Forbes Travel Guide has announced its 2019 Star Rating Awards winners, with The Peninsula Hotels becoming the world’s first all Five-Star hotel brand
The Peninsula Hotels has become the world’s first all Five-Star hotel company at Forbes’ annual Star Rating Awards. An independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants and spas, The Peninsula Manila earned its fifth star this year, raising the brand’s tally to a total of 10 Five-Star hotels.
Covering 76 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, each year Forbes Travel Guide’s highly trained inspectors visit properties as objective mystery guests, evaluating and verifying their quality based on up to 900 objective criteria. The evaluation covers both service and facility but the Star Rating system emphasises service, judging what kind of impression the property leaves on guests, how it makes them feel and what they remember most about the visit.
“At Forbes Travel Guide, we verify luxury. Our independent inspection process is the gold standard in the hospitality industry,” said Filip Boyen, CEO of Forbes Travel Guide. “Discerning travellers can trust that each winner is the best of the best. We are pleased to honour the 2019 Star Rating recipients, an exceptional collection of hotels, restaurants and spas dedicated to guest service.”
In 2019 destinations making the cut for the first time include Anguilla, Bahrain, Belize, Danang, Doha, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Istanbul, Oman, Perth, the Swiss Alps, Tel Aviv and Uruguay.
This year there are also 21 new Five-Star hotels on the list, six new Five-Star restaurants and eight new Five-Star spas.
Countries making the Five-Star hotel list for the first time hotel to include Malaysia with Crockfords at Resorts World Genting, Portugal with Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon, South Korea with The Shilla, Seoul, Turkey with Raggels, Istanbul and Vietnam with Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An.
London unseated Macao as the city with the most Five-Star hotels, with four new hotels making the list including The Bulgari Hotel & Residences, The Langham, The Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and The Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard.
All up, London finished the year with 13 top-ranking hotels, while Macao, in a close second, had 12 top-ranking hotels.
The U.S added two new Five-Star hotels: The Four Seasons Resort Lanai in Hawaii and Salamander Resort & Spa in the Washington D.C. area.
Eight new Five-Star spas also landed on the list, including La Prairie Spa at Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, The Bulgari Spa Bali, Lisbon‘s Ritz Spa, Cabo San Lucas’ The Spa at Esperanza and Macao’s Zensa Spa.
Forbes honoured winners at Verified, The Forbes Travel Guide Luxury Summit at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills on 26 and 27 February.
You can see the full list of winners here.
Voting is now open for Luxury Travel Magazine’s 2019 Gold List, an annual awards honouring the world’s best luxury hotels, resorts and experiences. Cast your vote here.