Forbes Travel Guide’s Star Rating announcement is always a celebratory time, but 2014 is proving to be exceptionally stellar — this year marks our largest batch of award winners yet. The 56th list includes 97 Five-Star hotels worldwide, with the addition of 15 new properties from Shanghai to Toronto. The list features 16 new Five-Star restaurants and five new Five-Star spas, too. California, in particular, has a lot to be proud of, since it’s home to 17 Five-Star hotels — more than any other U.S. state. Let’s not forget about China, either, with three of its properties earning quadruple Five-Star ratings — each scoring top marks for a hotel, a spa and two restaurants.
In addition, Forbes Travel Guide awarded 296 Four-Star hotels, 186 Four-Star restaurants, 149 Four-Star spas, 82 Recommended hotels and 42 Recommended restaurants. Luxury brand Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts emerged a big winner — it snagged the most Five-Star awards of any hotel group with 18 hotels in 11 destinations. Foodies will appreciate the 11 new international Five-Star restaurants on the list. That makes it a grand total of 48 Five-Star restaurants, with New York City being home to seven of them. When it comes time for pampering, choose from one of the five new Five-Star spas added this year, bringing the final count to 41 Five-Star spas worldwide. See the full list of winners here.
