Forbes Travel Guide Reveals Its 2017 Star Award Winners

Mandarin Oriental, Taipei

Forbes Travel Guide unveiled its 2017 Star Award winners, a global group of the world’s finest hotels, restaurants and spas spanning from Barcelona to Bali to Bogota.

View the full list of official 2017 Forbes Travel Guide Star Ratings here.

What makes our list of Five-Star, Four-Star and Recommended winners stand out from the rest is that we have the most exacting standards in the industry. Forbes Travel Guide’s scoring system uses a proprietary algorithm that weighs service at 75 percent and the quality of the facility at 25 percent. Our rigorous standards focus on graciousness, thoughtfulness and a sense of personalized service.

Our team of expert inspectors anonymously evaluates properties against up to 800 objective standards in 162 destinations across 42 countries.

Simply put, we verify luxury.

This year’s crop of Star-Rated properties is our largest yet. See the full list here. Below is a look at our 59th list by the numbers:

• The winners include 22 new Five-Star hotels, 76 new Four-Star hotels and 83 new hotels in the Recommended category.
• Among restaurants, seven received first-time Five-Star honors, 13 won new Four-Stars and 12 earned new Recommend titles.
• The list also recognizes nine new Five-Star spas and 35 new Four-Star spas.
• In Australia, Crown Towers Melbourne and The Darling in Sydney picked up their respective city’s first Five-Star hotel honors. Each city also gained a Four-Star spa (Crown Spa Melbourne, Sydney’s The Darling Spa).
• Melbourne added a Four-Star (Park Hyatt Melbourne) and two Recommended properties (Grand Hyatt Melbourne; The Langham, Melbourne).
• Sydney racked up two Four-Star (The Langham, Sydney; Park Hyatt Sydney) and a pair of Recommended hotels (InterContinental Sydney Double Bay; Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney).
• Bali snapped up Five-Star distinctions for Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan and The Villas at Ayana Resort Bali. In addition, Bali tallied an impressive 10 Four-Star hotels and three Recommended properties. Five Four-Star spas also debuted.
• Manila launched with a pair of Five-Star hotels: Marco Polo Ortigas Manila and Sky Tower at Solaire Resort and Casino, a quartet of Four-Star properties and a pair of Recommended hotels.
• Several European destinations debuted with their first Five-Star properties: Budapest (Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest), Barcelona (Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona), the French Riviera (Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel) and Venice (Belmond Hotel Cipriani).
• Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and Wynn Macau set a new record, achieving a total of six Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and four restaurants.
• These hotels nabbed triple Five-Stars for their hotel, restaurant and spa: 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; Mandarin Oriental, Miami; Montage Laguna Beach; Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island; and Wynn Las Vegas.
• Las Vegas’ fine-dining scene heats up with three new Five-Star restaurants: Le Cirque Las Vegas and Picasso, both in Bellagio, and Wing Lei in Wynn Las Vegas.
• The brand-new Meadowood Spa brings Napa Valley its first Five-Star spa.
• Mexico acquired its first Five-Star spa, Sense, A Rosewood Spa at Mayakoba in the Riviera Maya.

View the full list of official 2017 Forbes Travel Guide Star Ratings here.