Macau maintained its status as the city with the most Forbes-recognised five-star hotels in the world, according to the 2025 Star Awards by Forbes Travel Guide. The city now boasts 24 five-star award winners, two more than in the previous year, according to the data released on Wednesday.
Most of Macau’s luxury hotels are located at casino resort properties.
The Epic Tower, a hotel at the Studio City complex, promoted by Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, and the Raffles at Galaxy Macau (pictured), run by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, are the newcomers to the Forbes list of Macau’s five-star hospitality venues.
When spas and restaurants are also taken into account, Macau boasted 67 Forbes-rated five-star venues on the 2024 list. Seven new five-star restaurants were added to the list, meaning it now has 25 top-rated eateries for Macau. The city additionally had 18 spas with a five-star rating in this year’s list.
Top-rated hospitality venues include: Galaxy Hotel, part of the Galaxy Macau resort; Grand Lisboa Palace Macau, and The Karl Lagerfeld, two hotels at the Grand Lisboa Palace property of SJM Holdings Ltd; and the British-themed The Londoner Hotel, plus the exclusive Londoner Court, both part of The Londoner Macao, operated by Sands China.
Aside from Raffles at Galaxy Macau, other hotels with a five-star rating at Galaxy Macau included: the Banyan Tree Macau, Hotel Okura Macau, and the Ritz-Carlton, Macau. The resort also features two top-tier spas and one five-star restaurant.
Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd earned five-star awards for several of its hotels, spas and restaurants in Macau, encompassing its City of Dreams, Studio City, and Altira Macau properties. New to the list were the Epic Tower hotel, the Spa at Epic Tower and the Aurora restaurant at Altira Macau.
Wynn Macau Ltd had five-star awards in Macau distributed among its hotels, restaurants and spas at Wynn Macau on the city’s peninsula, and Wynn Palace, in the Cotai district. Chef Tam’s Seasons restaurant at Wynn Palace earned a five-star rating for the first time.
Aside from Grand Lisboa Palace Macau, and The Karl Lagerfeld hotel, SJM Holdings received additional five-star ratings from Forbes, including for the Grand Lisboa hotel, four spas and six restaurants. Don Alfonso 1890, at Palazzo Versace Macau, Mesa by José Avillez, at The Karl Lagerfeld Hotel, and Zuicho at Grand Lisboa Palace Macau were the new five-star rated eateries.
Several venues of MGM China Holdings Ltd were also assessed in Forbes’ latest list. The company garnered a total of seven five-star awards for 2025, spread between its MGM Macau and MGM Cotai properties. They were for three hotels, two restaurants and two spas.
Part of the Sands China portfolio, the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, and the Grand Suites at the Four Seasons Hotel Macao, were also awarded five-stars by Forbes. The Four Seasons also had its spa and the Zi Yat Heen restaurant recognised in the top tier of the awards. The Huaiyang Garden, at The Londoner Hotel, joined the group’s five-star Forbes portfolio this year.
Aside from the accolades for the city’s integrated resorts, the Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Macau received a five-star award.
There were also four hotels in Macau rated four-star, and three “recommended” properties. Two of the city’s spas received a four-star award. Three of the city’s restaurants also received a four-star rating.
The Forbes Travel Guide also gives updates on hotels in other Asian destinations, including places with casino industries. A new five-star hotel arrived in Singapore: The Paiza Collection at Marina Bay Sands, a gaming property run by Sands China’s parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp. The city-state now boasts four hotels rated five-stars, according to the 2025 list.
The Marina Bay Sands complex also features one five-star restaurant and three four-star eateries.
In the Philippines, four hotels have been awarded five-stars by Forbes, including the Okada Manila casino resort, run by a unit of Universal Entertainment Corp; Nüwa Manila at City of Dreams Manila, operated by a subsidiary of Melco Resorts; and Sky Tower at Solaire Resort Entertainment City, a property of Bloomberry Resorts Corp.
The Nüwa Spa Manila and The Retreat Spa at Okada Manila have also received top marks in this year’s list.
Macau the city with most Forbes five-star hotels for third straight year
