Forbes Travel Guide Announces 2018 Star Rating Awards

199 Hotels Across the Globe Achieve Coveted Five-Star Award; 27 New Hotels Receive Top Honors for First Time

Launching in 15 New Destinations, with the Largest and Most Diverse Group of Winners, Awards Continue Global Expansion into the Middle East and Africa

Middle East Debuts with Four Five-Star, 21 Four-Star and Six Recommended Hotels; South America Earns Its First Five-Star Hotel

Forbes Travel Guide Celebrates Its 60th Anniversary In 2018, Announces Website Redesign

ATLANTA, Feb 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As it celebrates its landmark 60th anniversary, Forbes Travel Guide today unveiled its 60th list of worldwide Star Rating winners, continuing its exceedingly selective approach for recognizing the world's finest properties and rewarding gracious, intuitive service.

The 2018 award winners include 27 new Five-Star hotels, 70 new Four-Star hotels and 76 new Recommended hotels. Other first-time recipients include five Five-Star restaurants, 24 Four-Star restaurants and 10 Recommend restaurants. The list also honors five new Five-Star spas and 29 new Four-Star spas. See the complete list of winners here.

Forbes Travel Guide rates properties in 50 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. New destinations for 2018 include: Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Aruba, Chengdu, Dubai, Hokkaido, Jamaica, Kuala Lumpur, Madrid, Marrakech, Okinawa, Panama, Prague, Sanya and Vienna. As Forbes Travel Guide marks its 60th year, it will expand to 60 countries for its 2019 Star Ratings.

"This is a momentous year for Forbes Travel Guide. Our anniversary commemorates 60 impressive years of serving hotels and guests," said Gerard J. Inzerillo, CEO of Forbes Travel Guide. "As the most trusted source for travelers, we continue to carry out our mission to verify luxury worldwide. We are delighted to honor the 2018 Star Rating recipients, an outstanding collection of hotels, restaurants and spas with a strong service culture. It's the largest and most global group of Star-Rated properties in our company's history. We congratulate these properties for their dedication to service excellence."

In conjunction with Forbes Travel Guide's anniversary, the company unveiled its redesigned website, forbestravelguide.com, which beautifully showcases its global collection of Star-Rated properties.

To celebrate the awards, Star-Rated winners are invited to Verified, The Forbes Travel Guide Luxury Summit at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills February 27 and 28. It will feature an all-star chef lineup, including: Geoffrey Zakarian and Wilfrid Hocquet, Georgie, Beverly Hills; Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Richard Archuleta, Jean-Georges Beverly Hills; William Bradley, Addison Restaurant, San Diego; Samir Roonwal, The Blvd, Beverly Hills; Hilary Henderson, CUT, Beverly Hills; Kaleo Adams, The Polo Lounge, Beverly Hills; Giuseppe Manco, The Restaurant at Mr. C, Beverly Hills; Craig Strong, Studio, Laguna Beach; Hugo Bolanos, Wolfgang Puck at Hotel Bel-Air, Beverly Hills; and Derek Poirier, Valrhona. Moët & Chandon, Forbes Travel Guide's Official Champagne of 2018, will help everyone toast the festivities. Diageo will host the spirits, and Luxe Bloom will provide florals.

To highlight Forbes Travel Guide's 60 years in travel, the popular Pan Am Experience will land at Verified and transport participants back to flying's heyday with a retro airline-inspired event.

HIGHLIGHTS, TRENDS & FUN FACTS FOR 2018

• Among the 1609 Winners
• 199 Five-Star, 513 Four-Star and 309 Recommended hotels.
• 64 Five-Star, 171 Four-Star and 83 Recommended restaurants.
• 60 Five-Star and 210 Four-Star spas.
• New and Noteworthy
• The Middle East emerged with big wins. It picked up four Five-Star hotels (Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, Dubai; Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi; Four Seasons Hotel Dubai International Financial Centre; Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach). It also tallied 21 Four-Star hotels and six Recommended hotels.
• South America captured its first Five-Star hotel. Tucked inside Brazil's Iguacu National Park amid the Iguassu Falls, Belmond Hotel das Cataratas leads the region in service excellence.
• Marrakech launched with two Five-Star hotels (Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech; Royal Mansour Marrakech), a pair of Four-Star properties (Four Seasons Resort Marrakech, La Mamounia) and two Recommended hotels (Amanjena, Selman Marrakech).
• New York City seized two new Five-Star wins: Baccarat Hotel and Residences and Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown. A new Four-Star hotel was added, too: Archer Hotel New York.
• Munich welcomed its inaugural Five-Star hotel, Mandarin Oriental, Munich. It joined Four-Stars The Charles Hotel, a Rocco Forte Hotel; Hotel Bayerischer Hof; and Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski Munich, along with Recommended properties Hotel München Palace and Sofitel Munich Bayerpost.
• Japan had significant gains. The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto brought the city its first Five-Star accolade. Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto and Suiran, A Luxury Collection Hotel snagged Four-Stars awards. Kyoto Hotel Okura earned a Recommended honor. In Tokyo, Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo won a Five-Star award. The Capitol Hotel Tokyu and The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho picked up Four-Star honors.
• Independent hotels made a strong showing. First-time Five-Star awards went to Le Richemond Genève; Magee Homestead, Wyoming; Meadowood Napa Valley; Nemacolin Woodlands Resort -- Falling Rock, Pennsylvania; and Williamsburg Inn, Virginia.
• The new Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills is Hilton's first Five-Star hotel in the Western Hemisphere. The brand also has Five-Star Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund.
• Rosewood Beijing achieved a Five-Star rating--a first-time win for the brand in Asia. This was Rosewood's first property in China, opening in 2014. The Peninsula Beijing also scooped up a new Five-Star distinction.
• Trump Hotels earned Five-Star honors for its D.C. and Vancouver outposts, which is unusual for new properties.
• New wins help further anchor the Riviera Nayarit as a luxury destination with Five-Star The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort and Four-Star Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit.
• Forbes Travel Guide made significant strides in its global expansion, bringing its ratings to new destinations such as Amsterdam (Four-Star hotels Conservatorium, De L'Europe Amsterdam and Hotel Okura Amsterdam; as well as Recommended properties Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, The Dylan, Hotel Pulitzer Amsterdam, InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam, Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam, W Amsterdam) and Vienna (Four-Star properties Hotel Sacher Wien, Palais Coburg, Palais Hansen Kempinski and The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna; along with Recommended properties Grand Hotel Wien; Hotel Bristol, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Vienna; Hotel Imperial, A Luxury Collection Hotel; Hotel Sans Souci Wien; Park Hyatt Vienna; and The Ring Hotel Vienna).
• Stars All Around
• An elite group of 13 properties earned Five-Star awards for their hotel, restaurant and spa. These triple Five-Star winners include: Banyan Tree Macau; The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs; The Cloister in Sea Island, Georgia; Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego; The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong; Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas; Mandarin Oriental, Macau; Meadowood Napa Valley; Montage Laguna Beach; Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island; The Peninsula Hong Kong; Wynn Las Vegas; and Wynn Palace, Macau. 
• Altira Macau and Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong received four Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and two restaurants.
• Nüwa Macau won five Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and three restaurants.
• Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and Wynn Macau achieved a remarkable total of six Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and four restaurants.
• Where the Hotel Stars Shine Brightly
• U.S. cities with the most Five-Star hotels: New York (10), Beverly Hills (6), Las Vegas (5) and Miami (5).
• Globally, Macau reclaimed its spot as the city with the most Five-Star hotels (12). Last year, it tied Paris (10). Other cities with the largest number of Five-Stars include: Paris (10), London (9) and Hong Kong (8).
• Where the Restaurant Stars Shine Brightly
• U.S. cities with the most Five-Star restaurants are New York (7) and Las Vegas (6).
• Worldwide, cities with the highest number of Five-Star restaurants are Macau (12) and Hong Kong (9). 
• Disney gets its first Five-Star restaurant. Victoria & Albert's makes fine dining an attraction in Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.
• Where the Spa Stars Shine Brightly
• In the U.S., the greatest number of Five-Star spas is in: California (9), Florida (5) and Nevada (5). California's new Five-Star spa is The Spa at Rancho Valencia in San Diego.
• Luna y Mar in Los Cabos and The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Guangzhou mark the first Five-Star spas in their respective destinations.
• Globally, cities with the most Five-Star spas include: Macau (8), Hong Kong (5), Las Vegas (5) and Shanghai (4). 

ABOUT FORBES TRAVEL GUIDE

• How Forbes Travel Guide compiles its Star Ratings
• Complete list of 2018 Forbes Travel Guide award winners

Forbes Travel Guide is the only independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants and spas. Started as Mobil Travel Guide in 1958, the company created the first Five-Star rating system in the U.S. Today, Forbes Travel Guide's incognito inspectors travel the world, evaluating properties based on up to 900 rigorous, objective standards. The company's annual Star Ratings and daily travel stories help travelers select the world's best luxury experiences. Visit forbestravelguide.com.

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