The Eco Award Winner: Sal Salis, Ningaloo Reef, Australia
The Smith Hotel Awards 2014 ceremony held in London on November 6 confirmed that Australia offers some of the best boutique hotels in the world. There were 12 categories and Australian properties won awards in four categories. 1888 Hotel in Sydney was named the Best Budget Boutique, Emirates Wologan Valley in Blue Mountains won the Best for Families award, while The Eco Award went to Sal Salis in Ningaloo Reef and Southern Ocean Lodge was honoured with the Above and Beyond prize. There were also three runners up – Lake House in Daylesford, Saffire in Tasmania and Qualia on the Great Barrier Reef.
Above & Beyond Winner: Southern Ocean Lodge, Australia
The Smith Hotel Awards 2014 is organised by Mr & Mrs Smith, the award-winning hotel website, booking service and travel club, world famous for selecting the best hotels in the world since 2003. There were about 22,000 members of public who voted for their favourite boutique accommodation, after which specialist judges had to select the top three hotels in each category. The team of judges included writer and presenter Mariella Frostrup, chef Marcus Wareing, television presenter and editor Neale Whitaker and singer-songwriter Jessie Ware.
Best Budget Boutique Winner: 1888 Hotel, Sydney, Australia
Choosing from such incredible hotels is a tough job, of course, which is why we asked the public to help, and thanks to them and our panel of specialist judges, we think we’ve arrived at the ultimate hot list
- James Lohan, co-founder of Mr & Mrs Smith