LONDON, January 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

UK's B&Bs are unbeatable while Devon's hotels reign supreme

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP), the world's largest travel website, today unveils the UK's best hotels in the tenth annual Travellers' Choice Hotel Awards, often dubbed the 'Oscars of the hotel world'.

The awards recognise the world's and the UK's best properties across several categories, including best hotels, best B&Bs, best for service, best luxury properties and more.  

Unlike any other hotel honours, TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice winners are based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions from travellers around the world.

The UK's B&Bs have cause to celebrate with eight of the world's top ten found here, while Devon dominates the UK's best hotels, laying claim to four of the country's ten best, including top finisher the Charterhouse Hotel.

"These awards celebrate the best hotels in the UK and beyond according to those that really matter, travellers themselves," commented Emma Shaw, TripAdvisor spokesperson.  "The UK performed extraordinarily well in the B&B category, laying claim to eight of the top ten, while Devon has yet again won over travellers with its impressive hotels."

The UK's best hotels

Following its fourth place ranking last year, Devon's Charterhouse Hotel has this year stepped up to be crowned the UK's best hotel.  With a five-star traveller rating on TripAdvisor, visitors to the hotel comment on its "warm and genuine hospitality", "superb" breakfasts and more.  With rooms available from well under £100 per night, the UK's best hotel is also remarkably affordable.

Les Ward, proprietor, The Charterhouse Torquay, said: "We're thrilled to be recognised as an award winner by TripAdvisor in the 2012 Travellers' Choice Hotel awards.  Our guests' enjoyment is our top priority, and we strive to provide the utmost in service, value and quality, which has resulted in getting such excellent feedback from our guests."

The UK's second best hotel this year is Hillside Hotel in the Isle of Wight, enjoying a swift rise from its 18th place finish last year.  Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate, named the UK's best hotel in 2010 and 2011, took third place.

World's best B&Bs

The UK is officially home to the world's best B&Bs, laying claim to eight of the world's top ten (up from six last year).  The world's best B&B is the Twenty One in Brighton, which climbed from sixth place last year.  

Matt Fletcher and Andy Cole, Proprietors, The Twenty One, commented: "We are absolutely delighted to receive this most prestigious of awards from TripAdvisor. It is a testament to our hard work and dedication to providing an excellent level of customer service to our guests. We would like to thank sincerely each and every one of our guests for taking the time to review The Twenty One and we look forward to providing our guests with an excellent service in the future."

As one TripAdvisor traveller said: "Matt & Andy are the perfect hosts. Superb breakfasts and comfy beds. The whole of 21 is wonderfully clean and immaculately presented."

Last year's winner, the Old Manse in Invermoriston, this year took second place, while the Riverside in the Lake District took third.  

Is London up to the job?

With last year's royal wedding and travellers around the world preparing for their trips to attend the Olympics this summer, the London hotel industry is in the spotlight like never before.  It seems this may be paying off; in 2010 and 2011, not a single London hotel appeared on the UK's top 25 hotel list, but this year three properties from the capital have cracked it: The Milestone Hotel, Hotel 41 and Haymarket Hotel.

"Although it's certainly good news to see London in the list, the highest ranked hotel from the capital came in at a lukewarm 13th place. With just months to go before the opening ceremony, only time will tell if London can live up to the high expectations," commented Emma Shaw, TripAdvisor spokesperson.

Devon shines

Devon performed extraordinarily in this year's Travellers' Choice Hotels awards, laying claim to the first-place winner and four of the top ten.  The Charterhouse Hotel in Devon took first place, while Crimdon Dene Hotel, Yeoldon House Hotel, and Shelley's took fifth, sixth and eighth places respectively.  

For the complete 2012 Travellers' Choice Hotels list and more reviews, opinions and candid holiday photographs, go to http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice-Hotels (please note this link will be live with 2012 results on Wednesday 18th January).

Notes to Editors

Awards selection:

The winners are based on the more than 60 million reviews and opinions from travellers on TripAdvisor, including traveller ratings for specific categories.  Reviews and opinions were analysed using an algorithm similar to that used by TripAdvisor's Popularity Index taking into account the property's quality overall and for a particular category, according to traveller reviews and opinions, as well as the quantity and recency of content written on TripAdvisor.

2012 TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards Highlights:

TOP 25 UK HOTELS (brackets denote last year's ranking)

1.    Charterhouse Hotel (Torquay, Devon) (4)

2.    Hillside Hotel (Ventnor, Isle of Wight) (18)

3.    Rudding Park Hotel (Harrogate, Yorkshire) (1)

4.    Beechwood Hotel (North Walsham, East Anglia)

5.    Crimdon Dene Hotel (Torquay, Devon)

6.    Yeoldon House Hotel (Bideford, Devon) (12)

7.    The Chambers Park Palace (Leeds, Yorkshire)

8.    Shelley's (Lynmouth, Devon)

9.    Number Four at Stow (Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire)

10.    Bath House Hotel (Chard, Somerset)

11.    Rampsbeck Country House Hotel (Watermillock, Cumbria)

12.    Cary Court Hotel (Torquay, Devon)

13.    The Milestone Hotel (London)

14.    Gilpin Hotel & Lake House (Windermere, Cumbria)

15.    Hotel 41 (London)

16.    Base2Stay Liverpool (Liverpool)

17.    Overwater Hall (Bassenthwaite, Cumbria)

18.    Merewood Country House Hotel (Windermere, Lake District)

19.    Tara Lodge, Belfast (Northern Ireland)

20.    The Farmhouse Hotel (Guernsey, Channel Islands)

21.    Longueville Manor Hotel (Jersey, Channel Islands)

22.    Haymarket Hotel (London)

23.    Northcote, (Langho, Lancashire)

24.    Dufferin Coachign Inn (County Down, Northern Ireland)

25.    Green Bough Hotel (Chester, Cheshire)

WORLD'S BEST B&BS (brackets denote last year's ranking)

1.    The Twenty One (Brighton, East Sussex, England) (6)

2.    The Old Manse (Invermoriston, Scotland) (1)

3.    Riverside Hotel (Ambleside, Cumbria, England) (4)

4.    Casa Portagioia  Bed and Breakfast (Tuscany, Italy) (2)

5.    Kenley Hotel (Blackpool, Lancashire, England)

6.    The Green House (Sacred Valley, Peru)

7.    Byfield House (Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, England)

8.    One Alloway Retreat (Ayrshire, Scotland)

9.    The Manor Coach House (Worcester, Worcestershire, England)

10.    Bindon Bottom B&B (West Lulworth, Dorset, England)

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor® is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors*, and over 60 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) manages and operates websites under 18 other travel media brands, and together the sites attract more than 65 million unique monthly visitors**.  TripAdvisor's travel media brands include: www.airfarewatchdog.com, http://www.bookingbuddy.com, http://www.cruisecritic.com, http://www.familyvacationcritic.com, http://www.flipkey.com, http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk, http://www.independenttraveler.com,  http://www.onetime.com, http://www.seatguru.com, http://www.sniqueaway.com, http://www.smartertravel.com, http://www.travelpod.com, http://www.virtualtourist.com, and http://www.kuxun.cn.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, Worldwide, August 2011

**Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Inc. and its subsidiaries, Worldwide, August 2011

©2012 TripAdvisor, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE TripAdvisor