Conde Nast Traveler Best in the World 2017 (DR)

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Well, well... I have on my hands the November 2017 edition of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. This issue has its annual Best in the World ranking.

This is how the DR faired. Of all the categories, only in 'Resorts' was the DR put on the map.

Resorts
Caribbean Islands (Top 60)
11. Sanctuary Cap Cana (97.3)
18. Casa de Campo (95.98)
27. Iberostar Grand Hotel Bávaro (94.74)
41. Barceló Bávaro Palace (92.52)
50. Tortuga Bay (89.19)​

Its important to note that Tortuga Bay surpassed The Ritz-Carlton St Thomas and The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman; while Iberostar Grand Hotel Bávaro surpassed those as well as Four Seasons Anguilla and Four Seasons Nevis, plus the St Regis Bahia Resort in Puerto Rico. I mention this because Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and St Regis are very prestigious hotel brands, considered to be among the creme-de-la-creme within the hotel world. Iberostar shocked me the most! Obviously Casa de Campo and Sanctuary surpassed all those very luxurious hotels too, but again I wasn't expecting Iberostar to rank above any of these. Also notice that the Barceló Bávaro Palace also surpassed the Ritz-Carlton St Thomas and The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman. Unbelievable! lol
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Forgot the image.

Conde_Nast2017.jpg
 

Caonabo

LIFE IS GOOD
Sep 27, 2017
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Unfortunately for some, due to the storms of this past season, I would believe the RD resorts just may be rated a fair bit higher on the Conde scale as of now, for this point in time.
 

Kipling333

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Jan 12, 2010
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All these lists are fairy tales ..if you looked at the advertising in the magazines with the lists you would normally see an unhealthy correlation ...If you actually visited these places you would see that the overwhelming style is glossy and pretentiousness.
Over the many years that I have traveled around the world I have compiled a list of hotels that I find are comfortable,discreet and somewhat low key ...almost none are in lists and certainly none are chain hotels not even Oberoi and Shangri-la .I will never leave them unless they change hands or do something ghastly.
But each to their own, and the Conde Nast writers and readers are a particular breed of mainly middle class Americans that prefer hotels that others around the world may avoid.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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All these lists are fairy tales...
A lot of people follow the advice in magazines such as Conde Nast Traveler. The fact that five Dominican resorts appear on the list can only mean one thing, more people will take into consideration the DR for a quick vacation (especially the hotels that made it to the list.)

Kipling333 said:
But each to their own, and the Conde Nast writers and readers are a particular breed of mainly middle class Americans that prefer hotels that others around the world may avoid.
Not to get into a debate about this, but median household income among Conde Nast Traveler subscribers is actually on the upper end.

Of all the publications listed in the link below, only five have higher median household incomes and two of those are airline magazines. The Wall Street Journal has the highest.

http://megamediamarketing.com/demographics.html
 

Dr_Taylor

New member
Oct 18, 2017
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Over the many years that I have traveled around the world I have compiled a list of hotels that I find are comfortable,discreet and somewhat low key ...almost none are in lists and certainly none are chain hotels not even Oberoi and Shangri-la .I will never leave them unless they change hands or do something ghastly.
But each to their own, and the Conde Nast writers and readers are a particular breed of mainly middle class Americans that prefer hotels that others around the world may avoid.

You make a very, very good point. When I think of the few hotels that I used outside the US, you would not find any of them on a ranking. I like this fact. As you say, they were comfortable, DISCREET, and low key. The one in Brazil, for example, was obsessed with ensuring that I understood potential security concerns when I tried to pay the taxi drive in the street, although I did not think that it was a big deal.
 

Kipling333

Bronze
Jan 12, 2010
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Sorry NAL ,,the point I was trying ,unsuccessfully, to make is that the Conde Nast has in its range of magazines a readership that is predominantly American and of middle class .I was not referring to their income levels at any point .But not a subject worthwhile debating ,as you rightly say
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Turns out the second generation head of the magazine died at the beginning of this month.

S.I. Newhouse Jr., Who Turned Condé Nast Into a Magazine Powerhouse, Dies at 89


Interesting parts of the article:

Mr. Newhouse, known as Si, and his younger brother, Donald, inherited an impressive publishing empire from their father, Samuel I. Newhouse, and built it into one of the largest privately held fortunes in the United States, with estimates of the family wealth running over $12 billion at the turn of the 21st century. While Donald led the more profitable newspaper and cable television operations, Si took charge of the more glamorous magazine division, Condé Nast.

Much of that glamour was created under Si Newhouse’s direction. Though he was a shy man and often painfully awkward in public, Mr. Newhouse hired some of the most charismatic magazine editors of the late 20th century, among them Tina Brown and Graydon Carter at Vanity Fair and Diana Vreeland and Anna Wintour at Vogue, and encouraged them to behave like the celebrities they extolled in his publications.

Newhouse magazines were criticized for exalting the rich and famous through articles that gave their personal foibles and professional exploits equal importance. But as circulation and advertising revenues at his periodicals soared, other publishers took up the glitz-and-scandal approach to journalism. By the end of the 20th century, even the most serious newspapers and magazines offered profiles of entertainers, businesspeople, artists and politicians that balanced weighty accomplishment with juicy gossip.

His magazines came to stand for a golden era of publishing and became an integral part of the culture they were covering.
 

Caonabo

LIFE IS GOOD
Sep 27, 2017
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I think we can all agree that after the recent storm season of this year, the RD will see an uptick in visitors this season. It's not like all vacationers will now redirect to French Polynesia instead. Good luck to all business owners who stand to gain after some very lean times indeed. Such is business.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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I was told that the grandson of S.I. Newhouse Jr was in this documentary made by Jamie Johnson.

I checked it out and it's true. He could be the head of Condé Nast in the future. Hopefully by that time the DR will appear in other lists and not just in the 'Resorts' list of the world's best.

If anyone is interested, he appears in the following time intervals:

7:09 - 8:25
15:47 - 16:38
21:58 - 24:03
41:13 - 41:23
57:01 - 57:26
58:51 - 59:13
1:00:13 - 1:01:19

[video=youtube;km_JmxnzTvc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km_JmxnzTvc[/video]
 

monfongo

Bronze
Feb 10, 2005
1,202
145
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I think weather plays a big part in who's going to be headed for the Caribbean etc. If they have a mild winter in north America as they did last yr. a lot of people will stay home.