After 10 weeks of voting in 16 categories, thousands of expatriates have spoken and the results were unveiled last night at the Official Ceremony for the Best of Malaysia Awards 2011.

This showpiece event, organised by Expatriate Lifestyle, Malaysia’s number one expatriate magazine, took place yesterday at View, GTower in central Kuala Lumpur. Around 250 of the top names from the Travel and Hospitality industry in Malaysia, including General Managers from the top Hotels, Resorts & Spas, joined the celebration, eager to find out whether their properties were among the successful few.

Best City Hotel was won by Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, with Excellence Awards for Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur, Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur and One World Hotel. The Excellence Awards are given for outlets who have achieved a significant proportion of the vote and only narrowly missed out on winning the category.

Other notable winners included Hilton Kuala Lumpur as Best Business Hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur for Best Weekend Break, Four Seasons Resort Langkawi for Best Romantic Stay, Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La, Penang for Best Family Stay, and Tiger Rock in Pangkor as the Best Boutique Stay.

It was the first time Tiger Rock had won a Best of Malaysia Award and they followed it up with further success in the Best Eco-Resort category. The popularity of this quaint, elegant property demonstrates how Malaysian-based expatriates are discovering more of the country and how impressively the tourism sector is developing in this country.

George Town, Penang won the Best Authentic Malaysian Experience Award, while Pavilion KL was voted Best Attraction, proving expatriates love their shopping.

There were more winners from outside of Kuala Lumpur than ever before in this year’s Best of Malaysia Awards, with nine of the sixteen winners coming from beyond KL, further proof that expatriates are more familiar than ever with life beyond the capital.

There were also a record number of awards given away, with 58 Excellence Awards across the sixteen categories. This reflects an extremely competitive voting process where the lead changed hands many times. In fact, in two of the categories the eventual winner achieved fewer than five votes more than the property in second place.

The Best of Malaysia Awards (#BOM2011 on Twitter) are the awards where the people’s vote on all things travel and leisure are counted, where the vox populi decides the Best of Malaysia! The awards take an overview of the Malaysian hospitality industry from hotels, beach resorts, attractions, spas and more, providing a 100 per cent public-driven award system, the only one of its kind in the country.

Winners were chosen from shortlists in 16 categories over a 10-week voting period until September 1, 2011 on www.expatriatelifestyle.com

At the glittering award ceremony at View, GTower the MCs, Amanda Ting and Matt Bellotti, presented each of the delighted representatives with their certificates and iconic trophies for the winners.

Guests at the event at one of KL’s newest, coolest venues held on the balcony overlooking Kuala Lumpur City Centre, were entertained by a jazz band, DJ Faith and enjoyed refreshments courtesy of GTower. There was also a lucky draw with luxury prizes from Bric’s (www.travelwithbrics.com).

Matt Bellotti, who is also Editorial Director for Expatriate Lifestyle was very excited about the awards, he said, “These awards are now in their sixth year and are the only award of their kind. The Best Of Malaysia is a celebration of tourism and hospitality experiences in Malaysia, which surely rank among the very best in the world. These awards were voted for by expatriates who never cease to impress me with their knowledge and opinions of the best places to see, stay, eat and enjoy. The field of winning properties this year is stronger than ever.”

Bellotti continued, “I have watched these awards grow over the past six years, during which time the landscape of the tourism industry in Malaysia has developed remarkably. New hotels, resorts, spas and attractions are opening all the time, making the country more enticing to overseas visitors and it is hugely satisfying to be able to acknowledge the hard work of the individuals and properties responsible for presenting the best of Malaysia to the world. These awards are not just about giving away a few trophies, but celebrating excellence across the industry and promoting the excellence in hospitality that makes Malaysia one of the preferred holiday destinations in the world.”

Full list of Winners and Excellence Awards in the 2011 Best of Malaysia Awards