‘Shock’ results of new luxury hotel league table

A new league table of luxury hotel brands, based on a study of 2.25 million guest reviews, has thrown up a few surprises.

Four Seasons, described in the report as ‘once the byword for impeccable standards’ failed to make the top 10, while Aman Resorts ‘the darling of luxury hotel aficionados’, was ranked 42nd out of 59.

Other well-established luxury brands, Peninsula, St. Regis and Waldorf Astoria, were also absent from the top 10.

The study analysed the TripAdvisor reviews of nearly 1,600 hotels across 59 global brands.

Piers Schmidt, founder of Luxury Branding, which published the report, said: "Due to the internet, luxury travellers are better informed than ever and with the continued rapid growth of sites like TripAdvisor, a more reliable assessment of luxury hospitality has emerged.

"These findings may surprise quite a few in the industry but the brands’ guests have spoken and now they’re being heard."

Top of the 2015 league table was The Ritz Carlton, which won by a landslide margin and was nearly twice as popular as its closest rival, Oberoi Hotels and Resorts.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, which is around the same size as The Ritz Carlton in terms of the number of hotels, came 9th in the table but with a rating four times poorer.

Arch-rival Four Seasons has only a few more hotels but came in at 13th place with an average rating nearly five times poorer than that of The Ritz-Carlton

But the report said the most controversial result was the ‘shock appearance’ of Aman Hotels & Resorts, in a lowly 43rd.

"According to many industry insiders, Aman is the Rolls-Royce of hospitality so why is it rated so poorly? Put simply, Aman properties do not achieve good ratings on TripAdvisor," said the report.

"A typical rebuttal of these findings will be that the type of people who patronise Aman’s growing collection of boutique properties are too busy being important and pursuing luxury travel itineraries to bother with TripAdvisor. But a closer look at the data reveals this reaction for what it is – the triumph of affection over fact.

"After all, somebody must have submitted the 5,112 reviews we included and they can’t all have been ‘lottery winners’, people benefitting from low seasons discounts or philistines taking the cheap rooms – because there aren’t many of those to be found at an Aman.

"No, these 5,000 or so people are real Aman customers and they are equally entitled to their opinion as anyone else. "

The report also claims Four Seasons is failing to maintain consistency as its portfolio grows.

"Despite no fewer than 17 properties placing first in their locations, a sizeable number performed badly enough to diminish the brand’s overall ranking," it said.

"Notable culprits were Canary Wharf, New York, Dubai and Marrakech. Whilst this legendary group continues to wow its guests at its resort properties worldwide, it seems that some of its city product has now begun to fall short of the competition."

Four Seasons declined to comment and Aman Resorts did not respond to TravelMole’s requests for comment.