The tourists have spoken: Charleston is the bomb diggity. Again.
Travel + Leisure announced today that the Holy City was voted the No. 1 city in the United States and Canada in the magazine’s 2013 World’s Best Awards survey. This is Charleston’s first time at the top of the T+L list, but it’s not the first time we’ve made it on a best-of-the-best list for tourism. In 2012, readers of Condé Nast Traveler voted Charleston the No. 1 city in the world.
Charleston-area hotels racked up the accolades in the survey, too. They took honors in the following categories:
Small Hotels (Fewer than 100 rooms):
1. Market Pavilion Hotel
3. Wentworth Mansion
4. French Quarter Inn
7. Planters Inn
Top 100 Hotels (worldwide):
52. Market Pavilion Hotel
80. Wentworth Mansion
Top Hotel Brands: Continental U.S. Resorts (40 rooms or more):
27. The Sanctuary Hotel at Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Large Hotels (100 rooms or more):
33. Charleston Place
The latest best-of-the-best ranking sounds like good news for Charleston … as long as we don’t let it go to our heads. Just this week, Travel + Leisure named Charleston the No. 10 snobbiest city in the U.S.
In a press release, Wild Dunes Resort Managing Director Frank Fredericks had this to say:
Visiting the Charleston area is a unique experience for many reasons. From the nationally recognized restaurant scene and exquisitely preserved historic district to the surrounding miles of pristine beaches and barrier island resorts, the Charleston area offers a rare combination of sophistication, living history, natural beauty, and world class hospitality. We are delighted to be recognized by readers of Travel + Leisure as a favorite travel destination and want to thank everyone who took the time to vote in this year’s World’s Best Awards.
The complete results of the survey will appear in T+L‘s August issue, which hits newsstands July 19.
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