Halekulani Okinawa Receives Initially Five-Star Award & Turns into Okinawa’s First Five-Star Lodge OKINAWA, Japan, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Forbes Journey Guide, the only world-wide ranking system for luxurious lodges, restaurants and spas, right now unveiled its 2022 Star Awards, recognizing Halekulani Okinawa, the acclaimed …
LOTTE NEW YORK PALACE’s prominence carries on to increase since LOTTE Motels & RESORTS’ acquisition in 2015 LOTTE Hotel ST. PETERSBURG honoured as Forbes Vacation Guideline Five-Star hotel for 3rd consecutive year SEOUL, South Korea, April 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — On the 26th, Forbes Journey Manual announced …
Travel has made its big comeback. All of those delayed openings and canceled vacations, conferences and celebratory getaways have given hotels and resorts plenty of time to upgrade their services, rejuvenate their facilities and re-envision a better experience for guests.
As travelers return to their favorite properties this summer—or seek out new ones—Forbes Travel Guide has announced its 2022 Star Awards for the world’s most outstanding hotels, restaurants and spas.
For the 64th annual Star Awards, FTG ventured into new destinations, such as the Canary Islands, Greece, Ibiza and Malta. The winners include 323 Five-Star hotels, 558 Four-Star properties and 401 Recommended hotels. There are also 74 Five-Star restaurants this year, 112 Four-Star eateries and 67 Recommended restaurants, as well as 102 Five-Star and 193 Four-Star spas worldwide.
To find the best of the best, Forbes Travel Guide’s incognito inspectors stay at each hotel for three days and two nights, posing as ordinary guests. They test up to 900 objective, rigorous standards, from modern-day luxuries—such as whether a room is set up to enhance sleep or whether the food-and-beverage choices are health-conscious—to more traditional amenities, such as the quality of the décor and the courtesy of the staff. Seventy-five percent of a hotel’s rating relies on service, while the remaining 25 percent is determined by the quality of its facilities.
See the full list of 2022 Star Awards winners here, and learn more about the newest additions to the collection below.
High Life: Zurich’s hilltop Dolder Grand is a design-lover’s dream, with buildings by Norman Foster and artwork by Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí and more.
The Dolder Grand
New Five-Star Destinations
Nine destinations earned the top honor for the first time this year. Madrid made a strong debut with two new Five-Star properties: the Four Seasons Hotel Madrid, where you can unwind in the four-story spa and feast in celebrity chef Dani García’s Andalusian brasserie Dani, and Bless Hotel Madrid, whose recently renovated contemporary interiors take cues from the neighborhood’s 19th-century aristocratic homes. The Bless brand also claimed its first Five-Star award for its Ibiza property, with destination dining at decorated chef Martín Berasategui’s Etxeko.
Living History: Iniala Harbour House occupies four 17th-century houses in UNESCO-protected Valletta, Malta, and its ancient vault lounge is the ideal spot to raise a glass.
Iniala Harbour House
Joining the Five-Star ranks in Europe are Berlin’s Hotel de Rome, an Italian Renaissance-style landmark set among Bebelplatz’s grand buildings; the Netherlands’ Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam, a string of six connected 17th- and 18th-century palaces along the Herengracht Canal; Malta’s Iniala Harbour House, a boutique gem with 23 eclectic, stylish rooms; Greece’s Katikies Mykonos, a white-washed refuge with sparkling water views; and Zurich’s Dolder Grand, which lives up to its name with panoramic vistas of the city, lake and Alps from its historic hilltop perch.
Shore Thing: Close to Kaigan Quasi-National Park, Halekulani Okinawa extends nearly a mile down the coast, and every guest gets a water view.
Halekulani Okinawa
A white 15-story tower that sits on the highest of Amman’s seven hills, Four Seasons Hotel Amman earned Jordan’s inaugural award in the Middle East. In Asia, the beachfront Halekulani Okinawa, featuring a showstopping pool lined with nearly 1.5 million mosaic tiles shaped like a Cattleya orchid, garnered the Japanese island’s premier prize.
A-List Escape: Once a hideaway for an Italian duchess, Hotel Esencia in Tulum is a retreat fit for stars. (Lupita Nyong’o has been a guest.)
Hotel Esencia
On the shores of Montecito, California, Rosewood Miramar Beach is a glamorous addition to FTG’s annual Star Awards, laying claim to Santa Barbara’s only Five-Star spa. In Hawaii, the lavish Espacio in Waikiki dedicates each floor to a single suite with an always-on-call butler.
Toronto’s Hazelton Hotel became the first independent boutique hotel in Canada to earn a Five-Star rating. In Mexico, newcomers include Hotel Esencia, a tropical-chic retreat in Tulum that was once the home of an Italian duchess, and Banyan Tree Mayakoba, where every room comes with a private pool. Bathed in white Greco-Moorish architecture, the reborn Cap Juluca in Anguilla was the sole new Five-Star entry in the Caribbean.
Tower Power: Part of a 43-story skyscraper, London’s Pan Pacific features a 1,280-square-foot namesake suite with butler service and a panoramic view of the Gherkin.
Pan Pacific London
Big International Gains
Two new additions—Pan Pacific London, a sleek hotel in a 43-story tower, and The Prince Akatoki London, a serene Japanese-influenced getaway—cemented the English capital as the city with the most Five-Star hotels worldwide.
Isle Away: With 15 solar-powered residences encircling its private island, Kudadoo promises an ultra-exclusive, sustainable Maldives vacation.
Feast For The Eyes: Set on Newport’s waterfront, Cara’s Altantic views are best enjoyed under the restaurant’s candlelit gold-leaf ceiling.
Cara
Winning Restaurants
Stateside, three restaurants achieved the coveted Five-Star rating for 2022. Dallas’ Carte Blanche turns out luscious pastries in the morning and then five- or 12-course tasting menus in the evening. At Cara, tucked inside Rhode Island’s newly minted Five-Star hotel The Chanler at Cliff Walk, chef Jacob Jasinski crafts nightly changing blind tasting menus with New England ingredients. Savor French-Japanese fare in seasonal tasting menus in Waikiki from chef Jason Yamaguchi at Espacio’s hidden gem Mugen.
Time Travel: Macau’s Five Foot Road is a taste of history, with its design evoking a 1940s Chengdu mansion and its cuisine honoring decades of Sichuan cooking.
Five Foot Road
Hong Kong added to its Five-Star restaurants with L’Envol, a French fine-dining destination; Sushi Saito Hong Kong, whose seafood is chosen every morning by chef Takashi Saito at Tokyo’s Toyosu Market and delivered that day; and Tempura Uchitsu, which specializes in a tempura omakase menu. In Macau, two Chinese restaurants also took the top honors: Five Foot Road, which focuses on flavorful Sichuan cuisine, and Imperial Court, which offers a modern take on Cantonese fare (be sure to peek at the dining room’s dragon column). Finally, La Dame de Pic at Raffles Singapore showcases the culinary prowess of world-renowned French chef Anne-Sophie Pic.
Natural Escape: The Bulgari Spa Dubai offers a five-hour Majestic Hammam Journey, which uses sesame oil, black soap and honey extract to pamper.
The Bulgari Spa Dubai
Sumptuous Spas
For those in need of some premium pampering, there are plenty of star-filled possibilities this year, whether it be in the country (Salamander Spa in Middleburg, Virginia), the city (The Wellness Floor at One Dalton in Boston), the mountains (Spa Ojai in Ojai, California) or the Lowcountry (Spa Montage Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina).
Around the world, seek out The Bulgari Spa Dubai, a sleekly designed oasis, and The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Doha, which introduces Qatari ingredients like pearl powder and sand into some services. Not only are they the inaugural Five-Stars in their respective cities, but they are also the first in the Middle East.
Other winning spas include Asaya, a Hong Kong wellness center that provides everything from expressive arts therapy to facials; SE Spa at Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, where a hydrotherapy circuit should precede slipping into one of the Puerto Vallarta sanctuary’s 20 treatment rooms; and Banyan Tree Spa Mayakoba, where Asian-inspired therapies combine with Mexican traditions and a lush jungle setting.
Check into this ranch and vineyard. Stanly Ranch, Auberge Resorts Collection Whether you seek a getaway to reunite with loved ones or a wellness retreat to get your pandemic-worn health back on track, a slew of new hotels will be ready to welcome you. For …