The Princeville Resort on Kaua‘i’s Northshore was voted the number five “newcomer” by the prestigous Zagat Survey. In fact, the Zagat Survey’s 2005 America’s Top Restaurant Guide and 2005 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts & Spas Guide contain a lot of
The Princeville Resort on Kaua‘i’s Northshore was voted the number five “newcomer” by the prestigous Zagat Survey. In fact, the Zagat Survey’s 2005 America’s Top Restaurant Guide and 2005 Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts & Spas Guide contain a lot of reasons for Hawai‘i to boast.
Alan Wong’s is listed as Honolulu’s top restaurant, with a food rating of 28 out of a possible 30.
And Hawai‘i took three of six slots for top resorts in the world, with the Four Seasons Hualalai, Big Island taking first, the Four Seasons at Wailea, Maui, taking second, the Lodge at Koele, Lana‘i, taking sixth.
A little known fact is that Hawai‘i-born Clifford Harrison of Kailua, O‘ahu, took the top slot in the country for his Atlanta- based restaurant, Bacchanalia. Coincidently, Harrison is the first-cousin of a staff writer at The Garden Island.
Zagat Survey’s America’s Top Restaurants covers 1,383 of the best restaurants in 41 major U.S. markets. Its Top U.S. Hotels, Resorts and Spas selection covers 1,021 hotels, resorts and spas as well as major chains in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“The healthy increases in consumer spending on dining and travel are signs of returned consumer confidence,” said Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. “The personal leisure category, especially the domestic segment, is benefiting the most from this trend with people dining out for pleasure with greater frequency and planning more vacations than in the last few years. Also, as time goes by, more and more people are returning to the airways for their vacations.”
In addition to rating and reviewing the nation’s best restaurants and travel destinations, the two new Surveys measured consumer sentiment regarding other topical issues:
Sunny Skies – The most frequent diners in the country also happen to live in the cities with the warmest climates: Los Angeles (3.8 restaurant visits per week), Miami (3.6) and Las Vegas (3.6). Meanwhile, diners in the East report eating out the least: Boston (3.0) times per week), Washington, DC (2.8) and Philadelphia (2.6). The weekly national average is 3.2.
Buono Apetito – In every market surveyed, Italian is Americans’ preferred cuisine with 31 pecent citing it as their favorite fare. While Asian cuisines continue to surge in popularity with 25 percent of diners reporting these foods as their favorites, French continues to lose ground with only 14 percent of the vote, down from 16 percent last year.
Go 76ers – Philadelphians are the most generous in the nation, leaving an average tip of 19.2 percent while Atlanta diners are a close second at 19.1 percent. Westerners are more tight-fisted — San Francisco (18.2 percent), Los Angeles (18.2 percent) and Seattle (18.0 percent).
Where There’s Smoke There’s Ire – Four out of five surveyors think smoking should be banned in restaurants. Allaying industry concerns about the effect of smoking bans on business, 26 percent of customers say they’d eat out more often if a ban were put into effect and a mere 3 percent say less. In cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles where smoking has already been banned, the support is even stronger with more than 70 percent of diners saying they would eat out less if the bans were repealed.
Service Please! – In both the Restaurant and Hotel surveys, participants overwhelmingly cite poor service as their greatest irritant. Whereas 72 percent of diners complain about service, only 5 percent gripe about bad food or prices. Meanwhile, 59 percent of travelers say poor service irritates them most. Dirty rooms (17 percent) and noisy guests (12 percent) take distant second and third places.
Web Bookings -Online travel planning has taken off with 69 percent of travelers reporting that they usually book their travel on the Web, an astonishing increase of 20 percent versus two years ago. Use of travel agents has declined by 12 percent in just two years with only 13 percent of surveyors citing agencies as their preferred planning method.
Take a Bite out of the Big Apple – When asked, “What is the best U.S.city to visit?” 38 percent of surveyors say New York. San Francisco is a strong second choice with 22 percent of the vote. Las Vegas (6 percent), Chicago (6 percent) and New Orleans (4percent) round out the top five.
Let’s Get Physical – Travelers rate fitness centers as the most important amenity when traveling for business followed by daily newspaper delivery, frequent guest programs, wireless Internet connections and Club Level floors.
Bargain USA – Both Surveys indicate U.S. travel is a big bargain when compared to major international cities. For example, meal costs in Tokyo, Paris and London are respectively $72.68, $64.75 and $64.67 in contrast to the U.S. average of $31.51. Hotel rates show similar discrepancies.
