LONDON, Feb 21 — London has unseated Macau as the city with the most five-starred hotels in the latest Forbes Travel Guide, while countries like Malaysia, South Korea and Portugal have gained entry into the exclusive five-star club for the first time. 

Forbes has released the results of its 61st annual list of Star Rating winners, which rates properties in 76 countries. This year, the guide added new destinations for consideration including Anguilla, Bahrain, Belize, Danang, Doha, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Istanbul, Oman, Perth, the Swiss Alps, Tel Aviv and Uruguay. 

With a total of 13 top-ranked hotels, London edged out Macau to boast the highest number of five-starred properties thanks to a sprinkling of new stars on Bulgari Hotel & Residences, London; The Langham, London; Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London; and Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, London.  

Macau has a dozen five-starred hotels. 

For the guide, anonymous inspectors evaluate hotels based on 900 standards and pay their own way.  

A five-star rating denotes outstanding properties with virtually flawless service and amazing facilities. Four stars denote exceptional properties offering high levels of service and facilities to match.  

The Peninsula Hotels brand also won big this year, becoming the first all-star hotel company after bagging five stars for The Peninsula Manila and bringing the company's five-star tally to all 10 of its properties.  

Here's a look at countries and properties that captured their first five-star rating: 

Malaysia: Crockfords at Resorts World Genting  Portugal: Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon  South Korea: The Shilla Seoul  Turkey: Raffles Istanbul  Vietnam: Four Seasons resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An  

For the full list visit of winners visit https://stories.forbestravelguide.com/forbes-travel-guide-reveals-its-2019-star-award-winners. — AFP-Relaxnews