Melbourne's own Westin Hotel wins Qantas Frequent Flyer award

The Westin Melbourne, the most decorated Westin property in the world has been recognised by frequent flyers as one of the best leisure and business hotels in Australia.

Last year, the Westin was named in Conde Nast traveller's gold list as one of the best places to stay in the world, alongside the best luxury hotel in the Victorian Tourism Awards hall of fame amongst others.

Now consumers who travel frequently have named the Westin Melbourne in their favourite category. Qantas Frequent Flyers were asked to vote for their favourite qantas.com hotels across destinations and categories such as comfiest bed, best room, best view and more. The results are now being showcased in a spectacular minisite that has been integrated into 'Hotels' on qantas.com. www.qantas.com/hotels

Anne Jamieson, Sales and Marketing Director, the Westin Melbourne said, "This is a great honour. Qantas frequent flyers are connoisseurs of the industry. As world travellers, their taste is most discerning. So to be voted as one of their favourite hotels is certainly flattering."

She said, "Our guests love the Westin because of its unrivalled location in the heart of Melbourne, the welcoming staff and the sleek chic ambiance which epitomises the hotel."

About Westin Hotels & Resorts

With a portfolio of more than 150 properties around the world, Westin Hotels & Resorts is in the midst of the most robust growth period in the brand's 77-year history. Westin Hotels is the fastest growing upper-upscale brand in the world with plans to expand to more than 250 hotels in the next five years. Westin Hotels & Resorts is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT). Starwood Hotels is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 940 properties in more than 97 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood® Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, Sheraton®, Westin®, Four Points® by Sheraton, W®, Le Méridien® and the recently announced AloftSM and ElementSM Hotels. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 940 properties in approximately 97 countries and 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched AloftSM, and Element SM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

History of Holidays to Sharm -ul- Sheikh

Way back in the early nineties when the Red Sea came into prominence it was only Taba and Eilat just over the border that was known to the select few diving enthusiasts that had ‘discovered’ what that part of the world had known for a few thousand years before that ‘discovery’, that the Red Sea and the coral reefs nestled therein where pretty astounding; lets face it The Red Sea was parted by Moses himself, mentioned in the Old Testament so it wasn’t exactly a secret now was it, I mean how many people have read the bible? So to be fair let’s say this area was rediscovered by some diving enthusiasts, who fell in love with the gentle lapping waters of the Red Sea framing the golden sands of the desert. I have a strong belief that some parts of this world have a direct effect on your psyche, an effect that cannot be quantified or fully explained by the written word or the spoken word until it is seen by your very own naked eye, felt in the first breath of air you breathe in your lungs and felt with the warmth of the sun caressing bare arms and if you are lucky maybe a teeny tiny bit of breeze. This is what I felt back in 1992, when I crossed the desert from Eilat through Taba to the then unheard off Sharm El Sheikh with a select few travel agents been introduced to this part of the world. We travelled by coach across desert terrain, that was so uniformly golden it looked like we were in Gods very own brown crystal sugar bowl, I half expected a big old spoon with a mighty big hand to scoop up some desert sugar to stir into His imaginary coffee (my God drinks Coffee sorry tea lovers) that’s how I felt, but I have been known to have a fantasy life equal to Walter Mitty, so once again I am digressing and waxing lyrical. That was of course then, this is now, and in the last 17 years alone the little unknown resort with its two solitary hotels standing alone at the edge of the desert that I first came upon when I was first in Sharm el Sheikh has undergone a metamorphosis worthy of mention. At twenty four kilometres long this little desert place in Egypt has become the top holiday destination for us and our European cousins’. It is littered with a wide selection of five star hotels offering either very sophisticated ultra modern five stars like the Four Seasons Resort or smaller and more affordable three to generic tourist five star hotels, most offering all inclusive, but as a rule of thumb All Inclusive Hotels can get a bit repetitive after five days so be warned. Personally I have never really like the concept of All Inclusive, I much prefer exploring local foods and culture and staying in small and friendly guest houses, but nonetheless given the nature of Sharm El Sheikh holidays and the fact that it’s a purpose built resort, unless you are prepared to go deep into the desert and hunt down some very shy Bedouins puzzled by the mad English Person who is trying to go local, All Inclusive is the best option, of course if you are going to stay around Naama Bay, Sharks Bay or Ras Om El Seid Hill, you can get away with small BB’s and eat local but as most hotels stretch over some serious kilometres along the coastline of Sharm El Sheikh then All Inclusive is easier by far! If you are going on an All Inclusive Holiday in Sharm, remember that no two five star hotels where ever created equal, price IS the indicator here.

You have Tourist fives, and Family fives, and of course luxury five stars, an experienced travel agent will point you in the right direction and remember tripadvisor.com may be a good source of feedback both positive and negative, however, I have known many a client been undone by the good marks and points given by the people who have looked at Sultan Garden’s for example, but, and this you need to take into consideration, the Sultan Gardens is absolutely perfect if you are going as a family with children in tow, but an older couple with no children may find the Sultan Gardens teeming as it will be with lots of families with kids, doing what kids do on holiday may result in the hotel been unsuitable and a tad overwhelming, this means you would not enjoy it as much, so when you are looking at advise websites you really need to actually read between the lines and check out who has posted the review. Apart from where to stay of course Sharm El Sheikh is known for its diving and what a place to dive it is, if the Garden of Eden was meant to be beneath the sea, then this is where it would be. Once you have a snorkel on and your head submerged beneath the sea you are in a different world, a world brimful of colour, with every coral and every fish imaginable just there in front of you, you get to see the yellows and purples and the turquoise of all the darting little fish, the sway of sea anemones and the brain coral and best of all you are there, sensing and touching all these new and wonderful techni-coloured visual stimuli which bares no comparison to you gazing in brochures and on the internet at all the photos and snapshots.