWAK CULTURAL VILLAGE

 

BEST CITY SPA

 

Winner

SPA VILLAGE, RITZ-CARLTON KUALA LUMPUR

 

Excellence Awards

HAMMAM, BANGSAR VILLAGE II

MANDARA SPA, SUNWAY RESORT HOTEL & SPA

SIAM BODYWORKS

ENERGY DAY SPA

 

BEST RESORT FOR REST & RECREATION

 

Winner

SHANGRI-LA TANJUNG ARU RESORT & SPA, KOTA KINABALU

 

Excellence Awards

CLUB MED CHERATING

GOLDEN SANDS RESORT BY SHANGRI-LA, PENANG

SUTERA HARBOUR RESORT

PANGKOR ISLAND TIGER ROCK

 

BEST HOTEL RESTAURANT

 

Winner

PREGO, THE WESTIN KUALA LUMPUR

 

Excellence Awards

LAFITE, SHAGRI-LA KUALA LUMPUR

MAKAN KITCHEN, DOUBLETREE BY HILTON, KUALA LUMPUR

VILLA DANIELI, SHERATON IMPERIAL KUALA LUMPUR

 

BEST HOTEL BAR

 

Winner

SKYBAR, TRADERS HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR

 

Excellence Awards

QBA, THE WESTIN KUALA LUMPUR

BATUBAR, LONE PINE HOTEL, PENANG

ARTHUR’S BAR & GRILL, SHANGRI-LA KUALA LUMPUR

 

BEST SERVICE AWARD

 

Winner

SHANGRI-LA RASA SAYANG, PENANG

 

Excellence Awards

JW MARRIOTT, KUALA LUMPUR

MANDARIN ORIENTAL KUALA LUMPUR

PANGKOR LAUT RESORT

THE WESTIN KUALA LUMPUR

 

BEST BEACH RESORT

 

Winner

SHANGRI-LA RASA SAYANG, PENANG

 

BEST SPA RESORT

 

Winner

PANGKOR LAUT RESORT

 

 

About Expatriate Lifestyle

Launched in 2003, Expatriate Lifestyle is the number 1 quality lifestyle publication for expatriates living in Malaysia. Expatriate Lifestyle is read by over 100,000 affluent, active, well travelled expatriates and Malaysians and their visiting family and friends. Available at over 1,000 outlets across Malaysia, it features travel writers that write for guidebooks and travel supplements for internationally renowned newspapers and magazines such as The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Melbourne Age, GQ and Conde Nast Traveller.