Phuket, Amanpuri Honored By Readers’ Poll

NEW YORK: Phuket received an 11th place ranking of top islands in Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards, while Amanpuri, the well-known luxury hotel on Pansea Beach, was honored in two of the publication’s award categories. The results of the poll, tabulated from the responses of more than 37,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers, were published in last month’s issue. Phuket received an overall score of 70.9 out of a possible 100 in the “Top 20 Islands” category. Hawaii’s Maui island topped the list with a score of 86.2, followed by Bermuda and the Hawaiian isle of Kauai, which each received scores of 83.3. Bali, cited by many in the local hospitality industry as Phuket’s main competitor for Asian resort island tourists, finished fourth overall with a score of 80.2. The rankings were determined by the percentage of readers rating the candidate “excellent” or “very good” on a variety of criteria. For the islands category, readers scored destinations on environment/scenery, people/friendliness, activities/fun, lodging/dining and beaches. Amanpuri received an overall score of 86.8, placing it 45th in Condé Nast Traveler’s “Best of The Best in ’98” listing, and fifth in the “Top 25 Small Hotel” category.