TripAdvisor, the leading travel research site, today announced the 2004 hotels included in its annual TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice list. Using its proprietary Hotel Popularity Index, each year TripAdvisor ranks the top hotels across six continents, based on the quantity and quality of information found on the Internet. A new category has been added this year to the list: Top Bed & Breakfasts in the United States.

The TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice list is based on the wealth of online travel information collected by TripAdvisor. Articles, TripAdvisor.com member reviews written by the over 10 million worldwide visitors each month, guidebook listings and web comments all factor into a hotel's ranking. The more positive information published on the web about a hotel, the higher the hotel's ranking.

"The Traveler's Choice list represents what savvy travelers and we at TripAdvisor recognize as key: having a great vacation is not just about price but about the right hotel -- with the perfect location, service, amenities -- at the right price," said Christine Petersen, VP marketing at TripAdvisor. "These are the hotels that our members say are simply the best."

  The TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Overall Hotel List for 2004:
   United States: JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort, Spa & Golf, Las Vegas*
   Canada: Hotel Gault, Montreal
   Mexico: Ritz-Carlton Cancun, Cancun
   Caribbean: The Caves, Negril, Jamaica
   Europe: Hotel Lancaster, Paris, France
   Asia and South Pacific: Peninsula Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
   Central and South Americas: Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica, Prov. Of
                               Guanacaste, Costa Rica
   United States Bed and Breakfasts: Nassau House, Key West, Florida

  The TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Hotel List for 2004 within Top Regions:
   United States:
    Chicago: Sofitel Chicago Water Tower
    Honolulu: Halekulani Hotel
    Las Vegas: JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort, Spa & Golf*
    Miami Beach: Pelican Hotel
    New Orleans: Homewood Suites New Orleans
    New York City: Sofitel New York
    Orlando: The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
    San Diego: Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter*
    San Francisco: Mandarin Oriental Hotel
    Washington, DC: Willard InterContinental Washington*

   United States Bed & Breakfasts:
    Charlottesville: Foxfield Inn
    Hilo: Waterfalls Inn Bed and Breakfast
    Key West: Nassau House
    Napa: Candlelight Inn
    New Orleans: 1896 O'Malley House Bed and Breakfast
    Santa Fe: Inn of the Five Graces
    Savannah: Ballastone Inn
    Seekonk: Historic Jacob Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast
    Traverse City: Country Hermitage Bed and Breakfast
    Williams: Legacies Bed and Breakfast

   Canada:
    Montreal: Hotel Gault
    Niagara Falls: Renaissance Fallsview Hotel
    Vancouver: Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel

   Mexico:
    Acapulco: Las Brisas Acapulco
    Cabo San Lucas: The Bungalows Hotel
    Cancun: Ritz-Carlton Cancun
    Guadalajara: Hotel Cervantes
    Playa del Carmen: Kailuum ii, Playa del Carmen
    Puerto Vallarta : Four Seasons Punta Mita
    San Miguel de Allende: Casa Luna Hotel

   Caribbean:
    Havana: NH Parque Central Hotel
    Negril: The Caves
    Ocho Rios: Jamaica Inn
    Oranjestad: Golden Tulip Bucuti Beach Resort
    Paradise Island: One & Only Ocean Club
    Puerto Plata: Iberostar Costa Dorada
    St. Kitts: Marriott St Kitts Royal Resort

   Europe:
    Barcelona: The Hotel Arts Barcelona
    Dublin: Merrion Hotel
    London: Cranley Hotel
    Madrid: Villa Real Hotel
    Munich: Mandarin Oriental -- Munich
    Paris: Hotel Lancaster
    Prague: Four Seasons Prague
    Rome: Hotel Santa Maria
    Venice: San Clemente Palace

   Asia & South Pacific:
    Auckland: Crowne Plaza Auckland
    Bangkok: The Peninsula -- Bangkok
    Beijing: The Peninsula Palace Beijing
    Bora Bora: Hotel Bora Bora
    Hong Kong: Peninsula Hong Kong
    Sydney: The Observatory Hotel
    Tokyo: Park Hyatt Tokyo

   Central & South Americas:
    Boquete, Panama: La Montana y el Valle, Coffee Estate Inn
    Buenos Aires: Alvear Palace Hotel
    Prov. of Guanacaste, Costa Rica: Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica
    Rio de Janeiro: Copacabana Palace Hotel
    Santiago: Hotel Orly

  *Also on 2003 Traveler's Choice List

  Methodology
   -- TripAdvisor's proprietary search technology continuously scours the
      web for articles, reviews and opinions published on various travel
      topics including hotel properties
   -- TripAdvisor.com's 10 million members rate and write reviews on 100,000
      hotel properties worldwide
   -- TripAdvisor assigns each hotel a "popularity index" based on the
      quantity and quality of data
   -- TripAdvisor then ranks the hotels in each city and then region based
      on their web popularity score

  About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor, Inc. provides a comprehensive travel search engine that helps consumers research their travel plans via the web, and gives them direct access to major online travel suppliers, including Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, hotels.com, and American Airlines, for booking upcoming trips. TripAdvisor.com is the 8th most popular travel website worldwide, according to comScore Media Metrix (September, 2004), and has won dozens of awards, including PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites and Forbes Best of the Web. The company also offers travel suppliers a performance-based marketing medium that generates average click-through rates of over 10% per page. TripAdvisor is part of IAC Local and Media Services, an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp . For more information, visit http://www.tripadvisor.com/.

"TripAdvisor" is a trademark of TripAdvisor, Inc. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners

SOURCE: TripAdvisor