TripAdvisor Unveils U.K's Best Hotels

By Tripadvisor, PRNE
Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Ninth Annual Awards Dominated by Small, Independent Properties

LONDON, January 19, 2011 - TripAdvisor(R), the world's largest travel site, today
unveiled the very best of British hotels in its ninth annual Travellers'
Choice(R) Hotel awards.

The awards recognise the best hotels around the world across categories
including best budget, best luxury, best B&B and best service. Unlike any
other hotel awards, TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice awards are based on the
experiences of millions of travellers from around the world.

This year small and independently-owned properties dominate
the UK's Top 25 hotels category. This follows on from a recent TripAdvisor
poll revealing that more than half (56%)* of Britons consider a hotel's brand
'not important' in their holiday selection.

"These awards celebrate the stars of the British hotel
industry, yet global brands are conspicuously missing from the Top 25 list
this year," comments Emma O'Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson. "British B&Bs
have performed extraordinarily well too, but in terms of value there is still
work to be done to convince tourists that British hotels offer good value for
money."

Despite good news for Britain's B&B industry, with the UK all
but dominating this global category, the same cannot be said for those hoping
for a value break - not a single UK property features in this year's European
Top 10 'Bargain Hotels' category, despite a favourable exchange for most
travellers coming to Britain this year.

Best of British Third Year Running

For the third consecutive year, Rudding Park Hotel in
Harrogate, Yorkshire has been awarded the coveted accolade of Britain's Best
Hotel.

Peter Banks, managing director of Rudding Park comments on his 2011
Travellers Choice Hotel award, ""We are thrilled to receive the TripAdvisor
Award for Best Hotel in the UK for the third year running, proving that an
independent Yorkshire hotel can match and beat the most famous names in
British Hospitality".

"At Rudding Park we believe that TripAdvisor is one of our most powerful
marketing and service improvement tools. The Management automatically
receives the TripAdvisor reviews and respond to them on a daily basis.
Potential guests can read honest reviews about the standards which we aim to
achieve, enabling them to choose Rudding Park over our competitors."

The second best hotel in Britain this year is The Old Rectory
in Exmoor, Devon and third place goes to Boskerris Hotel in St. Ives,
Cornwall.

Budget Blow for British Hotels

As VAT rises and the budget cuts take hold, budget-conscious
travellers will be disappointed to hear that not a single British hotel made
it into this year's European 'Bargain Hotels' list, which was highly
populated with Eastern European hotels.

"The recent TripAdvisor 2011 Travel Trends research revealed
that fewer Brits are planning to take a domestic holiday this year, a trend
which could be attributed to the perceived lack of high-quality, low-price
accommodation in the UK made clear through the Traveller's Choice Awards,"
continued TripAdvisor's Emma O'Boyle.

London Left Behind

While parts of the country, particularly Devon, excel in this
year's awards, the UK's capital is not shining as brightly. With the 2012
Olympics on the horizon, the world's eyes will soon be on London - a city
conspicuous in its absence from the UK's top 25 hotels.

This is the second consecutive year in which the capital
failed to produce finalists in the top 25 UK hotels list. With the countdown
on and only 18 months to go, it's likely London's hospitality industry will
be working hard to make sure London performs as a world-class tourism
destination next year.

World-Class British B&Bs

The good old B&B is a UK institution so it's fantastic news
that Britain's B&Bs are officially the best in the world, with six British
properties ranking among the world's top ten. Scotland's The Old Manse in
Invermoriston has been crowned number one in the world.

For the complete 2011 Traveller's Choice list and for more
reviews, opinions and candid holiday photographs, go to
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice

NOTES TO EDITORS:

AWARDS SELECTION

The TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice award winners for 2011 were determined
by a combination of TripAdvisor's Popularity Index and traveller ratings of
specific property attributes. TripAdvisor's Popularity Index is a proprietary
algorithm that determines traveller satisfaction based on a variety of
sources, including TripAdvisor hotel reviews. The hotel review process on
TripAdvisor also allows travellers to "grade" hotels based on a variety of
attributes, including cleanliness, value and suitability for specific types
of travellers.

+Poll carried out on 1,265 TripAdvisor users on
www.tripadvisor.co.uk in January 2011.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor(R) is the world's largest travel site, enabling travelers to
plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real
travelers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features
(including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and TripAdvisor Trip Friends)
with seamless links to booking tools.

TripAdvisor(R) Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor LLC, attracts more
than 50 million unique monthly visitors* across 17 popular travel brands**.
TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world,
with more than 40 million unique monthly visitors***, 20 million members, and
over 40 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 27 countries
worldwide****, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also operates
TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism
industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors. The division
includes Business Listings, which allows hoteliers to connect directly to
millions of researching travelers, and Vacation Rentals, which helps property
managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel
alternatives.

TripAdvisor Media Group websites have been recognized as top travel
resources in 2010 by Conde Nast Traveller, Good Housekeeping, TIME magazine
and Travel + Leisure.

TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Group are
operating companies of Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE).

TripAdvisor, Travelers' Choice and the TripAdvisor logo are trademarks or
registered trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property
of their respective owners.

(c)2011 TripAdvisor LLC. All rights reserved.

*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Media Group Sites,
Worldwide, August 2010

** In addition to TripAdvisor, The TripAdvisor Media Group of websites
includes: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com,
www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com,
www.flipkey.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk,
www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.independenttraveler.com,
www.onetime.com, www.seatguru.com, www.sniqueaway.com,
www.smartertravel.com, www.travel-library.com,
www.travelpod.com, www.virtualtourist.com and
www.kuxun.cn.

***Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, Worldwide, August
2010

**** TripAdvisor sites operate in 27 countries worldwide:
www.tripadvisor.com, www.tripadvisor.co.uk,
www.tripadvisor.ca, www.tripadvisor.it,
www.tripadvisor.es, www.tripadvisor.de,
www.tripadvisor.fr, www.tripadvisor.jp, www.daodao.com,
www.tripadvisor.in, www.tripadvisor.se,
nl.tripadvisor.com, www.tripadvisor.com.br,
www.tripadvisor.com.tr, www.tripadvisor.dk,
www.tripadvisor.com.mx, www.tripadvisor.ie,
www.tripadvisor.com.au, www.tripadvisor.com.sg,
www.tripadvisor.co.kr, no.tripadvisor.com,
pl.tripadvisor.com, th.tripadvisor.com,
www.tripadvisor.ru, www.tripadvisor.com.gr/,
www.tripadvisor.co.id and www.tripadvisor.com.ar.

2011 TRIPADVISOR TRAVELLERS' CHOICE AWARDS HIGHLIGHTS :

For the full results, please see link

TOP 25 UK HOTELS (as voted by Europe)

Figure in brackets denotes 2010 ranking

1. Rudding Park Hotel, Harrogate, Yorkshire (1)

2. The Old Rectory Hotel, Exmoor National Park, Devon (11)

3. Boskerris Hotel, St. Ives, Cornwall (3)

4. Charterhouse Hotel, Torquay, Devon (5)

5. Abbot's Brae Hotel, Dunoon, Scotland

6. Overwater Hall, Lake District, Cumbria

7. Elmdene Hotel, Torquay, Devon

8. Can-y-Bae, Llandudno, North Wales (4)

9. Haytor Hotel, Torquay, Devon

10. Apsley House Hotel, Bath, Somerset (12)

11. The Seawood Hotel, Exmoor National Park, Devon

12. Yeoldon House Hotel, Bideford, Devon (16)

13. Kingsley Lodge, Peak District, Derbyshire

14. Dunkery Beacon Hotel, Exmoor National Park, Devon (9)

15. The Clarence Hotel, Portsmouth, Hampshire (14)

16. The Clontarf Hotel, Llandudno, Wales

17. Tara Lodge, Belfast, Northern Ireland

18. Hillside, Ventnor, Isle of Wight

19. Avalon Beach Hotel, Bournemouth, Dorset (8)

20. Broad House Hotel, Wroxham, Norwich

21. The Plough Inn, Llandeilo, Wales

22. Hotel Una, Brighton, East Sussex (18)

23. Swinside Lodge Hotel, Keswick, Cumbria

24. Green Bough Hotel, Chester, Cheshire

25. Tremarne Hotel, Mevagissey, Cornwall (15)

BEST B&Bs IN THE WORLD (as voted by the world)

1. The Old Manse, (Invermoriston, Scotland)

2. Casa Portagioia, (Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy)

3. Saltcote Place (Rye, East Sussex, England)

4. Riverside Hotel (Ambleside, Cumbria, England)

5. Number One B&B (Deal, Kent, England)

6. The Twenty One (Brighton, East Sussex, England)

7. Sedona Views Bed and Breakfast (Sedona, USA)

8. Creston Villa Guest House (Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England)

9. Wildwood Manor Bed and Breakfast (San Juan Island, USA)

10. Saubhag Bed and Breakfast (New Delhi, India)

BEST SERVICE IN EUROPE (as voted by the world)

Figure in brackets denotes ranking in Top 10

Abbot's Brae Hotel, Dunoon , Scotland (7)

Boskerris Hotel, St. Ives, Cornwall, England (8)

TRENDIEST HOTELS IN EUROPE (as voted by the world)

Figure in brackets denotes ranking in Top 10

Hotel Missoni, Edinburgh, Scotland (2)

MyHotel, Brighton, East Sussex, England (4)

For further information, images or media interviews, please contact:

Laurel Greatrix, TripAdvisor - +44(0)777-801-3639 /
lgreatrix@tripadvisor.com

For further information, images or media interviews, please contact: Laurel Greatrix, TripAdvisor - +44(0)777-801-3639 / lgreatrix at tripadvisor.com

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