Forbes Travel Guide Announces Newest Additions to its Prestigious Star Rating List

LONDON, September 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The Connaught Earns Five Star Rating in Inaugural Mid-Year Update to the Official Forbes Travel Guide List

Forbes Travel Guide Expands Further Into London

Additions Include 4 New London Four-Star Hotels and 4 new London Recommended Hotels

Forbes Travel Guide has today announced additions to its official Star Ratings list in its inaugural mid-year update. The Connaught earned a Five Star rating as the globally recognised Star Rating programme further expands into the United Kingdom. The Connaught joins a list of six existing Five Star hotels in London; the city now matches Hong Kong as the top destination worldwide with the greatest concentration of Five Star properties in the more than 150 markets rated and inspected by Forbes Travel Guide.

    Forbes Travel Guide Five Star London  Forbes Travel Guide Five Star London
                   Hotels                                 Spas
                45 Park Lane

                 Claridge's

              The Connaught *

               The Dorchester

      Four Seasons Hotel London at Park
                    Lane

          The Lanesborough, London              The Spa at Four Seasons

                  The Savoy               The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, London

Four London hotels achieved a new Forbes Travel Guide Four Star rating, and four hotels earned a new Recommended rating, joining 264 Four Star hotels, 147 Four Star spas, and 46 Recommended hotels worldwide.

    Forbes Travel Guide Four Star Hotels  Forbes Travel Guide Four Star Spas
     51 Buckingham Gate, Taj Suites and
                 Residences

         Belgraves, A Thompson Hotel

                The Berkeley

                Brown's Hotel

      Bulgari Hotel & Residences London

           Corinthia Hotel London

           Dorset Square Hotel *

                  Dukes *

           The Egerton House Hotel

     Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary
                    Wharf

                 The Goring

               The Halkin *

      InterContinental London Park Lane       Aman Spa at The Connaught

             The Langham, London            The Berkeley Health Club & Spa

     Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London   Chuan Spa at The Langham, London

                 One Aldwych                 Claridge's Health Club & Spa

               The Ritz London                  ESPA Life at Corinthia

            St. Ermin's Hotel *                 The Dorchester Spa

      The Stafford London by Kempinski      The Health Club at One Aldwych

       Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Hotels
         Charlotte Street Hotel *
             Grosvenor House *
            The Metropolitan *

     The St. Pancras Renaissance London
                  Hotel *

"We are rapidly expanding our Star Rating coverage, and it's more important than ever that consumers receive timely updates to our official list of Star Rated properties," said Michael Cascone, President of Forbes Travel Guide. "Our goal is to recognise the properties that are committed to delivering the finest guest experiences worldwide. We're proud to be associated with the new additions to our global list."

Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, has provided the most comprehensive ratings and reviews of hotels, restaurants and spas since its founding in 1958. The Forbes Travel Guide inspection process includes unannounced visits by a professional inspector culminating with a formal incognito inspection from which the property is measured against up to 800 standards. These standards weigh facility and service performance, with a primary emphasis on guest engagement and service delivery across 17 categories of evaluation, including Arrival Service and Guest Room, with nine classifications such as Courtesy & Manners and Graciousness, Thoughtfulness, and Sense of Personalized Service.

Forbes Travel Guide's system of inspections and ratings sets it apart as the undisputed authority on the finest hotels, restaurants and spas across North America, the United Kingdom and in Asia-Pacific markets such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Shanghai. The next European destination to be unveiled will be Paris in 2014.    

London, the destination, and its award-winning properties are showcased on ForbesTravelGuide.com. The site features access to many of the world's leading hospitality brands and travel industry experts, with credible reviews and original answers to travellers' questions from Forbes Travel Guide's editors, tastemakers and inspectors.

For a detailed explanation of how Forbes Travel Guide compiles its Star ratings, visit http://www.forbestravelguide.com/about/ratings.

To view the complete list of 2013 Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating recipients, visit http://www.forbestravelguide.com/about/awardwinners

Follow Forbes Travel Guide on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ForbesInspector and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/forbestravelguide

About Forbes Travel Guide:

Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, is the originator of the prestigious Five Star Rating system, and has provided the travel industry's most comprehensive ratings and reviews of hotels, restaurants and spas since 1958. Forbes Travel Guide has a team of expert inspectors who anonymously evaluate properties against up to 800 rigorous and objective standards, providing consumers the insight to make better-informed travel and leisure decisions. Forbes Travel Guide is the gold standard for luxury hospitality ratings worldwide. For more information about Forbes Travel Guide, visit http://www.forbestravelguide.com.

ForbesTravelGuide.com combines the objectivity and heritage of the Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating system with insightful recommendations from a hand-selected group of travel experts, tastemakers and Forbes Travel Guide inspectors. ForbesTravelGuide.com is the exclusive online destination for Forbes Travel Guide's list of Star Rated hotels, restaurants and spas, and gives its registered members exclusive access to special offers and curated experiences from select Forbes Travel Guide partners.

UNITED KINGDOM
Laura Strong
Ruder Finn
+44(0)20-7438-3070
lstrong@ruderfinn.co.uk

NORTH AMERICA
Michael Frenkel
MFCPR
+1(212)808-6559
michael@mfcpr.com