Only 2 Aussie hotels cut above in Forbes Star list

175 hotels across the globe scored Five-Star Awards from Forbes Travel Guide , but only 2 in Australia – which were they and how can you blag a visit?

In its first global expansion into Australia and the Pacific Rim, Forbes Travel Guide’s 2017 Star Rating Awards unveiled its 59th list of worldwide recipients last night to many first time winners.

For 2017, the award winners include 22 new Five-Star hotels, 76 new Four-Star hotels and 83 new hotels in the Recommended category. Other first-time recipients include seven Five-Star restaurants, 13 Four-Star restaurants and 12 Recommend restaurants. The list also honors nine new Five-Star spas and 35 new FourStar spas. Among the total 1,464 winners, there are 175 Five-Star, 478 Four-Star and 237 Recommended hotels.

In Australia, only a few top hotels managed to make the list:

The Darling in Sydney and Crown Towers Melbourne were the only two hotels to pick up each respective city’s first Five-Star hotel distinction.
Sydney racked up two Four-Star (The Langham, Sydney; Park Hyatt Sydney) and a pair of Recommended hotels (InterContinental Sydney Double Bay; Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney).
Melbourne had one Four-Star (Park Hyatt Melbourne) and two Recommended properties (Grand Hyatt Melbourne; The Langham, Melbourne).
Each city also gained a Four-Star spa (Crown Spa Melbourne, Sydney’s The Darling Spa).

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Among the new destinations, the small island of Bali emerged as a big luxury winner. The new luxury hot spot snagged Five-Star distinctions for three hotels (Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, The Villas at Ayana). It also tallied an impressive 10 Four-Star hotels and three Recommended properties. Five Four-Star spas also debuted.

An elite group of 11 properties earned Five-Star awards for their hotel, restaurant and spa. These triple Five-Star winners included:

Banyan Tree Macau; The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs; The Cloister in Sea Island, Georgia; Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego; The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong; Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas; Mandarin Oriental, Macau; Mandarin Oriental, Miami; Montage Laguna Beach; Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island; and Wynn Las Vegas.
Altira Macau and Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong received a total of four Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and two restaurants.
Crown Towers Macau won a total of five Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and three restaurants.
Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and Wynn Macau set a new record, achieving a total of six Five-Star awards for the hotel, spa and four restaurants.

Other notable awards:

Globally, cities with the most Five-Star hotels include: Macau (10), Paris (10), London (9) and Hong Kong (8). Macau and Paris remain neck and neck with one new winner each in 2017.
Globally, cities with the highest number of Five-Star restaurants include: Macau (11) and Hong Kong (8).
Globally, cities with the most Five-Star spas include: Macau (7), Hong Kong (5) and Shanghai (4).

Click here for the full list of winners.

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bali Crown Towers Melbourne Forbes Forbes Star Rating hotels The Darling Sydney