Forbes Travel Guide revealed its 2023 Star Awards winners, a list of the world’s finest hotels, restaurants, spas and – new this year – ocean cruises.

To compile the 65th annual Star Awards, Forbes Travel Guide’s incognito inspectors check into hotels and cruise ships, dine in the restaurants and experience spa services while posing as ordinary guests. The inspectors test up to 900 rigorous standards, from modern-day luxuries – such as whether a room is set up to enhance sleep quality or whether the food-and-beverage choices support a guest’s well-being – to more traditional elements, such as the décor and the attention the staff pays to a guest. Seventy percent of a property’s rating relies on its service – with a more exacting look at the guest experience as a new service metric for 2023 – while the remaining 30 percent accounts for the quality and condition of its facilities.

This year’s list features:

• 48 new Five-Star hotels;
• 64 new Four-Star properties;
• 45 new Recommended hotels.

Several new countries – including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Tunisia and Cyprus – make their first appearance in the Star Awards while nine international destinations welcomed their first Five-Star hotels this year, including Athens (Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens), Capri (J.K. Place Capri), Kuwait (Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya), Lake Como (Mandarin Oriental, Lago di Como) and Shenzhen (Mandarin Oriental, Shenzhen).

See the full list of Star-Rated properties here to learn about the most notable new achievements in the hospitality industry.