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.
Valetta – 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.”
The Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa H
Hotel & Spa has also recently been presented with its Eco certification Award by Malta’s Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco, in recognition of the Hotel’s efforts at improving its environmental performance and increasing environmental awareness among guests and employees. The hotel forms part of the Wyndham Grand Collection hotels portfolio.
About Corinthia Hotels
Corinthia Hotels is an internationally acclaimed Brand of luxury hotels in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Libya, Malta, Portugal and Russia. Founded by the Pisani family of Malta in the 1960s, the Corinthia brand stands in that proud tradition of Mediterranean hospitality and its signature services communicate the ‘Warm smiles, Inspired Flavours and Pleasant Surprises’ of its Maltese heritage. All Corinthia hotels feature state-of-the art conference areas, extensive leisure and business traveller facilities, and are each renowned for their uniqueness of character. Corinthia Hotels’ portfolio includes two award-winning properties: The Corinthia Hotel Budapest, Hungary – winner of Europe’s ‘Best Hotel Architecture Award’ and member of ‘The Most Famous Hotels in the World’ and The Corinthia Hotel Prague in the Czech Republic – the first hotel ever to win Best Gastronomy Concept in the Czech Republic and a recipient of the ‘5 stars and 6 stripes’ designation from renowned US reviewer Seven Stars and Stripes. The Corinthia Hotels portfolio also features the elegant Corinthia Palace Hotel and Spa and the splendid Corinthia Hotel St Georges Bay in Malta, The superior five-star Corinthia Hotel Tripoli, Libya, the modern Corinthia Hotel Lisbon in Portugal and the renowned Corinthia Hotel St Petersburg, Russia. The Corinthia Hotels brand is associated with the ‘Wyndham Grand Collection’ tier of upscale hotels worldwide.
About CHI Hotels & Resorts
Based in Malta, CHI Hotels & Resorts (CHI) is a leading hands-on hotel management company that provides the full range of technical assistance and management services to hotel owners worldwide. CHI is the exclusive operator and developer for the luxury Corinthia Hotels brand as well as the Wyndham and Ramada Plaza brands in Europe, Africa and The Middle East. CHI draws on a heritage of over 45 years in delivering high quality services to hotel guests and an optimum rate of return to owners and investors in diverse business environments. Our experience across our three brands extends to management of luxury and upscale properties in city and resort locations and products ranging from boutique to conference and Spa hotels. CHI Hotels & Resorts is a joint venture between International Hotel Investments plc (IHI) – 70% and The Wyndham Hotel Group (WHG) – 30%.
