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:
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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
AUSTIN, Texas, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Saronic today announced it has selected Brownsville, Texas as the future home of Port Alpha, its next-generation shipyard designed to help restore American maritime strength and significantly expand the nation's shipbuilding capacity.
The announcement marks a major milestone in Saronic's mission to restore U.S. shipbuilding capacity at scale. First introduced as a vision for the future of maritime manufacturing, Port Alpha now moves from concept to reality through a planned investment of more than $3 billion that aims to establish one of the most advanced shipyards in the world, built for software-defined shipbuilding and autonomous maritime systems.
The project is expected to generate more than $160 billion in regional economic impact for Cameron County and $264.5 billion for the State of Texas, while creating up to 10,000 direct jobs. This makes Port Alpha one of the largest economic development projects in modern Texas history. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2026, with Port Alpha expected to open for operations in 2028.
The timing is pivotal. In one of his first actions in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Restoring America's Maritime Dominance, followed by federal initiatives such as the SHIPS for America Act and the Maritime Action Plan that call for a generational rebuild of the American shipbuilding industry. These efforts recognize that economic security and national security are inseparable, and that restoring U.S. shipbuilding capacity is essential to both. Port Alpha will expand domestic production capacity and strengthen the nation's ability to meet commercial and defense requirements while closing the widening shipbuilding gap with foreign adversaries.
"America's maritime future depends on our ability to build again," said Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder and CEO of Saronic. "Port Alpha is our commitment to that mission. Built from the ground up to deliver ships at a speed and scale not seen since World War II, this investment is about more than constructing a shipyard. It is about rebuilding the industrial capacity, workforce, and manufacturing advantage required to ensure American maritime leadership for decades to come. The state of Texas and city of Brownsville give us the foundation to turn that vision into reality."
Following a year-long nationwide search evaluating sites across the East, West, and Gulf Coasts, Brownsville was selected after a rigorous review of workforce availability, infrastructure readiness, land scale, logistics, and expansion potential. Initially situated on 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville, with the opportunity to expand to nearly 4,400 acres, Port Alpha will encompass a shipyard and manufacturing facility capable of producing vessels up to 850-ft. Future site expansion could support the production of vessels over 1,200 ft. The site provides hundreds of acres of waterfront access, deepwater channel connectivity, multimodal logistics infrastructure, and room for long-term expansion—everything required to anchor a next-generation shipbuilding hub.
"Today marks history with the announcement of the most advanced shipyard in the entire world," said Governor Abbott. "When this shipyard gets fully built out, there will be about 10,000 employees. Saronic is going to be providing about $750 million in annual paychecks to Texans. That's game-changing for the population of Texas. As Governor, I'm proud that Saronic calls Texas home."
Over the next decade, Port Alpha is expected to create up to 10,000 high-quality direct jobs spanning skilled trades such as welding and machining to advanced roles in robotics, software engineering, and naval architecture. The project aligns with national calls to rebuild the maritime workforce pipeline, creating new opportunities for skilled workers at the intersection of shipbuilding and advanced technology. Saronic will collaborate with the State of Texas, Cameron County, and local educational institutions – from regional technical colleges to leading State universities and institutions – to develop workforce training and apprenticeship programs designed to sustain long-term industrial growth and position South Texas as a center of excellence for advanced maritime manufacturing.
Port Alpha builds on Saronic's expanding shipbuilding footprint. In early 2025, the company acquired a shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, where it is investing $300 million to add 300,000 square feet of production capacity. That facility will continue producing Saronic's 180-foot Marauder autonomous vessel, which was designed and launched in less than one year. Together, these facilities represent a multi-billion-dollar private capital commitment to restoring American shipbuilding capacity, advancing autonomous maritime systems, and strengthening the nation's industrial resilience.
More than a shipyard, Port Alpha represents a new model for American shipbuilding—combining advanced manufacturing, software-defined production, and autonomy at unprecedented scale. To sustain that edge, Saronic is forging strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers, emerging shipbuilding technology providers, and premier suppliers, ensuring that the latest capabilities continuously strengthen and inform Port Alpha's production architecture alongside Saronics' in-house expertise. In doing so, Port Alpha embodies the transformation envisioned in national maritime strategy, one that leverages technology to strengthen deterrence, resilience, and operational flexibility. As construction advances, Saronic will continue working with federal, state, and local partners to establish the industrial foundation required for the next generation of maritime power in America.
Contact: press@saronic.com
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Saronic to Build Port Alpha, America's Next Generation Shipyard, in Brownsville, Texas
