Blanket Bay Hotel

This annual survey of Hideaway Report readers’ favourite hotels and resorts worldwide was released in October 2011. The publication is a top resource of intelligence on luxury travel – claiming an unbiased, firsthand research approach.

Philip Jenkins, Blanket Bay’s General Manager, commented: “ I am thrilled that Blanket Bay has once again been chosen by past guests and readers of the Hideaway Report as one of the world’s very best hideaway’s.” Blanket Bay was voted one of the world's top hideaways by the Hideaway Report in 2010.

“This is continued appreciation of our magnificent lodge’s stunning location and amazing facilities and services. More importantly, this award is well-deserved recognition by guests of the true dedication and high level of service consistency of our staff”, states Philip.

Philip Jenkins, Blanket Bay’s General Manager, was delighted with this further accolade: “This HM Award again illustrates our staff’s consistently high service standards and the resultant guest satisfaction that comes from Blanket Bay’s unique blend of luxury and location”.

“New Zealand is widely acknowledged as having a collection of outstanding lodges, a concept which has also been adopted in Australia and Southern Africa. It is gratifying to see the recognition that luxury lodge accommodation is now achieving worldwide. The success of Blanket Bay is based upon this significant growth in demand for small luxury hotels that offer truly intimate hospitality and local flavor in stunning destinations”, states Philip.

Blanket Bay regularly features amongst the world’s best. Along with last Friday night’s HM Award win, Conde Naste Traveler’s 2010 Gold List ranked Blanket Bay as the second-highest scoring property in the world and the top-scoring hotel in Asia, Australia and Pacific nations. Also last year the discerning readers of the prestigious Andrew Harpers Hideaway Report voted Blanket Bay 6th in the Top 20 Hideaways in the world, and the best in New Zealand. In 2009 Blanket Bay also won the HM Award for “New Zealand’s Best Regional Property”.

“Even in these turbulent economic times there is a strong short breaks market. Blanket Bay is just over three hours flying time from the major centres of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland and attracts more and more discerning Australian and New Zealand travellers seeking the ultimate alpine escape”, he said.

New Zealand's Blanket Bay has been named the third greatest accommodation property in the world and the best hotel in Oceania by readers of the influential American travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler. It is the only property in New Zealand to have made the Top 100 List

Blanket Bay owner Tom Tusher was overwhelmed and humbled by the announcement.

“We are so small and so out of the way, and are just amazed at the regard our guests have for our property. Conde Nast Traveler has a huge circulation and is the bible for discerning travellers, particularly in the North American market.”
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton said it was a great result for Blanket Bay and New Zealand.

“Blanket Bay was also recently recognised by British Conde Nast readers when it was named ‘Best Leisure Hotel in Australasia’. This second award is another real achievement for the hotel and this kind of coverage is a wonderful way for New Zealand to get noticed in very competitive long-haul markets,” Mr Hickton added.

Mr Tusher said New Zealand is unique in that all the best accommodation is in small, luxury lodges and that this meets the travel style of today’s discerning traveller.

“Today’s traveller is healthier and more adventurous and is looking for the personalised attention small properties can offer,” he said. This is good news for New Zealand and fantastic for us in Glenorchy because we are in a pristine and beautiful place that offers the widest possible range of adventure. For many North American travellers, this area offers a package of Switzerland, Norway and Napa Valley rolled into one.”

The standards of excellence maintained by Blanket Bay staff, many of whom have been with the property since it opened its doors 10 years ago, have contributed heavily to its success.

“We have been very fortunate to secure and hold an amazing team of people including the very best chefs, managers, housekeepers and gardeners, all committed to ensuring every moment our guests spend with us is a superb experience. Our aim has always been to deliver the highest standards and service levels and to be well regarded internationally.”

The Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards are conducted through a questionnaire made available to all readers through a secure web site. The final tabulations of 25,008 responses were collated by Mediamark Research, Inc., of New York City.

In the 10 years since opening in December 1999, Blanket Bay has enjoyed a dramatic climb into the ranks the world’s best properties with an awards list that ranges from building honours through to Hotel Management Awards, several awards won by individuals of its culinary team and annual places on various lists of the world’s best accommodation properties.

Readers of one of the world’s most influential travel magazines have named New Zealand's Blanket Bay lodge as the best leisure hotel in Australasia and the South Pacific. The luxury lodge also achieved 10th spot in the list of highest scores, irrespective of category, in the Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards 2009. Among the world’s great hotels, only two scored marginally higher than Blanket Bay, India’s Rambagh Palace in Jaipur and Four Seasons Hotel in Florence, Italy.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton said winning an award of this calibre was a coup for Blanket Bay, and for New Zealand.

“New Zealand offers a great range of holidays for all kinds of budgets, but Blanket Bay sits at the top of what we offer in this country. The Conde Nast award recognises the consistent effort Blanket Bay puts into providing an excellent and friendly experience for visitors.

“Overall, New Zealand came second in the ‘Favourite Country’ category, Air New Zealand came second in the ‘Best Long-haul Leisure Airline’ category and Blanket Bay took top ranking as ‘Best Overseas Leisure Hotel’ in Australasia. That’s a pretty good result for a small country on the opposite side of the world from those voting,” Mr Hickton said.

The multi-awarded property has previously made the pages of glossy magazines as among the world’s best but Blanket Bay manager Philip Jenkins says to be named the best leisure hotel in the entire region is certainly the highest accolade yet.

“This is quite extraordinary and is a very exciting result for Blanket Bay. It really is as good as it gets for us. Conde Nast Traveller is read by the most discerning of UK travellers and the opinions of its readers are very important to us.”

Mr Jenkins believes the combination of scenery, luxurious surroundings, food and service has created the ideal place to stay for visitors to Australasia.

“New Zealand has been ranked as the second best destination in the world, second only to Italy, by the magazine’s readers. Our location in one of the most spectacular places in New Zealand combined with the unforgettable experience we work to produce for each and every one of our guests has been recognised by Conde Nast readers. We have a superb kitchen run by a talented team of award winning chefs to produce the very best in gourmet dining. We are just delighted to have the work of each and every member of our staff recognised in this way.”