Forbes Travel Guide has published its 56th annual list of “Star Rating” recipients around the world, it announced last week. Along with 16 new Five-Star restaurants and five new Five-Star spas, the list includes 15 new Five-Star hotels, bringing the guide’s total Five-Star hotel count to 97 — the most ever in Forbes Travel Guide’s history.
“We are delighted to recognize the outstanding commitment to service and guest experience exemplified by our 2014 Star Rating recipients,” Forbes Travel Guide President Michael Cascone said in a statement. “This year’s growing number of Five-Star recipients comes at a time when the outlook for luxury travel remains strong. At the core of what we do is recognizing and advocating for properties delivering the best in guest service. We are thrilled to be associated not only with our newest Star Rating recipients, but all of our Star Rated properties worldwide.”
In addition to 97 Five-Star hotels, this year’s Forbes Travel Guide includes 296 Four-Star hotels, 186 Four-Star restaurants and 149 Four-Star spas.
Highlights from this year’s ratings:
• Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco and The Pierre New York, A Taj Hotel achieved Five Stars following renovations, while The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort, Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto — all new construction — also earned the Five-Star designation, as did Four Seasons Hotel Vancouver.
• California earned the most Five-Star hotel ratings of any U.S. state with 17, including four new additions this year: El Encanto in Santa Barbara, Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa near San Diego, Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills and Mandarin Oriental, San Francisco.
• Smaller markets fared well with The Ranch at Rock Creek in Philipsburg, Mont., earning a Five-Star rating — the first time that a hotel in Montana has been awarded that designation.
• Two new Shanghai hotels achieved Five-Star ratings: The Four Seasons Pudong Shanghai, and Mandarin Oriental Pudong Shanghai. This brings the total number of Five-Star hotels in Shanghai to four. China now boasts 19 Five-Star hotels in the markets rated by Forbes Travel Guide.
• Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has more than tripled its number of honored hotels over the past decade, making it the brand with the most Five-Star recipients for 2014 — a total of 18 hotels in 11 destinations.
• Both Wynn Macau and Encore Macau, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental hotels in Miami, Las Vegas and Hong Kong, as well as The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, scored a unique achievement: the “Triple Five-Star,” earning a Five-Star rating in all three categories recognized by Forbes Travel Guide — hotel, restaurant and spa.