READERS' TRAVEL AWARDS 2004

There is no European hotel you would rather be on holiday at than the Palazzo Sasso on the Amalfi coast in Italy. Giving it a top score of 96.67 for location, you also rated it above 90 for service/staff and food/restaurants. Hotel Arts Barcelona did well across the board, never falling below 80 in any category; and you gave the ambience/decor at the lavishly refurbished InterContinental Le Grand Hotel Paris an appreciative 93.33.

The Bellagio in Las Vegas is your favourite hotel in the Americas and Caribbean, with the highest scores for shopping (88.89), leisure facilities (93.33) and location (95.56). You found the luxurious Sandy Lane on Barbados difficult to fault on service/staff and standard/comfort of accommodation and had high praise for the Explora en Patagonia Hotel Salto Chico in Chile (90.12 for environmental friendliness).

Your preferred hotel in Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Middle East is Singita Private Game Reserve in South Africa. In fact, you awarded it enough points to propel it to the number one spot in our Top 100. Uniquely, Singita got 100 in three criteria: location, environmental friendliness, and standard/comfort of accommodation. The Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius did well, with Soneva Fushi scoring top marks for service/staff (98.75), Frégate Island Private for ambience/decor (97.67) and One&Only Le Saint Géran for leisure facilities (96).

Asia, Thailand and Bali share the spoils with six hotels each in the top 20, although Raffles Hotel in Singapore takes first place, helped by the highest score for ambience/decor (98.13). In Malaysia, The Datai cannot be bettered for service/staff (98.82) and Rajvìlas in India has the most impressive standard/comfort of accommodation (95.56); Amankila on Bali has the best location (97.65).

In Australasia and the South Pacific, the Park Hyatt Sydney scored well on all nine criteria. Huka Lodge in New Zealand was judged to have the best location (scoring a remarkable 99.98) and Queensland's Hayman the best leisure facilities (93.33).

London's Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is your top choice if you are taking a holiday in the UK. Its high scores included an outstanding 98.57 for location and an inspiring 95.71 for ambience/decor. You think that last year's winner, The Ritz, cannot be bettered for service/staff (90) or shopping facilities (78.89), while Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire is by far the best for cuisine (95.45 for food/restaurants). You singled out elegant Chewton Glen in the New Forest for its leisure facilities (91.25), Hotel Tresanton in Cornwall for standard/comfort of accommodation (95.71) and The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire for family-friendliness (79.05).

Nine out of 15 of your favourite UK hotels for business are in London, including top-scoring One Aldwych, pictured, whose location between the City and the West End rated 99.15. The Four Seasons Hotel Canary Wharf did well for service/staff (95), while The Metropolitan, home of Nobu restaurant, came out best for food (93.13). The St David's Hotel & Spa, Cardiff, got top marks for leisure facilities (91.78), and The Balmoral in Edinburgh was best for ambience/decor (90.05) and standard/comfort of accommodation (92.55).

Eight of your top 15 hotels in this category are in the Far East, with four in Singapore and two each in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore scored above 90 for ambience/decor, service/staff, environmental friendliness and standard/comfort of accommodation. Of Europe's winners, Columbus Monaco was rated best value for money (95), while Hotel Arts Barcelona scored 91.13 for food. One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai was the only hotel in this category to score more than 90 points for leisure facilities.