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As we traveled, we found that some cities, airlines, hotels, restaurants, and activities exceed our expectations. Others left us marveling at the wonders of hype and digital photography.
In the case of restaurants, regardless of the amenities, the food had to be perfect to be considered. Given that we ate at over 60 restaurants, we had a lot of choices. The ones listed below are worth the trip all by
themselves.
Here are our award winners.
Best Hotel
Singita, Sabi Sand, SA
It was so perfect we didn't want to leave. The rooms are bigger than most one-bedroom apartments in New York. Hell – the BATHROOM is bigger
than many New York apartments! The fireplace was going every night on our return from game drives. The three level private deck over looking the Sand River included lounge chairs, private pool, and private shower in
a grotto of river rock. There are not enough superlatives in the English language to properly describe this place. The location, service, room, food, and amenities were all perfect. And the lions' call sings you to
sleep at night.
Honorable Mention:
Raffles Hotel, Singapore
Wow! It's
a legend - with reason! The rooms are huge and beautiful - feels like it must have 100 years ago!
The Charlotte Jane, Christchurch, NZ
Everything was perfect. And the value for the money is unbelievable. This makes the top three on its own merit. Combine that with the fact that it's less than half the
price of the other two and you have (in our opinion) the perfect hotel. We can't recommend it highly enough.
Grande Roche Hotel, Paarl, SA
Beautiful
facility. Perfect service. Gorgeous rooms. Great views. Wonderful restaurant. Claims to be the best hotel in South Africa and we can't disagree. We'd recommend coming here for a vacation - with the Rand falling,
this hotel offers five star accommodations at three star prices!
Best Hotel Service –TIE-
Singita, Sabi Sand, SA
From Colman, our ranger, meeting us at the private air strip
through the manager, Allen, escorting us to our room, everything was perfect. The entire staff was attentive without being cloying for the duration of our stay. Colman and our tracker, Sipho, were wonderful! These
are genuinely nice people who make you feel welcome and know how to do their jobs well.
The Mandarin, Hong Kong
We didn't lift a finger from the moment we passed through customs until the moment we left Hong Kong. Impeccable.
Best Airline
Air New Zealand
Good food (Imagine that!), attentive service, friendly and helpful staff
Honorable mention to Ansett Australia
Best Restaurants
La Mer, Halekulani, Honolulu, HI (Best Atmosphere)
Bennelong, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, AU (Best Location)
Siggi's, Heritage Hotel, Brisbane, AU (Best Service)
Vong, Manadarin, Hong Kong (Best Food)
Sala Rim Naam, Oriental, Bangkok, Thailand (Best Entertainment)
Raffles Grill, Raffles Hotel, Singapore (Best Overall)
The Green Door, Delaire Winery, Stellenbosch, SA (Best View)
Best Tourist Experiences
Game drives in the Sabi Sand Reserve!!!!!
Private Avalanche practice & autographs, Denver, CO
A perfect run down Whistler, BC
Snorkeling, Blue Lagoon Cruise, Fiji
Driving through New Zealand
Luncheon cruise on the Bounty, Sydney, AU
Ballet at the Sydney Opera House, Sydney, AU
Cruise and visit to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Brisbane, AU
Snorkeling, Great Barrier Reef, AU
Grand Palace and Wat Po, Bangkok, Thailand
Drinking a half-yard of ale on a hot day at the Long Bar, Raffles Hotel, Singapore
Swimming with penguins, Boulders Beach, Simonstown, SA
Climbing on Cape of Good Hope, SA
Wine Tasting, Constantia & Winelands, SA
And of course, there are the losers, which should be avoided at all costs.
Worst Hotel –TIE-
The Russell, Sydney, AU
Over-rated, over-priced, cramped rooms with no elevators. We have no idea why Fodor's rated them so highly - it was bad enough for us to start to seriously doubt the validity of the
guide.
The Halcyon, London, UK
The last time we stayed here, everything was great – a lovely room, great service, good restaurant. This time, everything was awful. The
room was cramped with so little room that we had to store our bags – they wouldn't fit in the room. The "porter" dropped our bags in a mud puddle, kicked them, and swore at them. The restaurant was "under
renovation" and looked like a basement – charging 5 star prices. The chef was yelling so much and so loudly that the ambience of the restaurant made McDonald's look like a better choice for a romantic dinner. The
heat in the room didn't work and the A/C was all or nothing. The windows fell whenever we tried to open them. The "concierge" told us to look in the magazine in our room and make our own theatre reservations. We're
not going back and recommend that others avoid them as well.
Dishonorable Mention
Lanzerac Manor, Stellenbosch, SA
Over-rated, broken plumbing, poor attitudes. The facility was beautiful, the room was large and well-appointed, but we still need functional plumbing.
Also - the service was three star at best and they claimed to be five star.
The Sandalwood Inn, Nadi, Fiji
It's amazing what you can do with a digital camera… If only they had spent as much on exterminators.
Worst Restaurant Experiences
Governor's Room, Lanzerac Manor, Stellenbosch (Worst Overall)
Larnach Castle, Dunedin, NZ (Worst Food)
Hotel du Vin, near Auckland, NZ (Worst Waiter)
The Room at the Halcyon, London, UK (Worst Atmosphere)
Worst Airline –TIE-
Singapore Airlines
VASTLY over-rated, poor service, inattentive crew, shabby lounge in Bangkok, typical airline food. A MAJOR disappointment, and I hope to never fly them again.
Lufthansa
No surprise right? Wrong. The service was fine, the food was OK, but the flight attendants were a hazard. We took off holding glasses – made of glass.
Someone was asleep with his seat fully reclined when we landed (talk about a rude awakening!). Seats were reclined, footrests were up, and TVs were out during landing. The flight attendants couldn't be bothered to
check the cabin. Someone went to the bathroom as we were on final approach and the flight attendants didn't get out of their seats to tell him to sit down – we thought the plane was going to land with him in the
bathroom! The seats in "Business Class" on the Frankfurt to London flight were comparable to most airlines' coach. Lufthansa has never been my favorite airline and they continue to live down to expectations.
Dishonorable mention: Ansett New Zealand
Inexcusably rude ground staff
Worst Tourist Experiences
DID WE MENTION THE RAIN??!!!!!
Overpriced European designer tourist shops on Waikiki Beach
Fighting off Japanese tourists who assume they are more important than you are, and lines are not for them. This happened far too often to ignore or mark off as an aberration. It happened everywhere we went. Other
tourists and even hotel staff remarked on it. If someone reading this is offended, don't expect an apology – none of the people who pushed me, cut in front of me, or were insufferably rude ever apologized to me
for their behavior.
Sydney taxi driver – a rude, ignorant, stupid, crook
Hong Kong store clerk who insisted dress shoes aren't made in a size 9
Getting caught in row boat in monsoon in Fiji
Bugs in room dive-bombing PC screen at Sandalwood Inn
Trying to find a working Cirrus ATM in Bangkok
Cancellation of Blue Train trip at last minute
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