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Forbes Travel Guide’s 2025 awards: Meet the newest five-star U.S. hotels

Arizona, California, and Montana properties all scored a spot on the list

By Amanda Teague Feb 13, 2025 1:32 PM

The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician — The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort / The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort

Forbes Travel Guide has unveiled its highly anticipated 2025 Star Awards, recognizing the best in luxury hospitality worldwide. Now in its 67th year, the prestigious list spans over 2,100 properties across 90 countries, honoring excellence in hotels, restaurants, spas, and even cruise experiences.

This year, three new U.S. hotels have joined the elite ranks of five-star properties. The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, stands out with its sprawling 250-acre setting at the foot of Camelback Mountain, offering guests a palatial retreat in the desert. In Los Angeles, The Maybourne Beverly Hills delivers classic elegance with stunning views of the Hollywood Hills and the iconic Hollywood sign. Rounding out the list is RiverView Ranch in Alberton, Montana, a secluded luxury escape set on more than 1,000 acres along the Clark Fork River, offering rustic Western charm with refined modern comforts.

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Other key findings from this year’s awards

The Maybourne Beverly Hills

Forbes Travel Guide’s 2025 Star Awards highlight not only the newest five-star properties, but also notable trends in hospitality worldwide. For the third consecutive year, Macau retains its title as the city with the most Five-Star hotels, now boasting 24. This year, Epic Tower at Studio City Macau and Raffles at Galaxy Macau joined the prestigious list, along with seven new Five-Star restaurants.

The 2025 awards also saw an expansion into new destinations, recognizing top-tier properties in Brunei; Costa Navarino, Greece; Finland; multiple cities in China (Haikou, Xiamen, and Xi’an); Kazakhstan; Malaga, Spain; Montenegro; Oualidia and Tamuda Bay, Morocco; Phu Quoc, Vietnam; Romania; and Salzburg, Austria.

Forbes Travel Guide also introduced its first-ever cruise restaurant ratings, spotlighting fine dining at sea. Among the inaugural honorees are Fine Cut Steakhouse aboard Celebrity Apex and Ascent, S.E.A. on The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Evrima, The Dining Room on SeaDream II, The Grill on Silversea’s Silver Origin, and Candles on Windstar’s Star Pride.

Amanda, an accomplished freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, is a dedicated explorer of both the world and the written word… Read Full Bio

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First Look: Hard Rock is Opening a Baller Resort and Spa in Malta

Indoors, Architecture, Building

A petite rocky paradise which, as an island, is in itself a UNESCO World Heritage site, Malta’s popularity has been steadily growing. And paired with Delta’s first direct flight from JFK, today’s announcement of the Hard Rock Hotel Malta’s opening may be the perfect reason to pack your bags and explore this otherworldly Mediterranean archipelago, just south of Sicily.

As the red-headed stepchild of bigger, more popular destinations like Greece, Croatia, Spain and even Turkey, Malta offers all the perks of a Southern European holiday in a pared-down, more compact setting. Yup, you still get beautiful beaches and clear turquoise water, but you’ll also be able to explore the easy-to-traverse prehistoric temples, Roman-era remains and Neolithic carvings, as well as access thriving local traditions like its Ventian-like dghajsa boats. With its new resort, however, Hard Rock hopes to cement the island country as a more sophisticated hotspot for International travelers, offering the first combination of 5-star luxury, beach club and live entertainment.

These Are the World’s Most Instagrammable Cities in the Fall

Road, City, Street

A new study has revealed that Paris is the most Instagrammable place for autumn travel. Having been there myself — albeit, in the winter — I can see why. Growing up in Los Angeles, you’re not accustomed to seeing the landscape change around you after each season. This is why yours truly is hitting up Portland, Maine, soon to experience foliage season. Paris in the fall is now on the bucket list.

The September 2026 study on the most Instagrammable places for autumn travel was conducted by Duel.com, which looked at how many Instagram hashtags each city has, along with the number of sights and landmarks available to photograph. It also measured average September temperatures and the overall cost of a trip. Each city was scored out of 100, revealing the best cities for travelers looking for the right angle and backdrop.

I stayed at one of Chicago’s most famous luxury hotels — and yes, it still deserves the hype

Ritz-Carlton Chicago

Chicago does luxury hotels exceptionally well. The city has historic grande dames, glossy new towers, and enough five-star addresses to make choosing one surprisingly difficult. Still, The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago remains one of the names travelers hear again and again. Does that reputation still carry the same weight in a city with so much competition?

By the end of my stay, the answer was yes. The hotel repeatedly proved that real luxury is about noticing what a guest needs before they have to ask.