The 2024 Boutique Hotel Club Awards, which is operated by the acclaimed Boutique Hotel Club, has unveiled its winners across 18 categories, featuring the finest boutique hotels from across the world, with South Africa scooping up four awards, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The Boutique Hotel Club’s panel of experts consisted of over 500 vetted nominees from 80 countries globally and handpicked an exquisite selection of destinations to guide travellers to rare and unique delights.
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Perceived as the Michelin of boutique hotels, the club quality tests over 400 gold standards of hospitality excellence to ‘find exceptional stays of unrivalled character and calibre’.
‘With a panel of boutique hotel connoisseurs applying rigorous on-site assessments, our honorees stand as curated masterpieces, offering travellers not merely stays, but memories. And not just luxury, but a profound sense of place,’ said Cally Squires, award panellist of Boutique Hotel Club.
Among the South African winners were:
- Akademie Street Boutique Hotel in Franschhoek for World’s Best Boutique Hotel and World’s Best Relaxation Retreat
- Lekkerwater Beach Lodge in De Hoop for World’s Best Beach Hotel
- Vergenoegd Löw Boutique Hotel & Spa in Cape Town for World’s Best Honeymoon Hotel
‘I am truly honoured and delighted to accept this award on behalf of the entire management and staff of our wonderful property in Franschhoek, South Africa,’ said Paul Kinney, owner of Akademie Street Boutique Hotel.
‘Having won this award once before in 2017, we know how special an award this truly is. I think this time it helps to validate the relentless commitment we have to making our guests feel special when they stay with us,’ Kinney added.
Kinney continued, in a testament to the hunger for perpetual improvement, common in the best boutique hoteliers.
‘Despite this esteemed award, we will continue to develop and improve our property. In fact, we have just begun constructing new hotel facilities, including a fine dining restaurant, guest wine bar, hotel spa and hammam — all of which are scheduled to officially open in 2026,’ said Kinney.
For the past 15 years, Boutique Hotel Club has selected the world’s best boutique hotels, accepting nominations and conducting on-site reviews to evaluate the true guest experience of each nominee
Any independent boutique hotel may be nominated and entry is entirely free of charge.
A panel of 30 luxury travel experts, whose business it is to ‘be in the know’, shortlists the properties to be inspected, with the club independently evaluating each property’s quality, style and emotional impact using a proprietary Boutique Hotel Club Quality Assessment.
This system includes 400 gold standards of facilities and service execution covering every aspect of guest experience.
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