The Business Traveler U.S. Awards 2022: Hotels

The hotel industry achieved record numbers in bookings this year, as they welcomed business and leisure travelers back. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts came out on top in three categories, including Best Wellness Resort. What are the Best Business Hotel Brands around the world, and who has the Best Loyalty Program? Check out our complete list of winners before you book your next stay.

Marriott Hotels & Resorts

Five Business Traveler U.S. Travel Awards

London Marriott Hotel County Hall / Photo: Courtesy of Marriott Hotels and Resorts

On a trajectory toward becoming the largest hospitality company on the planet, it is no surprise that Marriott International is garnering awards including Best Business Hotel Brand in Europe and Best Brand for Extended Stays. Learn why the company—which includes some 30 brands—earned five awards this year.

Pebble Beach Resorts

Best Golf Resort

Pebble Beach Resorts, 18th hole / Photo: Sherman Chu

A “must play” for every golfer who has watched the U.S. Open conclude here beside the pounding waves of the Pacific, Pebble Beach takes this year’s trophy. In addition to the spectacular holes along the ocean on the Links, the resort offers play at nearby Spyglass Hill, The Inn at Spanish Bay, Del Monte and the nine-hole Hay course redesigned by Tiger Woods. A room overlooking dunes and surf at Spanish Bay or among the intimate Mediterranean luxury of Casa Palmero complete the perfect resort recipe. Even the burger at The Tap Room is famous here—as you may also be, when the announcement comes over the loudspeaker that next up on the first tee is…you. —Jeff Wallach

IHG Hotels & Resorts

Best Business Hotel Company in North America

Crowne Plaza Norcross, Common Area / Photo: Ryan Long Photography

With companies including InterContinental, Kimpton and Indigo, IHG Hotels has nearly a million rooms on offer, with more to come. The company’s IHG Business Edge program has been developed specifically for small to medium business enterprises. The one-stop-shop portal provides a customized place to manage company travel, gain discounts and access amenities and services, plus earn upgrades to IHG One Rewards Silver Elite status after just one Business Edge stay. Meet peers and fellow businesses online and access bonus stays at some of the world’s top hotels. —Lark Gould

The Peninsula Hotels

Best Sustainable Hotel in North America

The Living Room at The Peninsula Beverly Hills / Photo: Courtesy of Peninsula Hotels

The peninsula hotels’ commitment to the planet can be seen in such important policies as sustainable food sourcing, plant-based cuisine, robust food donation programs and reduction of water use. In North America, the luxury brand formed a partnership with La Bottega hotel toiletries, resulting in a vegan line free of parabens, silicone, gluten and soy, and contained in packaging that is 99.9 percent free of single-use petroleum plastics. Shower caps, toothbrushes and razors are now made from cornstarch, wheat, wood and recycled metal. In addition, look for rooftop gardens and urban farms at properties in New York and Beverly Hills. —Lark Gould

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Best Hotel Brand in the Caribbean
Best Luxury Hotel Brand

Le Cinq restaurant located in the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris / Photo: Peter Vitale

An icon of luxury since Isadore Sharp opened the first location in Toronto in 1961, the Four Seasons brand is still going strong 61 years later. The hospitality leader now operates some 120 hotels and resorts, 45 residential properties in major city centers, and aspirational destinations in 47 countries—with more than 50 projects in the pipeline. The company recently unveiled its Luxury Is Our Love Language campaign, celebrating the brand’s original approach to the very best in hospitality.

As an example of that philosophy, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts was noted this year for having the most Michelin stars held by a single luxury hospitality brand: 28 stars across 21 restaurants in 16 hotels around the world. This culinary success has been led by Paris’ Four Seasons Hotel George V, which has maintained its three stars at Le Cinq as well as single stars at Le George and L’Orangerie.

Closer to home, the Caribbean has three Four Seasons options to consider: Nevis, Anguilla and the Bahamas. Each offers a stay different from the others—one shrouded in the mists of a mountain retreat, one fanning out to a personal beachfront, and one evoking old-world elegance. Still to come is Four Seasons Caye Chapel, an island complex of overwater bungalows and private residences at the edge of the Belize Barrier Reef. “The demand for luxury experiences is stronger than ever, and we continue to enhance our portfolio and empower our people to reach even higher, always pushing the boundaries to create exceptional experiences,” says Four Seasons president Christian Clerc. —Lark Gould

Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort

Best Wellness Resort

Sensei Lanai, A Four Seasons Resort / Photo: Robb Aaron Gordon

Tranquil banyan forests and lush clifftop gardens are the perfect ingredients for rest and relaxation—but at the Sensei Lanai, scenery is only an hors d’oeuvre. This adults-only Four Seasons escape draws guests to Hawaii’s smallest inhabited island, Lanai, with a robust wellness menu: cutting-edge fitness, thermal body mapping, meditation gardens, spa treatments, infrared saunas, plunge pools, aquatherapy and lakeside yoga. Through private meetings with specialists, guests unlock curated wellness action plans, such as mindset training or nutrition. Clean cuisine at the fresh and on-site Nobu restaurant is the Sensei Lanai’s ultimate cherry on top. —Stephanie Vermillion

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts

Best Business Hotel Brand in Asia

Sora Skybar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia / Photo: Andrew Loiterton

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts gets this year’s accolades for its rapid rise in Asia, from Hong Kong to Rajasthan, showcasing the company’s evocative design and sensibility in some of the world’s most compelling destinations. Rosewood manages more than 30 luxury hotels, resorts and residences in 17 countries, with 24 new properties under development. In Asia, Rosewood is choosing business hubs in China to offer its properties, each with a focus on sense of place, whether in wellness, cuisine, interior comforts or exquisite flows. New properties in Cambodia and Thailand are also gracing the portfolio. Look for openings in Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Ningbo, Hôi An, India and the Philippines as the decade rolls out. —Lark Gould

Kimpton Hotels

Best Boutique Hotel Brand

Peacock Room, Kimpton Hotel Fontenot New Orleans / Photo: Cris Molina for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants

Though some may find it surprising to hear the winner of this award, Kimpton has long offered a smaller, more intimate product than its brand competitors, making it ideal for company getaways, meetings or retreats. Indeed, when founder Bill Kimpton launched the brand with the Clarion Bedford Hotel in San Francisco in 1981, he aspired to recreate the smaller hotels he enjoyed in Europe (current properties in Key West and Santa Barbara offer fewer than 50 rooms). Acquired by InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in 2015, the San Francisco-based brand is one of the fastest growing in the portfolio, with new properties cropping up in Australia, New Orleans and Thailand. Unusual amenities such as sunset lamps and virtual therapy are just some of its outside-the-box takes on what a hotel experience can offer. —Lark Gould