China has the most luxury hotels in the world

23-02-23

As if it were the Michelin of hotels, the Forbes Travel Guide reveals the city with the most award-winning accommodation. And it is not London or New York.

According to economiadigital.es, contrary to what many people assume, the city with the most five-star hotels is not in Europe or the USA. Nor in the Middle East, where the emirates have resorted to petrodollars to build one complex more luxurious than another.

To go to the city with the most stars you have to go to Macau, the Chinese city that retains Portuguese influence after centuries of being a trading colony in the Far East; and which is now the closest thing to Las Vegas in China.

Just as the Michelin Guide has become the benchmark for where the world's most exclusive restaurants are, Forbes Travel Guide's Star Awards serve as the benchmark for where the world's finest hotels are located.

How Forbes inspectors work

Forbes inspectors have been visiting hotels incognito for 65 years, analysing every detail through a list of 900 standards, from whether a room is designed "to improve the quality of sleep" or the food and beverage menu, to the décor and guest service.

Broadly speaking, 70% of each review takes into account service - with a metric of analysis that changed this year - and 30% focuses on the quality and condition of the facilities.

This year's Forbes list features 48 new five-star hotels, including the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens in the Greek capital, the JK Place Capri on the glamorous Neapolitan island, the Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya in the tiny Persian Gulf emirate, the Mandarin Oriental at Lago di Como and the Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen in China.

Macau's new reign

Despite being closed to tourism for three years, Macau made a strong comeback in the Forbes ranking and dethroned London, which had reigned supreme since 2018.

The Chinese city has 22 five-star hotels compared to 21 ranked in the British capital.

Among the debutants in that metropolis neighbouring Hong Kong are the Grand Lisboa Palace Macau (opening in 2021), which houses the opulent The Karl Lagerfeld Hotel, representing the glitz that the German designer liked to imbue his designs with.

The Londoner Macao resort has two other establishments that also made it to this starry altar, the Londoner Hotel - as British-influenced as it gets - and the Londoner Court - which offers 24-hour butler services.

There is also the Galaxy Hotel, which boasts Asia's only Macallan bar and a 75,000 square metre terrace, including the world's largest rooftop wave pool.