Conde Nast Traveler Unveils Its 15th Annual Hot List

NEW YORK, April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Conde Nast Traveler's 15th annual May Hot List issue is the ultimate insider's guide to this year's hottest hotels, spas, and restaurants. After scrutinizing nearly a thousand new properties opened world wide in the last year, the editors selected 200 of the most promising candidates, rigorously evaluating each one on a standard set of criteria. The result is a definitive guide to the world's most exciting new establishments that are destined to become instant classics.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110412/NY81326 )

For the first time, Conde Nast Traveler names individuals who have made an important impact on the hospitality industry in the past year: Hot Hotelier: Nick Jones, Soho House Group; Hot Interior Designers: George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, Yabu Pushelberg; Hot Restaurateur: Jose Andres; and Hot Bartender: Erik Lorincz, American Bar, The Savoy, London.  The list also introduces The Hotties – the little details that elevate these hot hotels from likable to loveable, including the Best Bedtime Snack: Fresh sugar-coated doughnut holes at Ocean House (Rhode Island); Best City Wheels: Vintage scooters at the Waterhouse at South Bund (Shanghai); and The Sweetest Parting Gift: The brownie, lollipop, and more you're offered at checkout from the Andaz 5th Avenue (New York City).

The 2011 Hot List features 124 new hotels and resorts, 21 of the hottest restaurants, and 40 of the world's most relaxing spas, all of which transcend industry standards in design, service, and amenities. But you don't have to break the bank to experience one of these hot and trendy retreats – 40 of this year's hotels and resorts offer rooms for less than $300 a night.

The Hot List hotels range in size from a three-suite safari camp in South Africa to a 2,995-room tower on the Vegas Strip, and in price from a $75 per night room above a white-hot gastro-pub in Chicago to $2,040 for a private three-story riad, complete with a plunge pool and butler, in the heart of Marrakech. Additionally, the 124 hotels and resorts on this year's Hot List span 43 countries including destinations as far away as Goa and New Zealand.

To view the complete Hot List, visit cntraveler.com/hotlist and stay tuned for the new "Hot List" app, available in June.

SOURCE Conde Nast Traveler