I appreciate your comments and take your point. Still, no reasonable agency of any international repute qualifies most Sheratons and Westins and the like as 5* hotels. I realize 5* and luxury have different connotations, but they also largely are redundant and certainly aren’t mutually exclusive. I’ll comfortably stand by my earlier comments.

We should be careful not to confuse 5* with luxury. In many countries, a 5* designation is based on a number of check marks, not qualify or good service. For instance, in France, stars are based on things like 24 hour rooms service (no matter how minimal) or the presence of a minibar, and in former times elevators and direct dial telephones in guest rooms. Many or the nongovernmental entities that do hotel listings have similar systems, including AAA, Michelin, Gault-Millault, etc. Different systems can assign different numbers to stars to a given hotel, for example consider the discussion about OLTAs and opaque booking systems.

So it's relatively easy for certain foreign Hiltons, Marriotts, Sheratons, etc. to obtain 5* ratings even though they fall far short of what we mean by genuine luxury in the FT Luxury Travel forum.

Thanks I think you’ll discover that the list of 5* hotels in the Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Marriott, and Renaissance brands, and even the JW Marriott brand (the only brand among these with ADR that puts it in the luxury hotels category, FWIW) is quite small. If you want to dig deep to find some vague and inconsequential 5* ratings from national “agencies “ that have no impact for world for any experienced luxury/5* traveler, then you’re welcome to believe them and include them. I think we all know better. When ever TripAdvisor calls it a 4 or 4.5 star hotel, it’s pretty clear it’s no 5 star hotel. No matter what any promotional agency may say.

I encourage students to always apply critical thinking when evaluating any information or evidence. Any regional or national tourism agency that wants to promote its hotels as 5 star is entitled to do so...but is obviously inflating its ratings when the same 5 star categories internationally don’t include those same hotels. The same goes when the occasional arrogant owner proclaims their hotel to be 6* (like the Burj Al Arab in Dubai).

Let’s not forget the statement that began this interlude was the claim that the majority of Sheratons and Westins in Asia are 5* hotels. That is ridiculous. Not even 10% of those brands are 5* hotels by any remotely useful international definition. Even in Asia.

Bhrubin, just out of curiosity - have you ever stayed in any of these hotels? Many (I don’t know how many - 50-60 maybe) are clearly comparable to hotels which are called 5* in the US.

I think this is ultimately a definition issue. The US is unique in the world where the term 5* describes an almost philsophocal concept. In almost every other country a 5* rating is literal and either given or not - just like a driving licence. You can’t argue someone does not have a driving licence just because you don’t like their driving.

Around the world 5* means exactly that: recognised as 5*. The definitions are usually pretty common and mentioned above: 24 hour room service, spa, gym, sometimes a pool, on-site restaurant and bar, concierge, etc. You surely can see the flaw in arguing that 5* hotels are not really 5* because they don’t conform to vague standards you apply from the US - the one country where 5* is not properly defined.

Being recognized as 5* is not the definition of 5* as you claim above; that’s a circular non sequitur definition, I’m afraid. Almost all 5 star hotels offer luxury decor and design, high levels of food/beverage, a full operating spa by many definitions, the best in category of facilities...and individualized and personalized levels of service. Most of the hotels you and others claim to be 5* don’t even come close in terms of indvidualized and personalized service. It isn’t even close.

Service tends to be where the brand new and shiny/beautiful hotels are differentiated. There’s a reason most of the Design Hotels, while often beautiful and dramatic, still don’t qualify as 5*/luxury: service. There’s a reason why my stay last night at the JW Austin was not 5 star, despite the very beautiful suite and wonderful hotel amenities: service.

The fact that the definition of 5* arose between Europe and N America has to do with the relative wealth concentration and luxury travelers in those regions. Only recently has there been a surge in luxury travelers from elsewhere in any numbers: namely, China.

I’ve stayed at many of the aforementioned hotels. I’ve visited even more. I’m comfortable in knowing what a 5* hotel is. Again, your case collapses when even TripAdvisir doesn’t recognize a hotel as 5 star—and they characterize a lot of hotels as 5* that most luxury travelers or guides wouldn’t ever qualify in that manner.

St Regis and Ritz Carlton properties are almost always 5 star hotels. Most but not all Luxury Collection properties are 5 star hotels. Some but not most W hotels are 5 star properties. Some Edition hotels could be considered 5 star properties. A few JW Marriott properties might even be considered 5 star—and that still commands rates in the luxury category as a brand! Those JWs are more likely to be resorts if I had to guess. But still, far fewer than half of all JWs would qualify as 5 star hotels. Perhaps less than a quarter or even lessM

Very few Upper upscale branded hotels are 5 star properties. The Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Marriott, and Renaissance brands are considered upper upscale and not luxury for a reason.