Restaurant ratings

Restaurant guides and reviewer often use stars in restaurant ratings. The Michelin system reserves stars for exceptional restaurants, and gives up to three; the vast majority of recommended restaurants have no star at all. Other guides now use up to four or five stars, with one star being the lowest rating. The stars are sometimes replaced by symbols such as a fork or spoon. Some guides use separate scales for food, service, ambiance, and even noise level. The Michelin system remains the best known star system. A single star denotes "a very good restaurant in its category", two stars "excellent cooking, worth a detour", and three stars, "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey".[1] Michelin stars are awarded only for the quality of food and wine; the luxury level of the restaurant is rated separately, using a scale of one ("quite comfortable") to five ("luxury in the traditional style") crossed fork and spoon symbols.
Standards of hotel classification

Food services, entertainment, view, room variations such as size and additional amenities, spas and fitness centers, ease of access and location may be considered in establishing a standard. The more common classification systems include 'star' rating, letter grading, from 'A' to 'F', diamond or simply a 'satisfactory' or 'unsatisfactory' footnote to accommodation such as hostels and motels. Systems using terms such as Deluxe/ Luxury, First Class/ Superior, Tourist Class/ Standard, and Budget Class/ Economy are more widely accepted as hotel types, rather than hotel standards. Some countries have rating by a single public standard - Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Hungary have laws defining the hotel rating. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland the rating is defined by the respective hotel industry association using a 5-star system - the German classifications are Tourist (*), Standard (**), Comfort (***), First Class (****) and Luxus (*****) with the mark Superior to flag extras beyond the minimum defined in the standard. This system has influenced the European Hotelstars rating system. In France, the rating is defined by the public tourist board of the department using a four star system (plus "L" for Luxus) which has changed to a 5-star system from 2009 on. In South Africa and Namibia, the Tourist Grading Council of South Africa has strict rules for a hotel types granting up to 5 stars.
Six star hotels

Some members of the hospitality industry have claimed a self-given six star rating for their operation. Two examples are the Crown Macau, on Taipa Island in the Chinese territory of Macau and the St. Regis Shanghai Hotel in China. Other examples include the Al Husn Hotel at Shangrila's Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa Hotel in Oman.[5] The Palazzo Versace[6]

on the Gold Coast in Australia is described by Australian Traveller magazine as meriting "six star" rating though level of rating is not used in Australia.[7] The under development hotel Mansions of the World in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires has also been announced as a six star hotel project.[8] Seoul Park Hyatt in South Korea is also a six star hotel.[citation needed] The hotel Capella Singapore on Sentosa Island also claims that title.
[edit] Seven star hotels

There are only three hotels in the world that are seven star hotels; the Town House Galleria in Milanis (a city in Italy) was the first, followed by the Burj Al Arab[citation needed] in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.[9] These ratings are merely to create a marketing hype as the highest official ratings in Dubai and Italy, for instance, are five stars.[10] There are a few other seven star hotels under construction. These include the Laucala Island in Fiji, Morgan Plaza to be finished in Beijing, China, the Flower of the East under construction as well as the Solar Powered Hotel on Kish island, Iran.[11] The Centaurus Complex under construction in Islamabad, Pakistan,[12] the Grand Chola in Chennai (India), a complex planned for Metro Manila and The Royalties Castle for Davao City in the Philippines.[13]

Hotelstars
The European Hotelstars Union has created a profiling system based on the earlier German hotelstars system that had widely influenced the hotel classifications in central Europe. The main criteria are in quality management, wellness and sleeping accommodation.[16] In the catalogue of criteria each entry is associated with a number of points - each Hotelstars level requires a minimal sum of points besides some criteria being obligatory for the level.[17] The minimum requirement for the Superior flag requires the same sum of points as for the next Hotelstars level which however was not awarded due to at least one obligatory requirement being left out.[17]
Hotelstar Excerpt of the catalogue of criteria 100 % of the rooms with shower/WC or bath tub/WC - Daily room cleaning - 100 % of the rooms with colour-TV together with remote control - Table and chair - Soap or body wash - Reception service Facsimile at the reception - Publicly available telephone for guests Extended breakfast - Beverage offer in the hotel - Deposit possibility The Superior flag is provided when the additional service and accommodation provisions are not sufficient for the next Hotelstar. The bathroom facilities are usually at the same level as for two stars hotels but built from cheaper materials. The cost for regular inspection by independent associations are waived as well.

Tourist

Superior Tourist

Standard In addition to the single star (*) hotels: - Breakfast buffet - Reading light

next to the bed - Bath essence or shower gel - * Bath towels - Linen shelves - Offer of sanitary products (e.g. toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving kit) - Credit Cards The Superior flag is provided when the additional service and accommodation provisions are not sufficient for the next Hotelstar. The Superior Standard-Superior does usually offer the same service level as three star Standard hotels but the interiors of the hotel are smaller and cheaper so that the three stars were not to be awarded by the inspection body. A two star superior does not require mystery guesting. In addition to the standard star (**) hotels: - Reception opened 14 hours, accessible by phone 24 hours from inside and outside, bilingual staff (e.g. German/English) - Three piece suite at the reception, luggage service Beverage offer in the room - Telephone in the room - Internet access in the room or in the public area - Heating facility in the bathroom, hairdryer, cleansing tissue - Dressing mirror, place to put the luggage/suitcase - Sewing kit, shoe polish utensils, laundry and ironing service - Additional pillow and additional blanket on demand - Systematic complaint management system The Superior flag is provided when the additional service and accommodation provisions are not sufficient for the next Hotelstar. The accommodation facilities for a superior hotel need to be on a modern level and fully renovated which is checked regularly.

Comfort

Superior Comfort

In addition to the comfort star (***) hotels: - Reception opened 18 hours, accessible by phone 24 hours from inside and outside - Lobby with seats and beverage service - Breakfast buffet or breakfast menu card via room service - Minibar or 24 hours beverages via room service - Upholstered First Class chair/couch with side table - Bath robe and slippers on demand - Cosmetic products (e.g. shower cap, nail file, cotton swabs), vanity mirror, tray of a large scale in the bathroom) - Internet access and internet terminal - la carte-restaurant The Superior flag is provided when the first class hotel has a proven high First Class quality not only in the rooms. The superior hotels provide for additional Superior facilities in the hotel like a sauna or a workout room. The quality is checked regularly by mystery guesting of an external inspection service. Luxury In addition to the first class (****) hotels: - Reception opened 24 hours, multilingual staff - Doorman-service or valet parking - Concierge, page boy

- Spacious reception hall with several seats and beverage service Personalized greeting for each guest with fresh flowers or a present in the room - Minibar and food and beverage offer via room service during 24 hours - Personal care products in flacons - Internet-PC in the room - Safe in the room - Ironing service (return within 1 h), shoe polish service Turndown service in the evening - Mystery guesting The Luxury star hotels in itself need to attain high expectations of an international guest service. The Superior Luxury star is only awarded with a system of intensive guest care. These are often member of the The Leading Hotels of the World association.

Superior Luxury