London/Bad Salzuflen, Germany - Tuesday, November 28, 2006. Virgin Holidays, one of Britain's leading long haul operators and part of the Richard Branson's Virgin brand, has just rewarded the Maritim Hotel Mauritius with the top performing hotel award in the Virgin Holidays Awards for 2006.

At the awards ceremony held in London prior to the World Travel Market in November, the Maritim Hotel Mauritius, part of the German based Maritim Hotel Group, won the award outright for the third year running.

Director of International Sales for Maritim Mark Spivey commented: "This award is an award given on feedback from the Virgin Holidays clients, which confirms our service levels and delivery standards as the best within the Indian Ocean. It is an award for the excellent staff we have in our property who deliver time after time in making sure that the holiday experience given is unparelled on the market". With the Virgin brand and Maritim now a flagship property, Virgin Atlantic, the airline, will begin operations into Mauritius in October/November 2007. This alone will further increase Maritim's standing in the British market where the property has over the years built a solid foothold as one of the top performing hotels.

"We are extremely proud of our achievements in Mauritius", Spivey continues. "The hotel management with Gert Puchtler (General Manager) and Francoise Vinay (Sales Manager) and all our team on the island have ensured that over 66% of our Mauritius clients come back again within three years. This repeat rate alone gives an indication of the excellent performance of our team".