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HomeNewsArchivesREADERS LIKE THE RITZ AND THE ISLAND OF ST. JOHN

READERS LIKE THE RITZ AND THE ISLAND OF ST. JOHN

Sept. 21, 2002 – Two V.I. resorts placed among the 25 best hotels in the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda in Travel & Leisure magazine's 2002 Readers Poll.
The Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas was in 10th spot, and Caneel Bay on St. John was 13th.
The British Virgin Islands claimed three of the six top spots. At the top of the heap, in order: The Reefs in Bermuda, Peter Island Resort in the BVI, Cap Juluca in Anguilla, Biras Creek (Virgin Gorda) in the BVI, the Four Seasons Resort on Nevis, and Little Dix Bay (Virgin Gorda) in the BVI.
One U.S. and one British Virgin Island made it into the top five favorite islands in the region, according to the magazine's poll. The five were, in order, Bermuda, St. Barth's, St. John, Virgin Gorda and Nevis.
The readers ranked as the top 10 cruise lines: Crystal Cruises, Holland America Line, Orient Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Cunard Line, P&O Cruises and Delta Queen Steamboat Co. (While Carnival, which sends the most ships to St. Thomas, didn't make the list, Holland America and Cunard are owned by Carnival Corp.; Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean.)
The regional recognition is part of Travel & Leisure's overall World's Best Awards. Results are derived from an online survey made available to the magazine's subscribers, who were provided a unique code in their February and March 2002 issues. Only the questionnaire responses of subscribers who correctly entered their special codes were tallied, and they could complete the survey only once. Through a screening process, responses from identified travel-industry professionals were eliminated from the final tally.
Respondents were asked to rate hotels, islands and airlines as to five characteristics and cruise lines as to six. Ratings for each characteristic were on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the highest rating. Here are the characteristics:
For hotels: rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, value.
For islands: natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people, value.
For cruise lines: cabins, food, service, itineraries/destinations, entertainment/activities, value.
According to a release put out by the territory's national publicity agency, Martin Public Relations, St. John "received especially high marks of distinction. The island ranked first among all other Caribbean destinations for natural attractions; second for activities and sights; third for overall vacation destination; and eighth for overall value. St. Thomas stood out for its activities and sights, and St. Croix was recognized for its restaurants and food."

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