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December 2018 • $5.00

W ith each passing year, the bar is raised. The competition stiffens. The contenders multiply. It’s nothing short of a tribute to the global

landscape of leading hotels, resorts, CVBs, conference centers and destination marketing organizations that our painstaking review of stand-out properties and organizations never gets easier.

Yet we confidently announce this year’s winners of our Platinum Choice Awards as the most distinguished and selective ever.

They all deliver brilliant experiences. They all have earned the trust of meetings professionals. They all deserve congratulations for being the best of the best.

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And Now, the Best of the Rest. . .In our meetings world adventures over the past 12 months, we’ve found other “bests” irresistible. Here are a few of our favs.

Quirkiest Museums for Group Visits We’re not talking selfie magnets such as Museum of Ice Cream, but actual museums that are authentically unorthodox—as in International Cryptozoology Museum (Portland, Maine), The Museum of the American Gangster (New York City), Museum of Jurassic Technology or Museum of Death (Los Angeles), and International Spy Museum (Washington, D.C.)

• Hotel Teatro

• Limelight Hotel Aspen

• The Broadmoor

• Foxwoods Resort Casino

• Mohegan Sun

• Eden Roc Miami Beach

• Hyatt Regency Orlando

• Innisbrook, A Salamander Golf & Spa Resort

• JW Marriott Marquis Miami

• Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort

• Omni Orlando Resort at Championsgate

• PGA National Resort and Spa

• Ponte Vedra Inn & Club

• Reunion, A Salamander Resort

• Rosen Shingle Creek

• South Seas Island Resort

• The Breakers Palm Beach

• The Diplomat Beach Resort Hollywood, Curio Collection by Hilton

• The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club

• Tradewinds Island Resorts on St. Pete Beach

• Trump National Doral Miami

• Turnberry Isle Miami

• Universal Orlando Resort

• Villas of Grand Cypress, Orlando

• Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort

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• Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

• Fairmont Scottsdale Princess

• JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa

• Miraval Arizona

• Tanque Verde Ranch

• The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort, Scottsdale

• The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain

• Fairmont Grand Del Mar

• Fairmont San Francisco

• Hotel del Coronado

• Hotel Pullman San Francisco Bay

• Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego

• Miramonte Indian Wells Resort & Spa, Curio Collection by Hilton

• Monarch Beach Resort

• Ojai Valley Inn

• OUE Skyspace LA

• Park Hyatt Aviara Resort Golf Club and Spa

• The Resort at Pelican Hill

• The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara

• The Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square

Best Over-the-top Wellness Activity Could there be a more memorable choice than goat yoga? It’s part yoga, part animal-assisted therapy and now available in many parts of the country. We all know yoga is good for the mind and body. Interaction with friendly, curious baby goats, it’s been shown, releases even more of those good brain chemicals that increase well-being and reduce stress. Runner-up: Mermaid Fitness at Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, an aerobic pool workout in a “mermaid tail.”

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Best Unusual Space with Chandeliers The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa, California, offers its Estate Cave in its hillside vineyards as a yoga space that has the gravitas of a medieval castle, thanks to an impressive row of wrought-iron chandeliers

Best Instaworthy Pop-Up Yes, there was the multicity phenomenon known as Museum of Ice Cream, but as the news of the world continues to darken, our vote goes to Happy Place, which is currently on a stopover in Toronto (until Jan. 1) after stints in Los Angeles and Chicago. As Los Angeles magazine put it, Happy Place “aspires to be exactly the kind of silly, sweet, rainbow-colored escapism we need”—a series of gaily decorated rooms to explore and share on social media.

• Sea Island

• The King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort

• The Westin Jekyll Island

• Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach

• Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa

• Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort

• Hawaii Convention Center

• The Kahala Hotel & Resort

• The Coeur d’Alene Resort

• LondonHouse Chicago

• Royal Sonesta New Orleans

• Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center

• MGM National Harbor

• Boston Harbor Hotel

• Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center

• Grand Hotel Mackinac Island, Michigan

• Hyatt Regency Minneapolis

• Hyatt Regency St. Louis At The Arch

• The Resort at Paws Up

• Lied Lodge & Conference Center

• Aria Resort & Casino

• Atlantis Casino Resort Spa Reno

• Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas

• Peppermill Resort Spa Casino

• Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Hotel

• Eldorado Hotel & Spa

• Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa

• Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

• Tropicana Atlantic City

• The Roosevelt Hotel New York City

• Inn on Biltmore Estate

• Pinehurst Resort

• Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza

• Oregon Convention Center

• Hershey Lodge

• Nemacolin Woodlands Resort

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Salad in aonvention Center

artfarm, an indoor hydroponicrgarden at Greater ColumbusrConvention Center inr Ohio, growsleafy greens and herbs for thercenter’s kitchen using LED lights.Planners can have specified seedssown for upcomingr events, with theharvested crop used for culinaryrteam-building activities.

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• Montage Palmetto Bluff

• The Sea Pines Resort

• Hutton Hotel

• JW Marriott Nashville

• The Peabody Memphis

• Austin Convention Center

• Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas

• Grand Hyatt San Antonio

• Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa

• JW Marriott Austin

• Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel

• San Luis Resort Spa and Conference Center

• The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston

• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

• Salamander Resort & Spa

• The National Conference Center

• Hyatt Regency Lake Washington at Seattle’s Southport

• Suncadia Resort

• The Davenport Grand Hotel

• Grand Geneva Resort & Spa

• Jackson Lake Lodge

Canada• Fairmont Royal York

Bahamas• Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas

• Grand Hyatt Baha Mar

Mexico• Barcelo Maya Grand Resort

• Grand Fiesta Americana Coral Beach Cancun

• Hyatt Ziva Cancun

• Nizuc Resort & Spa

• One&Only Palmilla

• Paradisus Los Cabos

• The Grand Vidanta Convention Center at Vidanta Nueva Vallarta

• The Resort at Pedregal

• The St. Regis Mexico City

• Unico 20°N 87°W Hotel Riviera Maya

Cayman Islands

• The Westin Grand Cayman Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa

Best Official Hotel DogMake that dogs. The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills boasts a matched pair of English bulldogs named Winston and Churchill. They do not smoke cigars or deliver stirring speeches, but these official mascots meet, greet and play with guests.

Best Hotel SwagDisney Hotels & Resorts let you

imagineer a whole bunch ofgoodies and keepsakes, includingcharacter-themed gifts thatmagically appear in your roomwhile you’re away. Planners mayprefer the magic hotel pastry chefscreate with sugar sculpture andfood coloring to delight guestswhen delivered unannounced.

Best Drinking While Walking for GroupsUrban Bourbon Experience in Louisville, Kentucky, is a grain-to-bottle master class, and an eclectic mix of bars, restaurants and distilleries that begins on downtown’s Whiskey Row. All it takes is a pace-yourself resolve and minimal shoe leather to take in Frazier History Museum’s new welcome center, Evan Williams Bourbon Experience (a fountain of bourbon, anyone?), Angel’s Envy Distillery and more.

Best Immersive Animal Encounter Who can resist cheering on cute piglets running their little hearts out (or not) around an oval track? We couldn’t at Smart Meeting West National in Scottsdale, Arizona, in May. We placed our bet on Hello! Arizona Destination Marketing to provide the experience—and won.

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Best Meeting Room with an Inspiring, Oh-wow View So many to choose from, but an adventure-in-paradise crowd- pleaser is the newly redone Leahi Room in Queen Kapiolani Hotel in Honolulu, with its floor-to-ceiling vision of emerald-enrobed Diamond Head. It accommodates up to 275 attendees. Runner-up: Conrad Miami’s ballroom and meeting rooms boast floor-to-ceiling windows; the room on level 25 has stunning views overlooking Biscayne Bay.

Best Glass Ceiling Winners all are The Garden Court in Palace Hotel in San Francisco, the Dale Chihuly glass ceiling sculpture at the entrance to Bellagio Las Vegas and Great Hall of the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, which claims the distinction of being the world’s largest glass ceiling.

Best Hotel Suite Where You Can Host a Basketball Team The Two-Story Sky Villa at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas is a soaring, 9,000-square-foot extravanganza that includes a glass-enclosed, cantilevered pool with views to The Strip. There are also massage and fitness rooms, a sauna and butler service.

CVBs• ATL Airport District Destination

Marketing Organization

• Banff & Lake Louise Tourism

• Choose Chicago

• Destination DC

• Discover Newport

• Discover The Palm Beaches

• Explore Asheville Convention& Visitors Bureau

• Explore St. Louis

• Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention& Visitors Bureau

• Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Greater Palm Springs Convention& Visitors Bureau

• Hilton Head Island Visitor & Convention Bureau

• Long Beach Area Convention& Visitors Bureau

• Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board

• Memphis Tourism

• Monaco Government Tourist Office

• Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau

• Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB

• Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

• NYC & Company

• Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau

• Tourism Santa Fe

• Tourism Vancouver

• Travel Portland

• Travel Tacoma & Pierce County

• Virginia Beach Convention& Visitors Bureau

• Visit Alexandria

• Visit Anaheim

• Visit Billings

• Visit Charlotte

• Visit Denver

• Visit Orlando

• Visit Seattle

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