Readers of the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website, headforpoints.com—some of Britain’s most highly travelled individuals—have voted in their thousands to recognize the best services the UK has to offer for business travelers.

The inaugural awards, which saw over 4,500 readers cast their votes, seek to highlight the creme de la creme of airline seats, services, and lounges, along with airline and hotel reward schemes and other travel innovations, that UK business and frequent travellers hold in the highest esteem.

The 12 category winners voted for by readers were supplemented by six ‘Editor’s Choice’ awards for excellence.

Category winners are being announced each day on headforpoints.com between December 25 and January 5.  Today sees the announcement of the award for Best New Airport Hotel 2019.

Best airport hotel

Opened in late 2018, Crowne Plaza at Heathrow Terminal 4 was a welcome addition to an airport where very few hotels are directly connected to the terminals. Owned and operated by Arora Group under license from IHG, the property is part of a 2 in 1 complex shared with a Holiday Inn Express. The upscale Crowne Plaza half offers luxurious accommodation with direct access to and from Terminal 4’s departures area. Pillow menus, reading lights, bathrobes, and welcome gifts add to the experience and offering. As the two hotels share a building, even Holiday Inn Express guests benefit from being able to cross-charge food and drink from the Crowne Plaza’s impressive bar and restaurant.

With 1.5 million monthly page views, Head for Points boasts the UK’s biggest online audience of frequent flyers, many of whom travel on a weekly, if not daily basis. This discerning group of readers is perfectly placed to have an opinion when it comes to the good, the bad, and the ugly of the travel industry.

“But these awards are all about the excellent!” says Head for Points editor and founder, Rob Burgess. “Our team is constantly out reviewing new products and our community of readers gives constant feedback on their own opinions and experiences. We thought it would be a great idea to host our own awards and let our readers decide who is the best of the best.”

As well as the overall winners, some of the categories also include the Editor’s Choice. Rob Burgess was keen to ensure that some of the more niche or newer offerings were not overlooked. “We endeavor to be one of the first to try out new products and services, so some of the latest innovations may not yet have had the chance to be fully appreciated by the masses – so we didn’t want some of our favourite experiences to be missed out!” he explained.

Burgess continued: “It’s been an exciting year in the business travel industry, which has seen two UK airlines introduce innovative new business class suites, as well as new and refurbished airline lounges and hotels appearing on the travel landscape. Some radical changes to the travel rewards credit cards sector have forced many frequent flyers to reassess the way they spend and book their travel, so this has also been a leveller in terms of which are the most appreciated and valuable.”

“Being some of the most well-travelled in the UK, our readers certainly know their stuff. We’re grateful to everyone who took part in the voting” concludes Burgess.

‘The Head for Points 2019 Travel & Loyalty Awards’ Categories are:

• Best business class seat and service – WINNER – Qatar Airways QSuite
• Best new business class seat 2019 – WINNER – British Airways Club Suite / EDITOR’S CHOICE – ANA
• Best airline or rail loyalty scheme – WINNER – British Airways Executive Club
• Best UK airport lounge (airline) – WINNER – Cathy Pacific – Heathrow Terminal 3
• Best UK airport lounge (independent) – WINNER – Plaza Premium, Heathrow Terminal 5
• Best new UK airport lounge – WINNER Club Aspire, London Gatwick South / EDITOR’s CHOICE – PremiAIR Manchester Airport
• Best new UK airport hotel – Crown Plaza London Heathrow Terminal 4
• Best hotel loyalty scheme – TBA
• Best hotel loyalty promotion 2019 – TBA
• Best UK travel rewards credit card – TBA
• Best special sign-up offer on a UK travel rewards payment card 2019 – TBA
• Best travel innovation – TBA

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