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Top 5 Hotels: Africa
 1. The Table Bay Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa
CL readers rave for Table Bay’s combination of waterfront location, residential-style comfort, and personal service. A recent multimillion-dollar refurbishment updated all 329 rooms and suites to include marble butler stations and contemporary art. Sun International’s Michelin-starred executive chef Conrad Gallagher designed the restaurant’s new menu with local meats like springbok, and the spa delivers treatments with indigenous herbs and oils. 011-27-21-406-5000 or 011-27-11-780-7878, www.suninternational.co.za
2 Cape Grace, Cape Town, South Africa
Repeaters commend the Cape Grace staff for their ability to recall guest preferences, down to stocking the room with favored fruit, fresh flowers, and books in your native language. Gourmet mini-bars dispense global snacks from Turkish Delight to African Biltong. Don’t miss the spa’s African Cape Massage that draws from the khoi-san culture’s ceremonies, finished with a rain shower. After dinner, head to the bar, which stocks the largest collection of single malts south of the equator. (800) 223-6800 or 011-27-21-410-7100, www.capegrace.com
3. Mount Kenya Safari Club, Kenya
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts recently took over management of this safari specialist. Expect IT upgrades, room redos, a new pool, and a restaurant with views of Mount Kenya. 011-254-20-216940, www.fairmont.com/kenyasafariclub
4. La Mamounia, Marrakech
Owned by the King of Morocco, this art deco favorite is currently closed until early 2008 while French interior designer Jacques Garcia overhauls it. (800) 223-6800, www.mamounia.com
5. Mara Serena Safari Lodge, Kenya
This popular safari spot in the Masai Mara National Reserve recently introduced nighttime game drives to spy nocturnal porcupines, bush babies, hippos, civets, and more. 011-254-20-271-0511, www.serenahotels.com
Mainland U.S. | Hawaii | Canada | Mexico/Central America/South America | Caribbean | Europe | Asia | Africa | Australia/New Zeland/South Pacific | U.S. Business | International | Business | Family Resorts | Editor's Picks
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The Platinum List
Isn’t
it great to hear firsthand from a friend about a wonderful travel
experience, complete with tips on where to stay and where to play?
Welcome to the ever-popular Celebrated Living
Readers’ Choice Platinum List, which is like having more than 38,000
friends share their travel preferences in one superb best-of-the-best
list. And what a list it is: 130 luxury hotels, 48 legendary golf
courses, 26 sumptuous spas, and 10 top cruise lines.
Two
highlights of the survey, for me, actually take the form of statistics
— we received 10 percent more entries than last year, and a whopping 79
percent more of you reported you read Celebrated Living regularly. As editor, that’s music to my ears.
For your eyes, our Platinum List has a handsome new design, courtesy of CL’s
talented art director Marilyn Calley. The pages are fresh, engaging,
and filled with images that will make you say “I want to go there,” or,
also fun, “We’ve been there and loved it!” As one reader commented,
“These picks are a mix of places already visited and those I dream of
visiting.” See for yourself, beginning with a handy pullout compilation
list on page 49.
 Of
course, we wanted to entice and reward you for taking the time to weigh
in with your outstanding travel knowledge. Grand Prize winner Henry de
Lagarde is glad he participated. He was randomly chosen to win a
two-year lease on a 2007 Lincoln MKX, MKZ, or Navigator (he chose the
MKZ and is pictured with it here), and 500,000 American Airlines
AAdvantage miles. Ten Second Prize winners received 50,000 miles each.
Quite an incentive, I’d say.
We hope you’ll agree that the rest
of this summer issue is as entertaining and enlightening as the
Platinum List. There’s a feature story on Heidi Klum, a look at
chartering fabulous yachts, five great summer motorcycle rides and
several bikes to enjoy them with, a tour of several cool European
castles, and more. Or, for those weekends when you want to just sit
back and enjoy your own backyard, check out our cocktail story, with
recipes perfect for poolside sipping — and for contemplating where
you’d like to go next.
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