Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2022: Songtsam Luxury Retreats Sweep Awards

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Songtsam Linka Retreat Lhasa – Image courtesy of Songstam Linka Retreat Lhasa
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Written by Linda S. Hohnholz

Songtsam Linka Retreat Lhasa, one of 12 hotel properties of the award-winning boutique luxury hotel chain, Songtsam Hotels, Resorts & Tours, in the Tibet and Yunnan Provinces of China, is featured on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2022, under “The Best Hotels and Resorts in the World” and “The Best Hotels and Resorts in Asia.” This is the second time that Songtsam is listed on a Condé Nast Traveler Gold List USA edition.

In addition to these awards, Songtsam won the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List China edition in the “China Top 10 Hotels” category, and Songtsam Lodge Laigu won the “Best View Hotel” single award on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2022. 

Condé Nast Contributor, Vincent Wang, described the  Songtsam Linka Retreat Lhasa in this way, “This sprawling complex, which clings to the hillside in pockets of stone and lime slurry, feels particularly suited to its surroundings, no doubt thanks to the hotel group’s zealous site-selection process: The location of each property is carefully staked out before one is chosen. (The Songtsam Shangri-La Lvgu Lodge, almost 100 miles east, sits on the grounds where the house of Baima Duoji, Songtsam Group’s founder, once stood.) And even then, it took nearly two years to manifest this mountain compound. For its construction, the brand tapped the craftsmen who helped to restore the neighboring Potala Palace, a magnificent 17th-century fortress, using some of the same techniques and materials. Inside, wood—used for the floors, walls, and ceilings—suffuses the hotel with a warmth that tempers the dramatic landscape beyond; handcrafted copperware and impressive Thangka paintings and tapestries hang from the walls.”

Songtsam’s strong commitment to sustainability

Songtsam Founder & Chairman, Baima Duoji, noted “as a hotel brand deeply rooted in Tibet and Yunnan, we are grateful for the international recognition and appreciation of Songtsam’s strong commitment to sustainability with our careful selection of hotel locations and ensuring that the property fits into the local environment.” Baima added, “but it is our Songtsam team who we are the most proud of, and who are the backbone of the Songtsam success story. Over 92% of Songtsam employees, including the craftsmen used to construct a new property, are drawn from the local villages where the hotels are located, and we are pleased that this is a key contributing factor in the economic development of the surrounding communities.”

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About Condé Nast Traveler Gold List

Gold List was founded in 1995. The magazine invites travel experts who pursue quality of life, understand and enjoy high-end travel methods, and have unique insights, to work with the “Condé Nast Traveler” editorial department to select the most favorite hotels, airlines, cruises, and destinations. In this way, the “Gold List” produced by multiple opinions and selection results represents a truly objective quality choice and is regarded as the “gold standard” by global travel consumers.

About Songtsam 

Songtsam (“Paradise”) is an award-winning luxury boutique hotel group of Hotels Resorts & Tours located in Tibet and Yunnan Province, China. Founded in 2000 by Mr. Baima Duoji, a former Tibetan Documentary filmmaker, Songtsam is the only collection of luxury Tibetan-style retreats within the wellness space focusing on the concept of Tibetan meditation by combining physical and spiritual healing together.  The 12 unique properties can be found across the Tibetan Plateau, offering guests authenticity, within the context of refined design, modern amenities, and unobtrusive service in places of untouched natural beauty and cultural interest. Songtsam Tours is a Virtuoso Asia Pacific Preferred Supplier and provides guests an opportunity to curate their own experiences by combining stays at its different hotels and lodges designed to discover the region’s diverse culture, rich biodiversity, incredible scenic landscapes, and unique living heritage.  Songtsam was on the 2018 & 2019 Conde Nast Traveler Gold List China Edition, and the 2022 Conde Nast Traveler Gold List USA Edition. 

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About Songtsam Tours 

Songtsam Tours, a Virtuoso Asia Pacific Preferred Supplier, offers curated experiences by combining stays at its different hotels and lodges designed to discover the region’s diverse culture, rich biodiversity, incredible scenic landscapes, and unique living heritage. Songtsam currently offers two signature routes: the Songtsam Yunnan Circuit, which explores the “Three Parallel Rivers” area (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and the new Songtsam Yunnan-Tibet Route, which merges the Ancient Tea Horse Road, G214 (Yunnan-Tibet highway), G318 (Sichuan-Tibet highway), and the Tibetan Plateau road tour into one, adding unprecedented comfort to the Tibetan travel experience. 

About Songtsam Mission 

Songtsam’s mission is to inspire their guests with the diverse ethnic groups and cultures of the region and to understand how the local people pursue and understand happiness, bringing Songtsam guests closer to discovering their own Shangri La. At the same time, Songtsam has a strong commitment to sustainability and the preservation of the essence of Tibetan culture by supporting the economic development of the local communities and the environmental conservation within Tibet and Yunnan.

#songtsam

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About the author

Avatar of Linda S. Hohnholz

Linda S. Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz has been an editor for eTurboNews for many years. She is in charge of all premium content and press releases.

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