Forbes 5-Star list is bigger than ever
Forbes Travel Guide today added 42 hotels to its prestigious list of Five-Star properties.
The 2016 Five-Star hotel winners total 154, the most in Forbes’ history. Forbes has been picking Five-Star properties for 58 years.
Two new restaurants also earned Five-Star awards, for a total of 56; and two spas were added, which brings the number to 47.
A Forbes team of incognito inspectors visits the properties and judges each based on 800 objective standards.
Forbes also named Four-Star and Recommended hotels. This year, 100 hotels have been added to the Four- Star list. There are 57 new hotels in the Recommended category.
Forbes now rates properties in 29 countries throughout the Americas, Europe and the AsiaPacific region. In the next year, it will expand into the Middle East and Africa. Some highlights:
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is the brand with the strongest showing with six new Five-Star hotels.
Paris was the biggest winner among destinations added to the list, with nine Five-Star hotels.
Langham Hotels and Resorts earned its first Five-Star award in the USA with The Langham, Chicago.
The Caribbean and Mexico also dominated. Puerto Rico’s Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, earned the highest honor along with independent boutique properties like Barbados’ Sandy Lane Hotel. Mexico has six Five-Star hotels.