Forbes names 22 new Five-Star hotels

Forbes Travel Guide today added 22 hotels to its prestigious list of Five-Star properties.

The addition of those properties brings the total number of Five-Star hotels to 175.

Forbes also named 76 new Four-Star hotels and 83 new hotels in the Recommended category.

This is the 59th list of Star Rating recipients in Forbes’ history.Forbes now rates properties in 42 countries throughout the Americas, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

These international destinations were rated for the first time in 2017: Bali, Barcelona, Bogota, Budapest, Cartagena, County Kildare in Ireland, Dublin, Kyoto, Lima, Lisbon, Manila, Melbourne, Monte Carlo, Munich, Osaka, Santiago, Seoul, St. Tropez, Sydney, Venice, and Zurich.

Next year, Forbes plans to add the Middle East and Africa to its list of rated destinations.

"This year’s Star-Rated properties — the largest and most global group in the company’s history — achieved an impeccable standard of excellence in hospitality, underscoring our overall mission of positively contributing to the international tourism industry as well as the individual hotel experience,” Gerard Inzerillo, Chief Executive Officer of Forbes Travel Guide, said in a written statement.

Forbes sends a team of expert inspectors to anonymously evaluate properties based on about 800 standards. They look at both the condition of the facilities and the quality of the service. They even look at intricate details such as whether or not clothing left in the room was neatly folded.

In addition to hotels, Forbes rates restaurants and spas.

This year, there were seven new Five-Star restaurants, 13 Four-Star restaurants and 12 Recommend restaurants. There were nine new Five-Star spas and 35 new Four-Star spas.

In all, 1,464 hotels, restaurants and spas are included on the list.

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Other highlights include:

• Among the new destinations, Bali, a small island, emerged as a big winner, with Five-Star distinctions for three hotels. It also debuted with 10 Four-Star hotels and three Recommended properties.
• Puerto Rico, which has been in a tourism slump, added one new Five-Star hotel, The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, and its first Five-Star spa, Spa Botánico.
• European destinations that debuted with their first Five-Star properties include Budapest, Barcelona, the French Riviera and Venice.
• Eleven properties earned the triple prize: Five-Star awards for their hotel, restaurant and spa. Among them: The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego, Mandarin Oriental in Miami, and Wynn Las Vegas. 
• Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and Wynn Macau set a new record, with a total of six Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and four restaurants.
• In the USA, the greatest number of Five-Star hotels are in California (18), New York (9), Florida (8), Massachusetts (6), and Nevada (5).

For a complete list of rated hotels, go to forbestravelguide.com/about/awardwinners.

Here is the list of new Five-Star Hotels:

• Belmond Hotel Cipriani, Venice
• Crown Towers Melbourne, Australia
• The Darling, Pyrmont, Australia
• Faena Hotel Miami Beach
• Fairmont Grand Del Mar, San Diego
• Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest
• Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay
• Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan
• Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel, Côte d'Azur, France
• 41 Hotel 41, London
• Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona
• Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
• Marco Polo Ortigas Manila
• Portrait Roma, Lungarno Collection, Rome
• The Resort at Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas
• Ritz Paris
• The Ritz-Carlton Beijing, Financial Street
• The Ritz-Carlton Macau
• Sky Tower at Solaire Resort and Casino, Manila
• Solage, An Auberge Resort , Calistoga, Calif.
• The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico
• The Villas at Ayana Resort , Bali