Apple Vacations kicked off its year-long 50th anniversary celebration with a splashy, black-tie awards gala at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
The annual gala honors the top partner hotels and resorts based solely on customer post-vacation surveys. The company began offering Golden Apple awards in 1990 and five years later began bestowing Crystal Apple Awards to honor leaders in quality and innovation for various categories.
The recipients of the 2018 Crystal Apple Award are:
Best Airline: Delta Air Lines
Best Staff and Service Mexico: Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Perla
Best Staff and Service Caribbean: Secrets Cap Cana Resort & Spa
Best Staff and Service Hawaii: Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort
Best Staff and Service Central America: Riu Palace Costa Rica
Best All-Inclusive Family Resort: Royalton Bavaro Resort & Spa, Punta Cana
Best Adults Only: Unico 20º87º Hotel Riviera Maya
Best Entertainment: TRS Yucatan Hotel
Best All-Inclusive Dining Experience: Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Riviera Maya
Best All-Inclusive Resort: Iberostar Grand Hotel Rose Hall
Best Hotel Chain: Secrets Resorts & Spas
Best Destination:Riviera Maya
Apple Vacations also awarded 220 hotels throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Panama and Hawaii with its Golden Apple Award in 2018 for high levels of excellence. Travel agents report that the Golden Apple designation builds consumer confidence and has a major influence on purchase decisions.
Apple Vacations was founded in 1969 by John J. Mullen in a storefront in Drexel Hill, Pa., selling packages to Hawaii for as low as $299. Early on, he realized that bundling airfare, hotel and transfers into one package price would make vacation planning easier and more affordable for leisure travelers. Fifty years later, Apple Vacations is the nation's largest vacation company to Mexico and Dominican Republic; a leader to the Caribbean, Central America, and Hawaii; and the nation's largest seller of all-inclusive vacations.
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