The 2020 Forbes Travel Guide winners have been announced and there are 24 new Five-Star spas on the list and 22 new Four-Star spas.
Forbes Travel Guide has released the names of its 2020 Star Award winners. Now in its 62nd year, the Forbes Travel Guide list honors the world’s most luxurious hotels, restaurants and spas for offering exceptional service and guest experience.
The awards celebrate 1,898 Star-Rated properties in 73 countries, and this year a record-breaking 107 new Five-Star honorees appear on the new list. This is the result of an “ambitious expansion,” in which Forbes includes properties in sixteen countries on the list for the first time. The new awards add 70 Five-Star, 120 Four-Star and 81 Recommended hotels to the annual winners list. There are also 13 new Five-Star restaurants, eight new Four-Star and two new Recommended winners. Twenty four new Five-Star and 22 new Four-Star spas make the list.
Destinations appearing for the first time on the Forbes list
Destinations with first-time Five-Star accolades include Bora Bora (The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort); Cambodia (Amansara and Belmond La Residence d’Angkor); Cape Town (Delaire Graff Lodge and One&Only Cape Town) and Johannesburg, South Africa (Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, Johannesburg, and Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa); the Cayman Islands (The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman); Doha (Mandarin Oriental, Doha); Fiji (Dolphin Island); Ireland (Ashford Castle); Mauritius (Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita, One&Only Le Saint Géran and The Oberoi Beach Resort, Mauritius); Monte Carlo (Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo); Moscow (Four Seasons Hotel Moscow) and St. Petersburg, Russia (Lotte Hotel St. Petersburg); Prague (Four Seasons Hotel Prague); the Seychelles (Fregate Island Private); and Tahiti (The Brando).
Four Seasons adds 11 new Five-Star hotel awards
Four Seasons remains the brand with the most Five-Star hotels and adds 11 new Five-Star hotel awards to its collection.
According to the Forbes website, hotels are rated on up to 900 standards, including “whether a staff member greets them curbside within 30 seconds of arrival, whether clothing left around a room is folded neatly or draped and placed within immediate view after turndown service, and whether the staff uniforms demonstrate exceptional design.” Ratings are decided by incognito inspectors who check into a hotel for a minimum of two nights, posing as ordinary guests.
See the full list of hotels here.
24 new Five-Star spas and 24 new Four-Star spas
What of the spas? This year, 24 spas made the Five-Star list for the first time.
Macau boasts the most new Five-Star spas, with five, including Morpheus Spa; The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip; The Spa at Grand Lisboa; and Tria spas in MGM Cotai and MGM Macau. And Los Cabos has three new Five-Star properties: One&Only Spa at Palmilla, Waldorf Astoria Spa Los Cabos, and Spa Montage Los Cabos.
Arizona has three new Five-Star names, including Phoenix’s Aji Spa, The Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, and Scottsdale’s The Phoenician Spa.
Forbes Travel Guide’s new Star Award winners
New Five-Star Spa winners
Aji Spa, Phoenix, AZ, United States
Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre, Paris, France
The Grand Spa at The Grand America Hotel , Salt Lake City, UT, United States
Morpheus Spa , Macau, China
Nüwa Spa Manila, Manila, Philippines
One&Only Spa at Palmilla, Los Cabos, Mexico
The Phoenician Spa, Scottsdale, AZ, United States
SE Spa at Grand Velas Riviera Maya, Riviera Maya, Mexico
Sense, A Rosewood Spa at Miramar Beach, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Miami, FL, United States
The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, Macau, China
The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada
The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, New York City, NY, United States
The Spa at Grand Lisboa, Macau, China
The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
The Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, Tucson, AZ, United States
The Spa by Ivanka Trump, Vancouver, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Spa Mont Blanc, Geneva, Switzerland
Spa Montage Kapalua Bay, Maui, HI, United States
Spa Montage Los Cabos, Los Cabos , Mexico
Tria Spa at MGM Cotai, Macau, China
Tria Spa at MGM Macau, Macau, China
The Umstead Spa, Raleigh-Durham, NC, United States
Waldorf Astoria Spa Los Cabos, Los Cabos, Mexico
New Four-Star Spa winners
The St. Regis Athletic Club & Spa, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA, United States
The Spa by Ivanka Trump at Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C. United States
The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, Bahrain, Bahrain
The Spa at Edgewood Tahoe, Tahoe and Yosemite, NV, United States
The Spa at Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States
The Spa at Chatham Bars Inn, Cape Cod, MA, United States
The Spa at Bernardus Lodge, Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur, CA, United States
Six Senses Spa Zil Pasyon, Seychelles, Seychelles
Six Senses Spa at Krabey Island, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Sense, A Rosewood Spa at San Miguel de Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Denver, Denver, CO, United States
The Retreat Spa at Okada Manila, Manila, Philippines
The Pearl Spa at Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Athenee Spa, Bangkok, Thailand
Le Spa at Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris, Paris, France
Evian Spa at Palace Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Crown Spa Perth, Perth, Australia
CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La Hotel, Paris, Paris, France
The Bulgari Spa Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Bliss Spa at W Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Related:
Check out the spa & wellness trends we’re keeping our eye on in 2020. Sign up for Spa Executive’s newsletter and download the free report! CLICK HERE >>
Spa Executive magazine is published by Book4Time, the world’s most innovative spa, salon, wellness, and activity management software. Learn more at Book4Time.com.