The Resort at Pelican Hill Tops Southern California Resorts List in Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Condé Nast Traveler readers have ranked The Resort at Pelican Hill^® as Southern California’s Top Resort in the luxury travel magazine’s globally respected survey. Published annually in the November issue, the 2012 Readers’ Choice Awards feature regional rankings, in which Pelican Hill earned a score of 96.1 to top the Southern California resorts list.

“We are delighted to be the first and only Southern California resort to earn three consecutive top honors, including a top national ranking, from Condé Nast Traveler readers, who are certainly among the world’s most discerning travelers”

“We are delighted to be the first and only Southern California resort to earn three consecutive top honors, including a top national ranking, from Condé Nast Traveler readers, who are certainly among the world’s most discerning travelers,” said Pelican Hill Managing Director Giuseppe Lama. “We opened nearly four years ago with a clear, long-term vision focused on a timeless luxury resort along the coast of Newport Beach. Today, we are guided, inspired and validated by the consistently affirmative guest feedback communicated to us through reader surveys and many other forums.”

Condé Nast Traveler readers named Pelican Hill Top U.S. Resort in 2011, based upon the previous Readers’ Choice Awards format that included national lists, rather than the new regional rankings introduced this year. After becoming eligible for the 2010 awards survey, Pelican Hill debuted on the list as one of two top U.S. resorts ranked in the November 2010 issue. During the Resort’s first year open, Condé Nast Traveler named Pelican Hill to its 2009 Hot List, which serves as an annual insiders’ guide to the world’s best new properties based upon incognito editors’ visits.

In Condé Nast Traveler’s April 2012 issue, readers rated Pelican Hill Golf Club as the Top Golf Resort in the world. The magazine’s readers also rated The Spa at Pelican Hill^® as California’s Top Resort Spa in the annual Spa Poll, published in the June 2012 issue. These rankings were derived from Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice survey, based upon the tabulation of tens of thousands of survey responses.

Condé Nast Traveler’s 25^th annual Readers’ Choice Awards honor the world’s best cities, islands, cruise lines, airlines, hotels and resorts, selected among the nearly 13,000 choices voted on by nearly 47,000 of the world’s most discerning travelers. The complete results of this year’s Readers’ Choice Survey appear in the magazine’s November issue.

Since opening in late November 2008, Pelican Hill has earned numerous accolades, including recent honors from Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Wine Spectator, Golf Digest and Los Angeles Times. A complete listing of current accolades and awards is available at http://www.pelicanhill.com/#/pressroom/awards/.

About Pelican Hill^®

Set on 504 acres by the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach, Pelican Hill features: 128 two-, three- and four-bedroom villas with magnificent coastal views and an unparalleled array of appointments, immersing guests in the absolute finest of everything; 204 luxuriously appointed bungalow guest rooms and suites with private terraces; a rejuvenating Five-Star spa with a menu of the world’s most celebrated therapies; world-class restaurants, including Andrea serving authentic Northern Italian cuisine; an iconic “Coliseum Pool,” one of the largest circular pools anywhere with tiered decks and luxurious cabanas; and Pelican Hill Golf Club with 36 dramatic holes by Tom Fazio, nearly all with ocean panoramas. A Five-Diamond destination, Pelican Hill has earned acclaim as the 2012 Grand Resort selected by Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report; as Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards Top Southern California Resort (2012), Top U.S. Resort (2011), Top-Rated Golf Resort Worldwide (2012) and Top-Rated California Resort Spa (2012); in Travel + Leisure’s "Top 100" World's Best Hotels (2011 Readers’ Poll), and with two courses ranked among Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses (2011).

The Irvine Company Resort Properties owns and manages the finest resort and leisure destinations in Newport Coast and the City of Irvine. In addition to Pelican Hill, the portfolio includes the Island Hotel Newport Beach, the city’s landmark property and only AAA Five Diamond hotel; Hyatt Regency Irvine, the city’s only Four Diamond hotel; Oak Creek Golf Club in Irvine, featuring a challenging, Tom Fazio-designed public golf course; and several of the finest marinas in Newport Harbor and Northern California.

About the Irvine Company

The Irvine Company is an internationally renowned real estate development company known for its award-winning master-planned communities, its vast portfolio of high-quality investment properties and its leadership in conservation and natural resource management. The growing real estate portfolio encompasses office, apartment, retail and resort holdings located throughout California’s premier markets, including assets in San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties, and holdings in Northern California. As a steward of some of America’s most beautiful and scientifically important open space and parklands, the company has donated more than half of the historic 93,000-acre Irvine Ranch in Orange County — 50,000 acres — to permanently preserve these lands. The U.S. Department of Interior and the State of California have designated these parklands as “Natural Landmarks,” one of the most prestigious land preservation designations. The privately held, diversified company traces its roots to the 1860s with the formation of The Irvine Ranch^® from Mexican and Spanish land grants.