MANDARIN ORIENTAL HYDE PARK, LONDON IS PROCLAIMED UK BUSINESS HOTEL OF THE YEAR

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London was last night recognized by Conde Nast Traveller readers as the Best Business Hotel within the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at London’s Science Museum, where general manager Liam Lambert proudly accepted the prestigious award on behalf of his team members.

The 200-room luxury hotel located in the heart of Knightsbridge, was also voted within the top 100 best hotels in the world, taking the 7th position with an overall score of 92.59%. In addition, sister hotels in Hong Kong and New York were highly recognized, with Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong positioned within the venerable magazine’s Top 100 list, whilst The Mark in New York was voted within the Best Overseas Business Hotel category. Special guest of the evening included renowned comedian, Harry Enfield.

Commenting on the award, the publication noted: ‘This year, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London is the business, scoring above 80 in all nine criteria, above 90 in six, and rising to the top score of 95 out of 100 for food/restaurants, reflecting your appreciation of the gourmand fare on offer at the hotel’s Foliage restaurant”.

The Readers’ Travel Awards questionnaire was inserted within the May 2001 issue of Conde Nast Traveller and all replies were sent to an independent market-research company who analysed the data. When entering a hotel for the best UK Business Hotel, readers were asked to complete a questionaire and score the hotels on location, ambience/décor, environmental friendliness, service/staff, standard/comfort of accommodation, food/restaurants, conference facilities, business services/systems available, leisure facilities and value for money.

In just only one year of re-opening, the hotel has been the recipient of numerous international awards. Prior to Conde Nast Traveller’s announcement as London’s best business address, the hotel’s luxury spa – The Spa at Mandarin Oriental - was also voted this week as the Best Day Spa of the Year at the Health & Beauty Awards.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park re-opened its doors May 2000 having completed an £45 million renovation of the hotel, which included the creation of two new restaurants - Foliage and The Park, the Mandarin Bar, a spectacular state-of-the-art spa, as well two meeting rooms. Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park now shines as the European flagship property of this renowned international hotel group and is certainly positioning itself as London’s leading luxury hotel.

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park has been awarded by Conde Nast Traveler (US) one of the top 20 European hotels, and has been the recipient of the Gold Ribbon Award by RAC Hotels which is the highest accolade given and represents consistent commitment to superlative standards of customer care, service and accommodation.

Foliage, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, was also voted Hotel Restaurant of the Year 2000, by both Hotel & Restaurant magazine and Square Meal magazine.

The Mandarin Bar has been voted one of the Top 10 Bars in London by The Evening Standard.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and operator of some of the world’s most prestigious hotels, including The Oriental, Bangkok, Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London. In total, the Group operates 19 luxury hotels in key leisure and business destinations, with two hotels under development, one in New York (opening late 2003) and the other in Tokyo (opening 2006). In total, Mandarin Oriental employs almost 9,000 staff in three continents with 10 hotels in Asia, six in North America and three in Europe.