The ultimate award of "World's Leading Luxury Hotel Brand" from the World Travel Awards ceremony, which took place on the eve of the opening of the famous annual World Travel Market was awarded to Conrad Hotels yesterday.

The prestigious trophy was presented to Clem Barter, President of Conrad Hotels, during the dinner ceremony at the London Royal Opera House.

It came after eight other distinctions were awarded to some of the brand's hotels: the Conrad Istanbul collected the titles of "Europe's Leading Business Hotel", and "Best Business Hotel in Turkey". The Conrad Bangkok was presented with "Thailand's Leading Business Hotel", the Conrad Brussels received a trophy for "Belgium's leading Hotel" whilst the Conrad Bali Resort & Spa collected the award for "Indonesia's Leading Resort". The Conrad Treasury Brisbane had the voters' support for "Australasia's Leading Casino Resort" and two American properties were in the limelight: The Waldorf Towers(R), a Conrad Hotel, in New York, was named "North America's Leading Boutique Hotel", and the Conrad Punta del Este Resort & Casino in Uruguay featured as "South America's Leading Casino Resort".

As in previous years, tens of thousands of travel professionals had cast their votes online to determine the winners in each category. The 2005 World Travel Awards were supported by many media organisations, including BBC Worldwide and international tourism television channels.

Clem Barter commented: "I am delighted and most grateful to the travel industry for its support which has resulted in the numerous awards we humbly received tonight. It is rewarding to have our customer focus and owners' support recognised by this discerning group of travel professionals. I sincerely believe it is a tribute to all my colleagues worldwide. However, in spite of such an award-winning year for Conrad, we will continue to grow worldwide and shall not rest on our laurels".