M.M. Cloutier
Three Palm Beach hotels are among Florida’s best — and one of them, the White Elephant, is among the top hotels around the globe, according to Travel + Leisure’s annual awards announced Tuesday.
The White Elephant, The Colony and the Four Seasons earned honors in the New York-based magazine’s 2022 World’s Best Awards, which are based on the results of an annual readers’ survey covering such topics as hotels, cruise lines, and U.S. and global destinations.
Award-winners reflect “excellence in hospitality” at a time when “travel continues to rebound and people are looking for new trip ideas and inspiration,” Travel + Leisure Editor-in-Chief Jacqui Gifford said.
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The White Elephant, which debuted in November of 2020 with 32 rooms and suites, earned positions in three categories.
It took the No. 1 spot in “The 15 Best Resorts in Florida” and ranked No. 2 in “The 15 Best Resorts in the Continental U.S.” (just behind No. 1 Pickering House Inn in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire). And in “100 Best Hotels in the World,” the White Elephant earned the No. 19 spot.
The trio of wins “is a true testament to our amazing team at the property for providing such memorable guest experiences,” said Khaled Hashem, president of White Elephant Resorts, which also includes five hotel properties in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Opening a hotel in Palm Beach was a “first step into new markets (outside of Nantucket) and our focus was to ensure we introduced our time-honored traditions and service excellence,” Hashem said.
The Colony and the Four Seasons also placed in Travel & Leisure’s “15 Best Resorts in Florida” category, which includes an introduction noting how Palm Beach “is quickly becoming a favorite destination among younger travelers.”
The Colony, an 89-room town landmark known among loyalists as the “Pink Paradise,” earned the No. 4 spot. The six-acre oceanfront Four Seasons, with 217 rooms and suites, came in at No. 14.
Sarah Wetenhall, president and CEO of The Colony, said she was “thrilled,” with the recognition, noting “it is a testament to the dedication of our stellar team” and the hotel’s drive to “consistently deliver exceptional, intuitive service.”
The hotel’s redesign of its rooms and suites — a summer project slated for completion in October — should further enhance guests’ “authentic experience” at the hotel, she said.
Of the Four Seasons’ honors from Travel + Leisure, Mohamed Elbanna, the hotel’s regional vice president and general manager said he and his team are “proud to earn this distinction voted on by our guests and the community who we have the honor of sharing lifetime memories with.”
Every guest visit to the hotel, he said, “begins with a heartfelt passion for delivering Four Seasons level of service, while always finding ways to offer fresh and fun experiences.”
For the hotel categories of Travel + Leisure 2022 World’s Best Awards, the magazine’s readers/survey-takers were asked to rate hotels based on rooms/facilities, location, service, food and value.
All category winners in the awards are featured online at TravelandLeisure.com/worlds-best and will be in the August print issue of the magazine, which is expected to hit newsstands on July 22.
Travel + Leisure is published by Dotdash Meredith, which bills itself as America’s largest digital and print publisher. Publications in its portfolio include People magazine, Better Homes & Gardens and Food & Wine.
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