Travel in style: Forbes publishes its 2020 star award winners

Looking to jet off to far flung places in luxury? Or perhaps you want a taste of the very best right here in Atlanta. Either way, Forbes Travel Guide has the scoop. The publication recently released its annual star award winners for 2020.

Forbes’ list of star award winners recognizes the crème de la crème across various components of travel, including hotels, restaurants and spas. The list even gave some nods to properties right here in Atlanta.

Forbes, which has published the list for 62 years, looks at up to 900 factors at each property they visit. Including things like how long it took a staff member to greet them curbside and whether turndown service was up to standard.

"To uncover the most outstanding properties, Forbes Travel Guide's incognito inspectors check into a hotel for a minimum of two nights, posing as ordinary guests and paying their own way," according to Forbes.

What are you waiting for? Here are some top spots to check out, according to Forbes.

Best hotels

Forbes found that London is the city with the most five-star hotels in the world, a record-setting 19 properties received the top rating this year. They gave special nods to: The Berkeley; Brown's Hotel, a Rocco Forte Hotel; The Egerton House Hotel; Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square; The Milestone Hotel & Residences; and Rosewood London.

Forbes also recognized hotels in the Maldives for a solid showing on this years list, with six properties receiving the five-star rating.

In the states, nine new hotels joined the top-tier rating, including Encore at Wynn Las Vegas and Wynn Las Vegas.

Best restaurants

On the foot front, Asia received a good share of the best in class nods from Forbes. Macau is home to the most five-star restaurants in the world with 23 five-star eateries. That includes newcomers like Lai Heen and SW Steakhouse at Wynn Palace Macau, according to Forbes.

Forbes also recognized stand out food in China like Bo Innovation.

In the United States, California has the most five-star restaurants at 12. New to the top tier this year includes

SingleThread Farms Restaurant in Sonoma and Atelier Crenn in San Francisco.

Best spas

Worldwide, 24 spas got five-star ratings in 2020 for the first time. Forbes gave high praise to Los Cabos destinations like

One&Only Spa at Palmilla and Waldorf Astoria Spa Los Cabos.

Stateside, Arizona's Aji Spa was recognized as one of the best.

Nods to Georgia

Here in Georgia, eight properties earned recognition on the Forbes list. Atlas Buckhead and Loews Atlanta Hotel both come “recommended” by Forbes.

While these properties earned four-star recognition:
Bacchanalia
Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta
Remède Spa Atlanta
The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta
The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee
The St. Regis Atlanta