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The Best Hotel, Restaurant and Spa in the World
Forbes Travel Guide announced the first of its annual accolades at the 2020 Star Awards. Keep reading to find out the winners and what makes them stand out
The best of the best, according to Forbes Travel Guide
For the first time in its 62 year history, Forbes Travel Guide has announced the best hotel, restaurant and spa of the year. Recipients of this accolade were chosen, as told to Forbes by CEO Filip Boyen, based off of a series of criteria that matches Forbes Travel Guide’s “well-known commitment to integrity”.
Covering 76 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East, each year Forbes Travel Guide’s highly trained inspectors visit properties as objective mystery guests, evaluating and verifying their quality based on up to 900 objective criteria. The evaluation covers both service and facilitates as well as service, judging what kind of impression the property leaves on guests, how it makes them feel and what they remember most about the visit.
Without further ado, here are Forbes’ travel standouts for 2020:
Hotel of the Year
Located in the Vermont town of Barnard with a population of less that 1,000 people, the 20-room boutique hotel known as Twin Farms received this honour for its achievement of 98.24% on Forbes’ scoring card.
When prompted as to what makes Twin Farms unique, managing director John Graham told Forbes, “in part it’s a beautiful Vermont setting, in part wonderful design and art, in part great culinary and wine, in part memorable activities, but in whole our team truly dedicated to serving, really serving.”
With just 20 rooms spanning 300 acres, Twin Farms’ secluded adult-only property provides an intimate escape among the trees and mountains of Vermont. Visitors to this secluded boutique hotel can venture further afield—about a 1.5 hour drive—to Burlington, the capital of Vermont. Back at Twin Farms, services include such amenities as same-day laundry service, staff members to pack and unpack luggage, fully stocked refrigerators and local craft touches.
Restaurant of the Year
Inside Wynn Palace in Macau, sits the five-star Sichuan Moon by Andre Chiang, which received a score of 99.22% on Forbes’ rating scale, leading the restaurant to undeniable victory. The 15-course degustation menu aims to reacquaint the public with Sichuan food—shifting perceptions of the local cuisine as only spice to include the wide variation of flavours presented in Macau.
In an interview with Forbes, Wynn Palace chief operating officer Frederic Luvisutto stated, “Our goal is to reinterpret the flavours of Sichuan dishes and present them on a global stage, by introducing creative new culinary techniques and pairing dishes with extraordinarily rare specialty teas from around the world.”
Spa of the Year
Neighbouring Forbes’ Restaurant of the Year sits another of 2020’s outstanding destinations: the Morpheus Spa at the City of Dreams complex. Receiving a 99.50 score when compared to Forbes’ criteria, this six-room spa was created b architect Zaha Hadid. According to Forbes, it’s the first spa in the world to feature real snow. Additional amenities include the spa butler and platinum mask.
Chief operating officer of Macau Resorts and property president of City of Dreams, David Sisk, told Forbes that “The globally renowned Forbes award is a tribute to their talent and dedication. With its imaginative guest experiences, iconic design and exceptional amenities, Morpheus redefines high-end hospitality.”
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