Virtuoso has announced its nominees for its 2012 “Best of the Best” Hotel Awards. Only 50 properties are under consideration for the awards that include “Best Achievement in Design,” “Most Socially Responsible” and “Hotel of the Year.” Editors of Virtuoso Life magazine, the network’s publication, reviewed numerous submissions and researched hundreds of properties to select the award nominees. The network’s elite travel advisors will establish which hotels within this selection of contenders best represent the 10 categories.

Winners will be revealed on Aug. 15 at the Hotels & Resorts dinner during Virtuoso’s 24th annual conference, Virtuoso Travel Week, which takes place at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Aug. 12 to 17. Virtuoso Life magazine will feature the “Best of the Best” winners in its September/October 2012 issue.

Nominees for “Hotel of the Year” are The Beverly Hills Hotel, a Dorchester Collection Hotel in Beverly Hills; the Kauri Cliffs, Northland in New Zealand; the One&Only Ocean Club, Bahamas, on Paradise Island, Bahamas; the Hotel Sacher Wien in Vienna; and Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Nominees for the “One to Watch” award are the Alpina Gstaad in Switzerland; the Amanruya in Bodrum, Turkey; the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam; the Leela Palace New Delhi; and the St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in Bal Harbour, Fla. 

Nominees for the “Best Achievement in Design” award are the Four Seasons Resort Marrakech in Morocco; the Hotel Bel-Air, a Dorchester Collection Hotel in Los Angeles; the InterContinental Porto-Palacio das Cardosas in Oporto, Portugal; the Park Hyatt Sydney; and the St. Regis, Bangkok. Nominees for the “Best Culinary Experience” award are the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va.; Hinokizaka, The Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo; the Sur Mesur, Mandarin Oriental in Paris; the Térèze, Hotel Santa Teresa in Rio de Janeiro; and the Labeille, Shangri-La Hotel in Paris.

Nominees for the “Best Bar” award are Le Bar at the Beau Rivage Palace in Lausanne, Switzerland; Hyde at the Bellagio in Las Vegas; the Lobby Bar at the Grand Hotel Europe, an Orient-Express Hotel in St. Petersburg, Russia; £10 at the Montage Beverly Hills; and Flair at the Ritz-Carlton Shanghai. Nominees for the “Best Family Program” are the Borgo Egnazia Hotel Ville Spa Golf in Savelletri di Fasano, Italy; the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita in Punta Mita, Mexico; the Marbella Club Hotel -- Golf Resort & Spa in Marbella, Spain; the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach in Florida; and the Trump Chicago.

Nominees for the “Best Spa” award are the Akasha Wellbeing Center at the Mamilla Hotel in Jerusalem; the Miraval Resort & Spa in Tucson, Ariz.; the Oberoi Spa at the Oberoi in Gurgaon, New Delhi Capital Region, India; the Atarmia Spa at the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas in Abu Dhabi, UAE; and the Spa My Blend by Clarins at Le Royal Monceau -- Raffles in Paris.

Nominees for the “Most Innovative Guest Experience” award are the Tartan Butler, Rocco Forte The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Scotland; the Treehouse Suites, Chewton Glen in Hampshire, England; Vespa tours with picnics at La Residencia, An Orient-Express Hotel in Mallorca, Spain; kickboxing school at the Siam in Bangkok; and the “Challenge the Chef” competition at Las Ventanas al Paraiso, a Rosewood Resort in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. Nominees for the “Most Socially Responsible” award are the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine; the Lefay Resort and Spa Lago di Garda in Gargnano, Italy; the Round Hill Hotel and Villas in Montego Bay, Jamaica; Singita Game Reserves in Kruger National Park, South Africa; and the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower in Mumbai.

Nominees for “Hotelier of the Year” are Rebecca Selley of the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires; Thomas Voss of the Grand Del Mar in San Diego; Jean Claude Messant of the Hotel Metropole in Monte Carlo, Monaco; Malcolm Thompson of the Peninsula Tokyo; and Danilo Zucchetti of the Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Italy.