Winners Deliver Authentic Experiences, Enhanced Well-Being and Unforgettable Moments
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FTG Becomes the First Rating System to Honor Cruise Ship Restaurants
ATLANTA, Feb. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Travel Guide ("FTG")—the only independent, global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and ocean cruises—today revealed its 2025 Star Awards. See the full list of honorees on ForbesTravelGuide.com.
The 67th annual list spans more than 2,100 properties in 90 countries. It features 336 Five-Star, 645 Four-Star and 567 Recommended hotels; 79 Five-Star, 128 Four-Star and 64 Recommended restaurants; 124 Five-Star and 224 Four-Star spas; seven Four-Star and seven Recommended cruise ships; and three Four-Star and three Recommended cruise ship restaurants—a new rating accolade.
The ratings expanded into new destinations, including Brunei; Costa Navarino, Greece; Finland; Haikou, Xiamen and Xi'an, China; Kazakhstan; Malaga, Spain; Montenegro; Oualidia and Tamuda Bay, Morocco; Phu Quoc, Vietnam; Romania; and Salzburg, Austria.
FTG's inaugural cruise restaurant ratings feature Celebrity (Apex and Ascent's Fine Cut Steakhouse), The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection (Evrima's S.E.A.), SeaDream Yacht Club (SeaDream II's Dining Room), Silversea (Silver Origin's The Grill) and Windstar (Star Pride's Candles).
Some key trends from FTG's inspections:
- The boundaries of luxury expand. Hotels are embracing an increasingly adventurous luxury clientele exploring less-traveled locales, as evidenced by new destinations on the 2025 list. Authenticity is key; inspectors noted a sense of place created not only by décor and cuisine, but also through the thoughtful integration of local customs and history.
- Hotels pave the way to wellness. Health-focused experiences and the demand to feel well after your trip are priorities for today's traveler. FTG data show this trend holding strong among Five-Stars and expanding notably among Four-Star and Recommended properties.
- Luxury collaborations up the ante. Hotels are partnering with ultra-luxury brands in creative ways to enhance the guest experience. Atlantis The Royal in Dubai, for example, collaborated with Louis Vuitton on a property-wide art installation celebrating the Five-Star hotel's first anniversary.
Geographic highlights of the 2025 Awards:
- For the third straight year, Macau holds strong as the destination with the most Five-Star hotels (24), adding Epic Tower at Studio City Macau and Raffles at Galaxy Macau, as well as seven new Five-Star restaurants: Aurora (Altira Macau), Chef Tam's Seasons (Wynn Palace), Don Alfonso 1890 (Palazzo Versace Macau), The Huaiyang Garden (The Londoner Hotel), Mesa by José Avillez (The Karl Lagerfeld), Yamazato Macau (Hotel Okura Macau) and Zuicho (Grand Lisboa Palace Macau).
- The U.S. gained new Five-Stars in Arizona (The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician, A Luxury Collection Resort), California (The Maybourne Beverly Hills and Olivella restaurant at Ojai Valley Inn) and Montana (RiverView Ranch and Spa Montage Big Sky).
- Europe had a strong showing, with new Five-Stars in Azerbaijan (Four Seasons Hotel Baku), France (Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel), Greece (Mandarin Oriental, Costa Navarino), Italy (Castelfalfi), Spain (Rosewood Villa Magna) and the U.K. (The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel, London and Raffles London at The OWO).
- China is roaring back. In addition to Macau winners, China added Five-Stars in Guangzhou (Rosewood Guangzhou) and Hong Kong (The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong).
- Elsewhere in Asia, new Five-Star hotels arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam (Capella Hanoi), and Singapore (The Paiza Collection at Marina Bay Sands).
- New Five-Star hotels also came to the Middle East (One&Only Royal Mirage - The Residence in Dubai and The St. Regis Abu Dhabi) and Africa (Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island).
"Forbes Travel Guide's Star Award winners exemplify excellence in hospitality," says Amanda Frasier, FTG's President of Standards & Ratings. "This year's list reflects the changing landscape of luxury with properties setting the standard for authentic experiences, unparalleled amenities, enhanced well-being and the delivery of unforgettable moments. We are thrilled to recognize their dedication to creating world-class experiences for today's discerning guest."
For images, click here.
Learn how FTG compiles its Star Ratings here.
View the complete list of 2025 winners here.
Connect with FTG:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ForbesTravelGuide
X: www.twitter.com/ForbesInspector
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ForbesTravelGuide
About FTG:
Forbes Travel Guide is the only global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, spas and ocean cruises and their restaurants. Our anonymous inspectors evaluate hundreds of exacting standards, with an emphasis on exceptional service, to help discerning travelers select the world's best experiences. The only way to get a Five-Star, Four-Star or Recommended rating is by earning it through our exacting inspection process. Visit us at ForbesTravelGuide.com.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
FORBES TRAVEL GUIDE UNVEILS 2025 STAR AWARDS
The Initiative Aims to Address the Pain Points of Family Filmmaking
BEIJING, Dec. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 6th, the 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival opened in Beijing. SmallRig, a global specialized provider of imaging solutions, collaborating with FamilyLens, is empowering family filmmaking through various initiatives, including the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative, a dedicated family filmmaking kit, and a social impact screening program.
Deepening the "Co-Creation Initiatives"
The Co-Creation Initiatives are a series of global creative initiatives open to filmmakers and image creators worldwide. Through deep collaboration across multiple dimensions — including product co-creation, discovery and promotion, and content co-creation — SmallRig aims to expand the boundaries of mobile filmmaking and bring the spirit of Free Your Dream to life with creators everywhere.
Following the launch of the Mobile Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative at the 14th International Smartphone Film Festival, SmallRig announced the launch of the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative on December 6th at the 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival. The initiative invites global creators and every family to participate, focusing on three core directions: product co-creation, work promotion, and content co-creation, to explore the possibilities of family filmmaking for everyone.
Mr. Zhou Yang, Founder and CEO of SmallRig, shared the inspiration for the initiative: "The initiative is rooted in the immense universality and profound emotional depth inherent in family narratives, which serve as a common emotional bond connecting global audiences. We firmly believe that in this era, where everyone can be a content creator, every family can and should film their own story. The instinct to create is deeply embedded in the human spirit, and every home is the origin of countless narratives."
Gu Xue, Founder and Director of the FamilyLens International Film Festival, stated: "We hope that people and practitioners around the world who care about family movies can find suitable solutions and gain insights from the Co-Creation Initiatives. We look forward to more and more people exploring the field of 'Home' together through this initiative."
To address the pain points of family filmmaking, SmallRig officially released the SmallRig Family Filmmaking Kit at the opening ceremony. The kit includes a high-quality microphone, fill light, and a portable tripod, specifically designed to achieve "professional function democratization" and "complex feature simplification." During the FamilyLens Workshop, attendees experienced the convenience of the equipment firsthand. Many expressed that the kit truly solves many problems, enabling ordinary families to complete necessary filming without specialized photography knowledge.
Social Impact Screening Program
The 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival is open to the public from December 6th to 14th. The festival opened with the screening of well-received documentary: K-Family Affairs. In addition to the competition section, the festival features several distinctive sections, including the Reframing Home Movies— An Italian Retrospective, Youth Film Program, Filmmaker in Focus, and the Social Impact Program. Four major awards, such as the Real-Life Portrait Award and the Artistic Exploration Award, will also be presented.
As a key component of the Co-Creation Initiatives, the SmallRig Image Development Fund partnered with the FamilyLens International Film Festival to curate the "Social Impact Screening Program." This unit focuses on elevating awareness of critical issues within the family unit, advocating for a new reflection: "Starting with Seeing, Concluding with Understanding."
Arum Nam, Director of K-Family Affairs, stated:
"Starting with the stories of your family, your friends, and yourself, I believe this personal narrative can connect directly to the bigger society."
SmallRig believes that truly meaningful social impact storytelling stems from awareness in proximity—achieved by using the lens to penetrate the daily surface and enabling a deep, empathetic "Seeing with Empathy."
The four featured works in this unit are:
- People of the Ascent
- Granny's Lost and Found
- Ruixi at Fourteen
- No Country For My Maternal Grandma
These films highlight four family issues that require "seeing": the yearning of left-behind children, the mental isolation of Alzheimer's patients, the elderly searching for subjectivity in their drifting lives, and the emotional volatility and struggle of Bipolar Disorder.
Strategic Outlook and Future Expansion
SmallRig will continue to support the Family Filmmaking Co-Creation Initiative's deep development through promotional campaigns and practical workshops focused on family movie scenarios.
The overall goal of SmallRig's Global Co-creation Initiative is to continuously explore and meet the growing, diverse needs of global creators across different vertical domains. SmallRig is committed to persistently expanding the co-creation model into more imaging sectors, collaborating with industry partners to push the boundaries of imaging and grant global creators broader creative freedom.
About SmallRig
Founded in 2013, SmallRig is an innovation-driven global company that designs and manufactures comprehensive support solutions and accessories for all content creation needs. Trusted by over four million creators globally, SmallRig pioneered the User Co-creation Design (UCD) philosophy and the DreamRig Program.
For more information, visit: www.smallrig.com.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
SmallRig and FamilyLens Launch Global Family Filmmaking Initiative at 3rd FamilyLens International Film Festival
