BEAUTIFULPLACES FIRST VILLA VACATON COMPANY TO RECEIVE A TRAVEL WEEKLY MAGELLAN AWARD IN �LUXURY HOTEL/RESORT� CATEGORY

BeautifulPlaces is the first luxury villa vacation company to receive a Travel Weekly Magellan Award in the luxury hotel/resort category recognizing the high standard of excellence in its villa portfolio, concierge services, and guest amenities. The 2009 awards establishes villa vacations as a mainstream accommodations and opens the door to industry wide standards and recognition.

�This is a breakthrough achievement for BeautifulPlaces and for luxury villa rental companies worldwide. It is an honor to be the first villa company to receive a Travel Weekly 2009 Magellan Award. Villa vacations have finally come of age becoming part of the mainstream vacation accommodations mindset. Now travelers can select a villa for their vacation with the same level of confidence and quality standards found in a major hotel,� commented Patrick Smith, Founder and CEO of BeautifulPlaces.

Sonoma, CA-based BeautifulPlaces represents an exclusive portfolio of villas and estates in the major wine and resort regions of the world � France, Italy, Mexico and Northern California. In addition to its exclusive properties, BeautifulPlaces offers a full range of personal concierge services and specializes in creating custom epicurean itineraries for their guests with unique experiences and hands-on activities.

�We created BP in 2002 to satisfy the travel needs of the sophisticated traveler who wanted to experience the distinctive lifestyle of a region � to feel like an instant native. To date we have created special lifestyle experiences and journeys for more than 9000 guests � many of whom return years after year with family and friends,� added Smith.

Smith is quick to emphasize the importance of recognizing standards in the villa vacation industry and helps to educate travelers on the differences between �vacation rentals by owner� (RBO), a standard vacation rental management company (VRMC) and a luxury villa hospitality management company.

RBO - rentals are done directly with the home owners. While the number of nice vacation rentals available to the public from owners has grown exponentially with the Internet, there are few standards, few guarantees, limited local assistance and often no recourse - so there are often problems and risks.

VRMC � there are over 5,500 vacation rental management companies in the US. They range in numbers of property under management from a handful to several hundred. Renting from a VRMC provides rental guests assurance that the property they are renting is what they expected, is well maintained and that there is someone available to answer questions and sort out problems � at a minimum. Others offer a limited selection of services for guests. In general, however, these vacation rentals are largely self-catered which helps keep costs down and makes them attractive to potential renters.

LVRMCs � cater to the high end villa travel market offering select portfolios of fine homes that must meet and maintain the highest standards; dedicated concierge services, offering one-on-one consultations to plan custom experiences and lifestyle activities (culinary, wine, sports, cultural, and spa) plus handling all personal and travel needs on a 24/7 basis.

About Travel Weekly/Magellan Awards: With entries from across the U.S. and around the world, the Magellan Awards is the premier awards program honoring the best in the travel industry. To view this year�s winners go to www.travelweeklyawards.com . The awards honor a broad range of industry segments including Hotels and Resorts, Travel Destinations, Cruise Lines, OnLine Travel Services, and Airlines and Airports.

The Magellan Awards are judged and overseen by a one-of-a-kind panel of top travel professionals representing the best names and most accomplished leaders from the industry. In determining winners, entries do not compete with one another, instead they are judged against a standard of excellence based on the long experience of Travel Weekly. The Awards are judged by a panel of top travel professionals representing the best names and most accomplished leaders from the industry.

About BeautifulPlaces BEAUTIFULPLACES (www.beautiful-places.com) has created a new dimension in luxury travel fulfilling the dreams of travel enthusiasts inviting them to experience the wine country like a native with villa rentals in the wine and resort regions of Northern California, France, Italy and Mexico. BeautifulPlaces takes experiential travel to a new level by arranging custom epicurean, sports, spa and cultural activities immersing the guests into the quintessential lifestyle of the destination. All services are tailored to meet the individual traveler�s requests and budgets.

Media contact: Arlene Winnick Winnickpr@aol.com 310.274.6430

For reservations: BeautifulPlaces Inc. 539 First Street West, Sonoma, CA 95476 800-495-9961 or 707 996 0266