Forbes Travel Guide Announces 2013 Mid-Year Star Rating Recipients

ATLANTA, Sept. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Travel Guide today unveiled the inaugural mid-year update to its official 2013 list of Five-Star, Four-Star and Recommended properties worldwide, including three new hotels, four new restaurants and a new spa that achieved the Five-Star rating.

"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. "We will continue to have an annual announcement of our official Star Ratings, with a regular mid-year update to the list."

Rosewood Hotels' Rosewood Hotel Georgia, a historic renovation, received Five Stars, making it the first hotel in Vancouver to receive that distinction. The Sense Spa, located in the Hotel Georgia, also received Five Stars. The Four Seasons Hotel Seattle achieved a Five-Star designation, making it the first and only Five-Star hotel in that market. Internationally, Forbes Travel Guide continues to expand its hotel coverage in London, adding a new Five-Star Hotel, The Connaught, and four new Four-Star Hotels: Dorset Square Hotel, Dukes, St. Ermins and The Halkin.

Among restaurants, The Restaurant at Meadowood, Napa Valley, joined an elite group by earning its Five-Star rating, along with Plume Restaurant at The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. – one of the few D.C restaurants in recent years to earn that distinction. The Fearrington Restaurant, Fearrington Village, North Carolina, also achieved a Five-Star rating, as did Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos, California.

Marking the latest installment of the Five Star ratings, which have been the gold standard in the hotel industry since 1958, these additions bring the total number of Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotels to 83, including 12 in California, the most of any state in the United States. This update also marks the first Five-Star hotel designation in Canada. London, with seven Five-Star hotels, joins Hong Kong as the destination with the greatest number of Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotels.

"Our goal is to recognize the hotels, restaurants and spas that are committed to delivering the finest guest experiences worldwide," Cascone said. "These properties focus on serving the consumer, and that's our primary mission as well. We're proud to be associated with the new additions to our global list."

The official 2013 Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating list now includes more than 750 hotels, restaurants and spas in the U.S., Canada, London, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Macau and Singapore.

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

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

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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 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.

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SOURCE Forbes Travel Guide