Forbes Travel Guide — Delivering the Scoop on Award-Winning Luxury Travel Experiences for Adventure-Seeking Couples Worldwide

The Short Version: Lovebirds wanting to indulge in an extravagant romantic getaway don’t need to look any further than Forbes Travel Guide. After 60 successful years in the travel industry, Forbes Travel Guide still sets the standard in identifying the very best the hospitality world has to offer. The team’s unbiased, professional evaluations and rating system ensure that their recommendations thrill their clients. In addition to rating the top hotels, restaurants, and spas around the world, Forbes inspires people to travel to new places through its expertly written articles and beautifully captured Instagram feed.

One of the most pleasurable ways to get closer to your significant other is to travel with them. Studies show couples who do so improve their communication skills and deepen their bond. They also create lasting memories, which brings them closer together even years after the event takes place.

In addition, travel can be a good way to escape the everyday, experience something more luxurious, and add more romance into the relationship. Before you head out, though, you may want to consult with the experts at Forbes Travel Guide.

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Forbes Travel Guide directs travelers to the best high-end hotels, restaurants, and spas in up to 50 countries. These recommendations aren’t just based on the average couple’s feedback. Forbes has created the only independent, global rating system for luxury properties and has a team of hospitality professionals who evaluate and appraise these properties on as many as 900 objective standards.

Amanda Frasier, Senior Vice President of Rating, said the Forbes Travel Guide Story goes all the way back to 1958.

“Mobil Gas wanted to provide assistance to the American public now in their automobiles driving around the country. They wanted to help them find comfortable places for them to eat and dine, which was essentially a wonderful marketing campaign for Mobil Gas. The guidebook really took off, and it became so popular that they gave the production of the guide to Simon & Schuster, the publishing house,” she said.

In 2009, the travel guide was relicensed to Forbes and then became digital shortly after in 2011. The guide is currently available in 50 countries, and an additional 10 countries will be added to the list in the next year alone. Forbes Travel Guide is unique in how it rates hotels, restaurants, and spas all over the world, and it’s a boon for properties to be rated in these categories: Recommended, 4-star, and 5-star. Each category has strict criteria that are universally upheld regardless of the location.

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Tom Flournoy, Senior Vice President of Operations, told us Forbes Travel Guide is an invaluable resource to travelers, especially those looking for a luxurious experience.

“We offer an objective system and predictable level of service with a unique service level. So you could go to any number of sites to figure out where to go, and they are mostly opinion-driven and reader-driven, and those have a place in the industry. But, if you’re trying to get the best at each of these rating levels, there’s really only one place to go to have an objective recommendation based on a professional evaluation.” That place is Forbes Travel Guide.

Every couple has a different idea of luxury, so Forbes Travel Guide has created a system to help them shape the experience they (and their wallets) are looking for. Tom said, “We designed the award winners page with filters to make it easy for couples planning a trip to find hotels at the rating level they’re comfortable with in their destination.”

For instance, travelers may prefer a 4-star accommodation to a 5-star accommodation to save money for the 5-star spa they prefer to indulge in during their stay. To ensure travelers have the best, most consistent experience no matter where they are, every hotel, restaurant, and spa has been expertly vetted.

“Properties are identified through deep research and with people in the region. Then we conduct inspections against our global standards which we redefine each year. Whether you stay in a 5-star hotel in Macau or London or Frankfurt, then your experience is going to be fairly similar with a certain level of service guaranteed,” Amanda said.

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The process of evaluation is professionally and ethically driven for honest results that travelers can count on.

“The inspectors pay for everything ourselves, and we don’t announce ourselves when we go to the hotel. Our inspectors conduct a two-night, three-day evaluation on the set standards. We go through a meticulous report. For hotels, it’s approximately 500 different standards that we use. We go through every service the hotel offers personally, and we evaluate each of those services based on the rating criteria,” Tom said.

The site is remarkably easy to use as well. Just enter your desired destination in the search field, and all the featured hotels will show up by default. You can switch over to featured spas if you prefer, and the results can be sorted by ranking. From there, click on a property and see information such as Our Inspector’s Highlights and things to know. It’s a trusted one-stop shop.

Forbes Travel Guide produces helpful content on all things hospitality on its blog, focusing on everything from new hotel openings to rooftop bars to romantic weekend getaways.

“We are so proud of the stories that we write. We publish between 10 and 15 articles per week from places all over the globe,” Tom said.

For couples who love wine and art, a simple click on “4 Wineries with Stellar Art Collections” will give you insight on where you can immerse yourself in both for a nice long weekend.

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If the friendly ambiance and laid-back nature of Amsterdam intrigues you, check out “Why We’re Going to Amsterdam This Spring.” Spoiler alert: It’s due to the amazing museums, tulips in high bloom, and the citywide party, Kings Day. The author also gives a few recommendations on where to stay and spa.

These travel articles are fun to read and provide great information. For even more travel inspiration, follow Forbes Travel Guide on Instagram.

This is an exciting time for Forbes Travel Guide as the team announced its a new list with even more accommodations and services.

“As of today’s announcement, we have several more destinations and 27 new 5-star hotels, restaurants, and spas” Amanda said.

When asked how the team feels about what they do for travelers, Tom said, “We love what we do! We take pride in delivering the highest quality rating with this rock-solid, time-tested process with passionate people who really want to bring forward truth and objectivity. It’s the fulfillment of why we’re here.”