---

SA hotels on 'world's best service' list

27 May 2013

Three Cape Town hotels have made it onto the "World's Best Service" list in the Africa and Middle East category in an international survey by the US edition of Travel and Leisure released in the magazine's June 2013 issue.

The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa took top spot, while the Cape Grace and the One & Only took second and fourth respectively.

The best service category of the magazine's annual "World Best Awards" survey aims to recognise the best hotels, resorts, airlines and cruise liners around the world as rated by its readers.

"Excellent service is a definitive factor in repeat visits by overseas travellers," Western Cape Finance, Economic Development and Tourism Minister Alan Winde said in a statement last week.

'Consistently striving for best service'

"I hope these awards serve as an inspiration to the Western Cape hospitality industry to consistently strive for the highest service levels.

"I am also confident these awards will encourage more international visitors to our world-class destination," Winde said.

Johannesburg's Saxon Boutique Hotel, Villas & Spa also featured on the best service list in the Africa and the Middle East category, scoring the same as the One & Only.

Singita Kruger National Park and Singita Sabi Sand also made their way onto the list, coming in at second and fifth respectively in the resorts and lodges category.

The overall results for best service were reached by surveying the general managers at the top 16 hotels in each region.

According to the results of this survey: 44% of general managers admit to using Google and Facebook to research guests prior to check-in; 31% ensure each guest is personally greeted by a manager upon arrival; 50% have a staff-to-guest ratio of at least 1.5 to 1; and 56% offer room service 24 hours a day.

Separately, Cape Town was last week ranked 16th in TripAdvisor's Traveler's Choice 2013 top 25 destinations in the world.

TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel website, and their Travelers' Choice awards are based on millions of reviews posted by reader through the course of the previous year.

SAinfo reporter