London - It was up against idyllic tropical hideaways and exclusive villas, but a modest-looking hotel in Chester has been voted the best in the world.
Seven-bedroom Edgar House was judged the number one small hotel worldwide by members of internet review site TripAdvisor in its annual travellers’ choice awards.
Of the 25 small hotels on the list, South Africa was featured twice: at number 11 is the Villa Afrikana Guest Suites in Knysna and at 16 is 2Inn1 Kensington in Cape Town.
Edgar House is perched on the city’s ancient walls overlooking the River Dee. it opened less than three years ago in a grand Georgian house, but has already won a string of accolades.Of more than 400 reviews posted on the popular – but controversial – reviews site, all but three have rated it ‘excellent’. (The remainder settled for ‘very good’.)
Happy guests include former 007 Sir Roger Moore, who visited last year with his wife Kristina and later thanked the owners on Twitter for his ‘very pleasant stay’.
Hotel guide Alastair Sawday’s describes Edgar House as a ‘super cool bolthole with a position that’s hard to beat, Chester’s equivalent of the royal box’. It beat the globe’s most exclusive hotels with fewer than 30 rooms, including The Place luxury villas on the Thai island of Ko Tao and the intimate La Minerva on the Italian resort of Capri.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Hotels-cSmall
Daily Mail, IOL