The Luxury Standard
How we select hotels
Four steps, published in full: a wide start, four layers, a check against the hotel's own site, and an editorial verdict.
Every hotel on this site passed the same four steps. We explain them here so you can judge our lists, not just read them.
1. A wide start
We analyzed more than 250,000 US properties. From those we keep hotels, resorts, inns and small hotels that meet a luxury or upper-upscale standard on service, facilities, guest satisfaction and location. Vacation rentals sold as hotels, timeshares, condo units and mid-scale brands are removed.
2. The Luxury Standard: four layers
| Layer | What it means |
|---|---|
| Luxury Signature | The top segment: luxury brands and five-star level hotels with a proven guest rating of 8.0 or higher out of 10. |
| Luxury Select | Upper-upscale hotels with a very high guest rating (8.8 or higher) and at least three of spa, pool, restaurant, bar and fitness. |
| Luxury Hideaway | Small boutique hotels, inns and bed-and-breakfasts with a guest rating of 9.3 or higher. |
| Luxury Stays | Villas, glamping and lodges at a luxury level. Kept apart from hotel lists, because the trip is different. |
A layer is a label for the kind of hotel. It is not a score, and a Hideaway is not a lesser pick than a Signature hotel; it is a different kind of stay.
3. A check before publication
Before a hotel goes on a list, we check it against its own website or its brand's website: that it is open, what it is called now, what kind of property it is, and the facts we mention (rooms, restaurants, spa, pet policy). Awards are named only when the awarding body or the hotel confirms them. Facts we cannot confirm are left out rather than guessed. The date of that check is shown on each list as Last verified.
4. An editorial verdict
Each hotel then gets:
- one of four verdicts: Worth every dollar if, Worth it for, Splurge wisely or Skip unless;
- one Best for tag: Couples, Families, With your dog, Wellness and spa, Adventure and outdoors, Food lovers, Work plus stay, or Celebrations;
- a Skip it if line with a concrete limitation or a better alternative.
These are judgments made on paper, from checked facts. We say so, and we do not claim stays or inspections that did not happen.
Guest ratings and the Luxury Score
Where we show a guest rating, it is the rating out of 10 from verified guest reviews on Booking.com, always with the number of reviews, rounded down. Below 50 reviews we show no rating. A guest rating is not our opinion and never shown as stars.
The Luxury Score (0 to 100) is our own assessment. It combines guest satisfaction, review volume, facilities, recognized distinctions and our editorial judgment. We show it only for hotels whose editorial assessment is complete, and never as a relabeled guest rating.
What gets a page
A destination guide is published only with at least eight checked hotels, a collection with at least twelve. Pages that do not reach that yet stay unpublished. We do not publish separate hotel pages until we can write a full review worth reading.
Independence
Hotels cannot pay to be included, and commissions never change a verdict. How we make money. Found a mistake? Tell us.