NEW YORK — Hoi An has sky-rocketed to the upper echelon of Asia’s most alluring cities, according to the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2013.
After cracking the top-10 list for the first time last year, Hoi An now ranks as the second most popular city in the Far East, bested only by Kyoto in Japan.
“Readers fell in love with the ‘colorful houses and old mansions,’ which ‘felt like walking in a movie,’” Condé Nast Traveler reported in its annual survey, which many rank as the most coveted recognition in the worldwide travel industry.
Announced in New York on Oct. 15, the results of Condé Nast Traveler’s 26th annual survey placed five Vietnamese hotels and resorts on the prestigious travel magazine’s list of top hospitality properties.
The 112-year-old Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi ranked fifth among the Top 25 Hotels in Southeast Asia. The Park Hyatt Saigon, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi and Sofitel Saigon Plaza also scored top-25 finishes on the same list.
The Nam Hai won a spot among the top 10 resorts in Asia, up from a 14th-place finish last year. No other resort in Vietnam made the list.
Some 79,268 participants cast 1.3 million votes for 16,000 properties nominated in this year's Readers' Choice Awards. Just 46,476 readers participated last year.
The survey was first launched in 1988 by Condé Nast, one of the world's most prestigious magazine publishers. This year’s voting was conducted through a secure website, with responses tabulated by Equation Research. Readers evaluated candidates on a set of criteria using a standard five-point scale. Properties had to receive a required minimum number of responses to be eligible for an award.
