Celebrity Cruises, Ritz-Carlton Yachts Earn 1st-Ever Accolades from Forbes

The 68th annual Forbes Travel Guide (FTG) — an independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and ocean cruises — has unveiled its 2026 Star Awards. 

Among the interesting inclusions in this year’s list are the first-ever Five-Star cruise accolades.  The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Ilma becomes the first Five-Star cruise in FTG’s history. And Celebrity Xcel’s Le Voyage from master chef Daniel Boulud is the first Five-Star cruise ship restaurant.

The list also features more new award winners than ever before and many inaugural distinctions, which Forbes calls a signal that luxury travel is moving into a new era. The full list of honourees can be found on ForbesTravelGuide.com.

This year’s FTG also hits a major milestone: it spans more than 100 countries, including new destinations like Bhutan, Croatia, Georgia, Grenada, Laos, Poland, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Uzbekistan.

Smaller cities and destinations made a bigger splash this year. Inaugural Five-Stars were awarded in Turks and Caicos (Wymara Villas); Nikko, Japan (The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko); and Montenegro (One&Only Portonovi). The Charleston Place in Charleston, South Carolina and 100 Princes Street in Edinburgh earned Four-Stars, elevating their cities’ hospitality offerings and the continued tourism rise of some less-explored markets.

For the fourth year, Macau continues to outpace the world’s top destinations in Five-Star hotels (28). The city’s newest winners show a shift toward a more intimate luxury tier: Capella at Galaxy Macau, Paiza Grand and Palazzo Versace Macau offer hotel-within-a-hotel experiences that favour privacy over scale.

Other Forbes Travel Guide 2026 highlights:

• Totalling 2,422 properties, the winners include 343 Five-Star, 708 Four-Star and 679 Recommended hotels; 82 Five-Star, 138 Four-Star and 80 Recommended restaurants; 118 Five-Star and 241 Four-Star spas; one Five-Star, nine Four-Star and nine Recommended cruise ships; and one Five-Star, eight Four-Star and five Recommended cruise ship restaurants.
• The U.S. gained five new Five-Star hotels (The Chateau at Nemacolin, Farmington, Pennsylvania; Mii amo, Sedona; The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes; The St. Regis Atlanta; and Yacht Club at The Boca Raton) and three new Five-Star restaurants (Atlas Buckhead, Atlanta; Aurelia at Castle Hill, Newport, Rhode Island; Flybridge, Boca Raton).
• Europe sees new Five-Stars in France (The Maybourne Riviera), Montenegro (One&Only Portonovi), Spain (Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona) and Switzerland (Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich).
• Asia Pacific is emerging as the next luxury epicentre, landing 40% of all new Five-Star hotels:.
• The Middle East welcomes four new Five-Star hotels: Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi; Grosvenor House, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Dubai; Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Saudi Arabia; and Rosewood Doha.
• New Five-Star hotels also come to the Caribbean (Wymara Villas, Turks and Caicos) and Mexico (Grand Velas Los Cabos).

“Forbes Travel Guide’s newest Star Award winners showcase an exciting evolution in luxury,” says Amanda Frasier, FTG’s President of Standards & Ratings. 

“As guests navigate the increasingly complex travel landscape for the best places to stay, sail, dine and spa, we are proud to provide them with the trusted, integrity-based guidance they need. The 2026 list showcases properties deeply committed to delivering consistent and reliable world-class experiences.”