In its latest report, International Hotel Awards named Sultan Sands Island as Arabia and Africa regional winner best hotel and resort while naming Gran Melia Arusha as regional winner best luxury convention and highly commended hotel.

Other winners include Bluebay Beach Resort & Spa of Zanzibar which emerged as highly recommended hotel and best beach Spa while Melia Zanzibar was named highly commended luxury hotel and resort and luxury sustainable hotel but also wedding venue.

The awards are split into regions covering Asia Pacific, Arabia & Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and UK. “Participants enter at their relevant national level and are judged by a highly experienced team of professionals who cover the whole range of hospitality disciplines,” the organisers said in the statement.

The awards are open to hoteliers, hotel developers and builders, interior designers, architects, public relations companies, advertising agencies and web designers.

Hotels under development can be entered at any stage of construction provided planning approval has been granted. Companies may submit single or multiple entries, the statement added.

The International Hotel Awards are the international 5-star standard of hotel ratings. It is the only organisation to provide 5-star accolades at an international level. The International Hotel Awards global competition determines the finest hotels and hospitality companies in the world.

“The International Hotel Awards were developed to identify, highlight and reward excellence throughout the global hospitality industry throughout a wide range of areas. In addition to categories for several types of specialty hotels and categories by hotel size, there are also categories for best hotel architecture, construction, interior design, marketing and website,” the organisers statement noted.

There are 17 categories to choose from. 5-star awards for each category are awarded on a national level before going on to compete on a regional level. The regional winners are automatically entered into the overall International Awards, which ultimately determine the world’s finest resorts and hotels.

The International Hotel Awards have evolved from the long established International Property Awards, which have become regarded as the definitive awards programme and focus on both residential and commercial sectors.