Blanket Bay Lodge Ranked One of the World’s Best

Luxury hideaway Blanket Bay has been named in the top 20 of Australian travel magazine International Traveller's inaugural 100 Best Hotels and Resorts in the World list.

The five-star Queenstown lodge comes in at 16th place in the list of top resorts and hotels from around the world, as voted by an elite panel of 17 travel experts. Blanket Bay General Manager Philip Jenkins said he was "delighted" for the property to feature alongside such properties as the top hotel in the world, the French Riviera's Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.

'Not only do we feature within the top 20 of the world's most luxurious properties as voted by discerning travel experts, but we're very honoured to be the second property in New Zealand on the list," said Mr Jenkins.

"We'd like to congratulate Wharekauhau Lodge in the Wairarapa for its well-earned 11th placing."

Mr Jenkins said the latest accolade reflected Blanket Bay's continued commitment to delivering a standard of service that reflected its standing as a truly remarkable New Zealand lodge. "It's not the first time that Blanket Bay has been named among the finest lodges in the world, and it continues to be our absolute mission to showcase this magnificent property to as many discerning travellers as we can," he said.

Set on the edge of two of New Zealand's majesticNational Parks, Mount Aspiring and Fiordland, Blanket Bay guests enjoy nature at its finest, intimate fireside moments and spectacular alpine scenery amid the property's all-inclusive five-star-plus service. Blanket Bay is situated in a secluded location a short distance from Queenstown on the shores of Lake Wakatipu near Glenorchy.

The International Traveller's list is published in the September/October Collector's print edition, and will also be available on a customised app.

Publisher Quentin Long said the judging panel were astute, well-known and well-travelled writers with more than 230 years' of combined travel writing experience, many of whom had visited a number of the properties.

"While most 'best of' lists are voted for by readers, we felt that an expert panel would provide a valid judgement of the best," he said.

"The final list was whittled down from 700 luxury resorts worldwide."

The full list will be featured on International Traveller's website (www.internationaltravellermag.com) and supported by an extensive social media campaign. The ipad application is currently under approval with Apple.

For more information visit: www.blanketbay.com, or www.internationaltravellermag.com