Monterey County hotels, resorts and restaurants are among the world's best, according to several recent travel publication surveys. Conde Nast Traveler's 2003 Reader's Choice Awards named Post Ranch Inn number one in its 'Top 75 North American Hotels' list. The Big Sur property also tied for first in the overall 'Best of the Best 2003' category, which includes resorts, hotels and cruise lines from all over the world. The Lodge at Pebble Beach topped the list of 'Top 75 North American Resorts,' and also placed 22nd on the Best of the Best list. Carmel's Highlands Inn Park Hyatt and Bernardus Lodge in the Carmel Valley also placed 51st and 61st, respectively, among top North American hotels in Conde Nast Traveler's annual survey of more than 28,000 readers.

Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, in its 25th year of publication, released its list of the world's top hotels, resorts and hideaways for sophisticated travelers in September. Post Ranch was named the best U.S. Resort Hideaway (among those with fewer than 50 rooms), and ranked fourth in the list of 'Top 20 U.S. Resort Hotels.' That same list also included Bernardus Lodge, which placed 20th.

The 2004 Zagat survey shows that Marinus Restaurant at Bernardus tied for top-scoring restaurant in the San Francisco area. The Carmel Valley favorite also placed among the top picks for California cuisine, winning wine list, tasting menu, romance and location. In addition, Zagat recognized 12 other Monterey County restaurants with top scores of 22 (out of 29) or higher.

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Media Contact: Julie Armstrong +1 831-657-6405 julie@mccvb.org