The Definitive Consumer Guide (by Consumers) for Hotels & Resorts in the Oceanic Region

The inaugural edition of Australia and New Zealand’s Best Hotels & Resorts (including the Pacific Islands), the region’s only accommodation guidebook based on genuine consumer reviews, was launched today. The book is published by leading online accommodation specialist, HotelClub, in association with Insight Guides, renowned publisher of over 450 travel guides.

Australia and New Zealand’s Best Hotels & Resorts (including the Pacific Islands), features 300 hotels and resorts covering 8 countries, compiled from over 74,000 consumers from 170 countries worldwide. This hotel guidebook is a unique and authoritative guide on where to stay in the Oceanic region – whether for business or leisure travel.

As part of an online survey conducted throughout November 2005 – January 2006, over 74,000 consumer votes were received for 2,200 hotels across 17 countries. Of these 2,200 nominated hotels, 300 were short listed based on their scores against voting criteria# and number of votes. These 300 hotels and resorts were then independently reviewed by a member of the editorial panel who stayed at each of the hotels as a mystery guest and reviewed the hotels.

Chloe Lim, Director of Global Marketing & Publisher, HotelClub, said: “We are pleased to launch Australia and New Zealand’s Best Hotels & Resorts (including the Pacific Islands) guidebook as part of expansion of the “Best Hotel & Resort” guidebook series. With strong demand for travel in Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, this Guidebook is a most timely introduction to both discerning and first time travellers to the region. This guidebook pays tribute to the best properties in the region and what differentiates this guidebook from others is the selection process as properties are voted by the most important panel of judges – the consumers.”

Published in association with Insight Guides, the 320-page travel guidebook includes an overview for each of the 8 countries, and each hotel is rated on eight criteria including ambience, value for money, staff attitude, family friendliness and dining options. All the entries are cross-referenced with supporting indexes to help readers select the hotel or resort that best meets their needs. Maps highlight each hotel’s location and over 1,000 full-colour photographs vividly convey their ambience.

David Gooding, Sales and Marketing Director at Insight Guides said, “We are thrilled to launch with HotelClub this major new fully illustrated publication which showcases the best hotels and resorts throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands. This new guide offers our readers a comprehensive selection of hand-picked boutique, family and luxury accommodation for all budget requirements. It is incredibly practical and offers great value for money as they will receive US$20.00 membership dollars when they book accommodation for their next holiday via HotelClub.”

Katia Giurtalis, Director of E-Commerce Asia Pacific of Accor said "There are 20 Accor properties featured in the book including Sofitel & Novotel hotels throughout key capital cities throughout the region. The hotels have different features that appeal to each and every traveller. It is an honour to be recognised by the travelling public. The association with HotelClub has proved extremely fruitful for our hotels and Accor is delighted to be associated with such a well respected online partner."

Australia and New Zealand’s Best Hotels & Resorts (including the Pacific Islands) contains a HotelClub Membership card which gives purchasers a USD $20 rebate from HotelClub upon registration.

Australia & New Zealand’s Best Hotels and Resorts guide can be purchased online at www.hotelclub.com/anzguidebook for $34.95AUD and is available in most major bookstores from today.

^# Voting Criteria: Consumers were asked to nominate the hotels using a free text survey. Thereafter, each consumer would rate the hotel nominated, based on the following criteria: Ambience, family friendliness, rooms, restaurant facilities, cleanliness, business facilities, location, leisure facilities, staff attitude and value for money. Each criteria was rated based on a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 equalling the best)



Number of nominations: 74,788 votes* were received from 55,000 consumers in 170 countries (* Multiple votes were allowed)

Voting period: November 2005 – January 2006

Voting criteria (Rating 1 to 10 with 10 best):
Ambience
Value for money
Staff attitude
Cleanliness
Family friendliness
Location
Restaurants
Facilities

Total hotels nominated: 2,200 hotels in 17 countries

Entries in book: 300 in 8 countries

Number of hotels per country featured:
Australia – 195
New Zealand - 60
Pacific Islands – 45 in total
• Cook Islands - 5
• Fiji - 22
• French Polynesia - 8
• New Caledonia - 1
• Samoa - 3
• Vanuatu - 6

Number of Destinations by City:
AUS – 52 Cities
NZ – 18 Cities
Pacific Islands – 21 Destinations

Book mechanics:
320 full colour pages
Size : 223 x 150 mm
* 18 x Double Page Spreads
* 157 x Single Page layout
* 122 x ½ page spread

Number of photographs: Over 830

Hotels Featured in Double page spreads in the book:
Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa, Blue Mountains
Voyages Cradle Mountain Lodge, Cradle Mountain
Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast
Voyages Bedarra Island Resort, Great Barrier Reef
Voyages Dunk Island, Great Barrier Reef
Cable Beach Club Resort, Kimberley
Crown Towers Hotel & Casino Southbank, Melbourne
Burswood InterContinental, Perth
Hilton Sydney, Sydney
Park Hyatt Sydney, Sydney
Sails in the Desert Hotel, Uluru-Kata Tjuta
Hayman Island Resort, Whitsundays
Kauri Cliffs, Bay of Islands
Wharekauhau Lodge, Featherston, NZ
Blanket Bay Lodge, Queenstown, NZ
Peppers on the Point Lake Rotorua, Rotorua, NZ
Huka Lodge, Taupo, NZ
Shangri-Las Fijian Resort Yanuca, Coral Coast, Fiji
Vomo Island Resort, Mamanuca Islands, Fiji
Hotel Bora Bora, Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Aggie Grey’s Hotel & Bungalows, Apia, Samoa

Editors’ Picks:
Birdsville Hotel, Birdsville, QLD
Echoes Boutique Hotel & Restaurant, Blue Mountains, NSW
Peppers Bloomfield Lodge, Cape Tribulation, QLD
Desert Cave Hotel, Cooberpedy, SA
Lake House, Daylesford, VIC
Peppers Springs Retreat, Hepburn Springs, VIC
Q1 Resort & Spa, Surfers Paradise, QLD
Voyages Wrotham Park Lodge, QLD
Sanctuary Palm Cove, Palm Cove, QLD
Establishment Hotel, Sydney, NSW
Kirketon Hotel, Darlinghurst, NSW
Cape Lodge, Yallingup, WA
Mollies, St Mary’s Bay, Auckland, NZ
Stafford Villa, Birkenhead Point, Auckland, NZ
Eagles Nest, Bay of Islands, NZ
Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, Northland, NZ
Charlotte Jane, Christchurch, NZ
Wharekauhau Lodge, Featherston, NZ
Carrington, Kaitaia, NZ
Nugget Point Resort Queenstown, NZ
Villa Del Lago Apartments, Queenstown, NZ
Peppers on the Point, Lake Rotorua, NZ
Treetops Lodge & Estate, Rotorua, NZ
Takaro Peace Resort, Te Anau, NZ
Boatshed, Waiheke, NZ
Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort & Spa, French Polynesia
Hotel Bora Bora, French Polynesia
LeTaha’a Private Island & Spa, NZ

Recommended Retail Price:
$34.95 AUD
$44.95 NZD
¢14.99 GBP
$23.95 USD
$43.90 SGD

Where to purchase the book:
www.hotelclub.com/anzguidebook
Major retail book sellers

Note to editors/webmasters:
Over 800 hi resolution photographs in the book are available for editors, if there are specific pictures you require please contact besthotels@HotelClub.com

About HotelClub
HotelClub (www.HotelClub.com) is a global accommodation specialist website offering hotel bookings for up to 12 months in advance. It offers users the choice of over 21,000 hotels – at savings of up to 60% – in 109 countries and 2,500 cities worldwide. HotelClub is available in ten languages – Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai. HotelClub is a truly global website offering its customers access through country specific sites in 10 countries including HotelClub.com, HotelClub.com.au, HotelClub.de, HotelClub.fr, HotelClub.it, HotelClub.es and HotelClub.co.uk. HotelClub, is operated by Flairview Travel, a Travelport Inc. brand. Travelport is one of the largest and most geographically diverse travel companies, dedicated to creating the exceptional travel experiences the world demands’.

About Insight Guides
Insight Guides are the world’s largest collection of visual travel guides with over 450 titles available in 4 different series. Insight Guides are renowned for their photography, which sets them apart from other guidebooks in the market as they appeal equally to both dedicated tourists as well as armchair readers. Insight Guides cover the world’s leading destinations and provide both fascinating background reading and essential on-the-spot reference to all aspects of a destination. Insight Guides are distinctive because they are written by local specialists for the independent traveller; this unique local knowledge combined with in-depth treatment of history, culture and places appeals to travellers who want both a comprehensive, easy-to-use guide and an enriching travel experience.
To find out further information about our range of Insight Guides log on to www.insightguides.com

For further information, please contact:

For further information, to request a review copy of the book or if you wish to talk to one of the editors please contact:

Jennifer Crooks
Public Relations Manager, HotelClub
Tel: (Direct) +61 2 8263 5153
Fax: +61 2 9264 0559
Email: Jennifer.Crooks@flairview.com