New York, Columbus, Chicago, Houston – top cities with the most award-winning hotels in the US

  • Guests are the judge - 20 million verified reviews decide the winners
  • Gold around the Globe - More than 2,700 hotels worldwide win gold awards

DALLAS – April 18, 2016 – We all know that a good, bad or ugly review can make or break your hotel choice. After analyzing 20 million genuine reviews from hotel guests who have checked-in around the world, it's time to check out the best of the best, as Hotels.com® reveals the winners of its Loved by Guests Awards 2016.

More than 2,700 hotels across 94 countries have been classed as outstanding and awarded the top Hotels.com Loved by Guests gold award, after achieving an average guest review rating of 4.7 or higher* (out of 5). The Hotels.com Loved by Guests Awards are based on authentic, trusted reviews left by customers who have actually stayed in the properties, meaning the hotel guests are the real judges.

For the second year running, hotels in the U.S. were the biggest gold award winners, with 1,087 properties being recognized.

Loved by Guests Gold Award Winners by U.S. City

  1. New York, NY – 15 hotels
  2. Columbus, OH – 13 hotels
  3. Chicago, IL – 11 hotels
  4. Houston, TX – 11 hotels
  5. Miami, FL– 8 hotels

Award Winning Sleeps in the City

The city that supposedly never sleeps actually has some of the best sleeps in the U.S., as 15 New York hotels bagged themselves a gold award. It's no surprise as it ranked number two as the most popular American travel destination in 2015. According to the Hotels.com® Hotel Price Index™ (HPI®), travelers paid an average of $254 per night with a 4% decrease in price.

The Baccarat Hotel and Residences New York received a 4.9 guest review rating. Other highly rated New York hotels included The Mark, The NoMad Hotel, Hotel Giraffe and The Library Hotel with 4.8 guest ratings. Hotel guests selected "awesome vibe" and "tasty food" as factors for higher ratings.

Columbus, Ohio came in as the second highest guest rated city this year as The Blackwell, Hotel Indigo Columbus Architectural Center and the Cambria Hotel & Suites Columbus – Polaris received 4.7 ratings for "awesome vibe" and its amenities. HPI data reported an average of $122 per night with a 4% increase in price last year.

Chicago continues to be popular as the HPI ranked the Windy City as the sixth most popular domestic destination for American travelers last year. With an average night of $172 per night, travelers were willing to spend more. Four Seasons Chicago received a 4.7 guest review rating, The Peninsula Chicago (4.8) and The Langham Chicago (4.9) for its "great wellness and sports facilities" and "fantastic service."

Hotel Granduca and the Residence Inn Houston Northwest/Cypress received the highest Houston guest review ratings of 4.8. The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa received a 4.7 for "great pool" and "great amenities". According to the HPI, American travelers paid an average of $123 per night last year, a 3% price decrease. Ranked as number nine in popularity, it remains a top travel destination for American travelers.

Bars B&B South Beach Miami Boutique Hotel received a 4.8 guest rating for its "fantastic service", "great amenities", and "tasty breakfast". Hotel guests sipped and enjoyed their cocktails at the Mandarin Oriental Miami and The Vagabond Hotel, both received 4.7 guest ratings with "bar and beverages" as the top choice for rating the Miami favorites.

Best in Class

A further 500 hotels have also been crowned winners in the Hotels.com Loved by Guests Awards, in the 'Best for' categories. These awards celebrate the very best hotels around the world, again based on trusted guest reviews, across 10 bespoke categories** - Luxury, Business, Boutique, LGBT, Beach, Ski, Family, Spa, New and All Inclusive. The top 50 hotels in each category have been recognized and will receive awards and certificates.

According to the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index, Orlando
maintains its popularity as a top destination location for American travelers. This year, the city takes home awards in the Luxury and Family categories with popular hotels, the Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Universal's Hard Rock Hotel.

Travelers continue to take in the sun and surf with top beach getaway hotels the Shorebreak, a Kimpton Hotel in Huntington Beach, Calif. and the Southernmost Beach Resort in Key West, Florida.

Popular LGBT hotels include the Hotel Beacon in New York and The Driskill in Austin. Three of Jackson's hotels earned top awards in the Ski category.

"What makes our awards program so special is that, as the new name suggests, these hotels are loved by guests, they are awards chosen by the people for the people. When we launched the program last year we wanted to not only recognize our top-performing hotel partners, but we also wanted to help consumers make informed booking decisions, based on genuine, trusted reviews," said Elena Novokreshchenova, Director of Global Content for the Hotels.com brand.

"This year we've evolved the awards by introducing a new gold level that really celebrates those truly outstanding hotels, who have achieved average guest ratings of 4.7 or higher. Thanks to the now 20 million authentic and verified reviews on our site, we've been able to recognize 2,700 gold winners and found the best hotels across 10 bespoke categories. As the influence of feedback from hotel guests still continues to grow in importance, we're proud that this content and guest feedback on our site is informing and providing valuable insight for both our customers and hotel partners alike."

Each selected hotel will receive a framed certificate and window sticker to display on-site at their location. Hoteliers will also be able to showcase their guest review rating on their social and digital platforms by downloading a special widget.

Hotels.com is encouraging travelers to share their most memorable hotel accommodations on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the #LovedbyGuests hashtag. Learn more about the top guest rated hotels here

About Hotels.com® (or Hotels.com™)

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Sandy Sirirat
Hill+Knowlton Strategies
(310) 633-9448
Hotels.com