Gadling

The 2010 Expedia Insiders’ Select hotel rankings provides Expedia customers with an annual list of the world’s best hotels rated for quality and value as determined mostly by traveler reviews. These are hotels that routinely exceed customer expectations – in their customer service, amenities, competitive pricing and more.

Now, I’ll admit that when I first saw the list, I was a bit puzzled (and you may be as well), but I spent some time talking to Janice Lichtenwaldt, the Expedia executive who oversees the list, and she explained exactly how the ranking works.

The way Expedia ranks the Insiders’ Select properties looks more at traveler reviews and value for money than anything else. Value for money is determined based upon the price and star rating of the hotel, then compared with the daily rate for other hotels in the vicinity. Honestly – this system makes perfect sense, and despite creating a rather odd looking list, I’m glad the focus is more on value and quality, than building a list that “looks cool”.

Here are the top ten properties that made the Expedia 2010 Insiders’ Select lineup:

1. Galaxy Iraklio Hotel – Crete Island, Greece
2. Hide Away Guest House – Garden Route, South Africa
3. Drury Inn Indianapolis – Indianapolis, Indiana
4. Al Manshar Rotana Hotel – Kuwait
5. Conrad Bali – Bali, Indonesia
6. Staybridge Suites Minneapolis-Bloomington – Minneapolis, Minnesota
7. Hotel De La Cite – Languedoc-Roussillon, France
8. Bosnian National Monument Muslibegovic House – Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
9. Cambridge Suites Sydney – Cape Breton Island, Canada
10. The Westin Chosun Pusan – Haeundae, South Korea

New for 2010 is the ability to search for Insiders’ Select hotels – when you browse hotel search results on Expedia, simply click the “Hotel Preferences” link, and check “Insiders’ Select” to find hotels that made the list.%Gallery-73514%