Budget Travel Magazine today announced its first-ever Best Values list. The list, powered by TripAdvisor(R) and featured on the cover of the magazine's February issue, reveals the 132 best luxury hotels from around the world, according to TripAdvisor, with an average nightly rate of less than $250.

"The awards were created to spotlight the hotels that give travelers what they really want: A reliably satisfying experience at a reasonable price," said Erik Torkells, editor, Budget Travel Magazine. "We were thrilled to partner with TripAdvisor for our first-ever hotel awards program, to draw from their vast and reputable data to develop the list and feature traveler testimonials from their site for the winning hotels."

"We are happy to extend honoring the best hotels in the world to the Budget Travel audience," said Christine Petersen, senior vice president of marketing, TripAdvisor. "We've found that the Budget Travel reader and the TripAdvisor traveler have a lot in common. They're both looking for an outstanding travel experience at a reasonable price, so the partnership made great sense."

The winners were determined by a combination of the highest traveler ratings and the TripAdvisor Popularity Index, a measurement of overall traveler satisfaction. TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel community with more than 25 million monthly visitors to its sites and features more than 10 million reviews and opinions from real travelers. Budget Travel, founded by travel icon Arthur Frommer, now has 600,000 devoted subscribers.

  Top 10 Best Values in the World
  1.  Park Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, $227
  2.  Swissotel Berlin, Berlin, Germany, $158
  3.  Hilton Nuweiba Coral Resort, Nuweiba Egypt, $110
  4.  Iberostar Bavaro, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, $240
  5.  Crowne Plaza Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, $111
  6.  Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, $225
  7.  The Davis Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand, $105
  8.  Andel's Hotel Prague, Prague, Czech Republic, $250
  9.  Grand Oasis Marien, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, $250
  10. NH Budapest, Budapest, Hungary, $165

  Top 10 Best Values in the U.S.
  1.  Renaissance St. Louis Hotel Airport, St. Louis, Mo., $194
  2.  Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel, West Des Moines, Iowa, $100
  3.  Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, Los Angeles, Calif., $202
  4.  Marriott's Grande Vista, Orlando, Fla., $187
  5.  The Marquette, Minneapolis, Minn., $224
  6.  Ginn Reunion Resort, Celebration, Fla., $230
  7.  Embassy Suites Hotel Portland-Downtown, Portland, Ore., $157
  8.  Renaissance Arts Hotel, New Orleans, La., $185
  9.  Le Richelieu in the French Quarter, New Orleans, La., $138
  10. Moorpark Hotel, San Jose, Calif., $184

You can view the complete Best Values list of the winners at www.BudgetTravel.com/bestvalues.

About Budget Travel Magazine

Featuring must-know tips, hidden gems across the world, humorous stories, smart deals, and timely news, Budget Travel has become an indispensable guide for two million educated and sophisticated consumers. Surpassing the usual lineup of fantasy coffee-table magazines, Budget Travel redefines the travel category by integrating breathtaking imagery with valuable, practical knowledge, and inspiring yet affordable strategies for real vacationers. For more information please visit BudgetTravel.com.

About TripAdvisor Media Network

TripAdvisor(R) Media Network, operated by TripAdvisor, LLC, attracts nearly 30 million monthly visitors (source: comScore Media Metrix, Digital Calculator Report, July 2007) across eight popular travel brands, TripAdvisor(R) sites, bookingbuddy.com (TM), cruisecritic.com(TM), independenttraveler.com(TM), seatguru.com(R), smartertravel.com(TM), travel- library.com(TM) and travelpod.com(TM). TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million monthly visitors, five million registered members and 10 million reviews and opinions. Featuring real advice from real travelers, TripAdvisor-branded sites cover 280,000+ hotels and attractions and operate in the U.S. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/), the U.K. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/), Ireland (http://www.tripadvisor.ie/), France (http://www.tripadvisor.fr/), Germany (http://www.tripadvisor.de/), Italy (http://www.tripadvisor.it/), and Spain (http://www.tripadvisor.es/). TripAdvisor(R) Media Network provides travel suppliers with graphical advertising opportunities and a cost-per-click marketing platform. Collectively, the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network have won hundreds of awards and accolades from press and industry, worldwide. TripAdvisor and the sites comprising the TripAdvisor Media Network are operating companies of Expedia, Inc. .

TripAdvisor, Seatguru, Travel-library and Travelpod are either registered trademarks or trademarks of TripAdvisor LLC, in the U.S. and/or other countries. Bookingbuddy and Smartertravel are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Smarter Travel Media LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Cruise Critic and The Independent Traveler are either trademarks or registered trademarks of The Independent Traveler, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other logos or product and company names mentioned herein may be the property of their respective owners

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SOURCE: Budget Travel