2013 Travel Awards Expert Panel

Best Capital City Hotel

Park Hyatt Sydney

It’s got location, looks and luxury, but the real triumph of the revamped Park Hyatt Sydney, which reopened last year after a thorough $65-million makeover, is the elevation of those harbour views to centre stage. sydney.park.hyatt.com

Best Hotel or Resort Dining

Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld, Vic

We’re blessed with many fine hotel and resort restaurants but few offer the luxury of time like the Royal Mail Hotel. Here, at the base of the southern Grampians in western Victoria, there is only the beauty of nature to distract from the pleasures of the plate. This is not just dinner; it’s a bucolic experience that has inspired a pilgrimage route to Dunkeld. royalmail.com.au

Best Australian Island Resort

Qualia, Hamilton Island, Qld

What can we say about Qualia that we haven’t written before? Hamilton Island’s pin-up resort has been one of the most prolific winners of our Travel Awards since it débuted in 2007. It was our Best New Accommodation in 2008 and Best Resort Accommodation in 2009. In 2010 it scooped the double of Best Spa or Health Retreat and Best Hotel Villas or Suites. And we could go on, with Qualia winning three more awards in 2011 and 2012 combined, both from our expert panel and as voted by you, our readers. qualia.com.au

Best Indigenous Tourism Experience

Voyages Indigenous Tourism at Uluru-Kata Tjuta, NT

Since Voyages Indigenous Tourism purchased Ayers Rock Resort in 2011, the change has been nothing short of remarkable. Aside from an ambitious renewal program that’s given the ageing Sails in the Desert hotel a $38million make­over, the big shift has been the focus on indigenous employment and interaction. And you thought the rock was inspiring. voyages.com.au

Most Outstanding Service

Southern Ocean Lodge, SA

For all those who would deride Australian service as an oxymoron, we give you Southern Ocean Lodge. Entering the aptly named Great Room of this Kangaroo Island showpiece is less like arriving at a hotel than at a particularly fabulous private home, where house guests are welcomed on a first-name basis and treated to superb hospitality throughout their stay. southernoceanlodge.com.au

Standout Australian Travel Experience

MONA, Hobart

From the moment it opened, it was obvious MONA was never going to rest on its laurels. David Walsh’s exhilarating Museum of Old and New Art thrilled and challenged visitors from the beginning and has continued to do so thanks to Walsh’s restless vision. mona.net.au

Hottest International City

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This is, by any measure, Rio’s moment. We’ve long admired the Brazilian beauty’s extraordinary physical setting of dense jungle, soaring cliffs and some of the world’s sultriest and liveliest resort beaches. But the one-time Brazilian capital is about to shimmer more brightly than ever as the host of the two biggest sporting events on earth – the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016. rioguiaoficial.com.br