How the Folio works.

The Folio is an editorial reading of the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star list, plus our own picks for notable new openings each year. Forbes maintains a rigorous inspection programme; our job isn't to replicate that. Our job is to answer the question you'd actually ask if you sat across from us at dinner — which of these properties is the right one for you?

Every property on the list is real and recognized. Whether it's right for any given trip is a different question. We score each one on seven axes and write an opinionated verdict on who it suits and who should look elsewhere. The current edition is the 2026 list.

Each property is scored 1–10 on the same seven dimensions. The sliders on the browse page let you weight your priorities; the list re-ranks by closest fit to your profile in real time.

Some intel belongs in the open: the verdict, the best room, the nearby experiences worth flying for, the booking window guidance. That's on the public page.

Some intel belongs in a one-on-one conversation: rates, service- charge structures, in-room dining premiums, the actual numbers behind “the entry-level room is fine” or “the suite is worth it.” Those live in advisor-only fields and never reach this surface — by structure, not by editorial restraint. The query that powers these pages can't see them.

If you want the cost picture for a specific property, that's a conversation with our concierge — and a faster, more honest answer than any published number could give you, because rates change, packages change, and the right shoulder week for your dates is something we calibrate live.

Forbes refreshes the list each February. When the 2027edition lands, we'll add the new awards as data — every Folio page updates itself to reflect the new edition without a code change.

The homepage banner, the browse page header, and this page all read the current year programmatically. There is no “2026hardcoded somewhere” problem to fix later.

When a property drops off the current Forbes list, we mark it “retired” rather than deleting the page. The detail page stays live with a polite banner noting that the property held a Forbes rating through the most recent year we reviewed, and the year-snapshot pages preserve the historical record.

We do this for two reasons. First, retirement is rarely about quality collapse — properties cycle off lists for ownership changes, renovation downtime, or shifting inspection criteria. Second, breaking links damages the open web; if someone bookmarked a property a year ago, that bookmark should still work.

Our editorial intel on retired properties reflects our last review. For current information, we recommend speaking with us or contacting the property directly.

Each year we add a small set of new openings that we believe warrant Five-Star consideration in the next inspection cycle. These properties are tagged distinctly and don't carry a Forbes tier — the assessment is ours. We're wrong sometimes, and the list changes annually as the next inspection round closes.

A small number of properties on the Folio — private islands, member-only buying clubs, properties that don't take unsolicited bookings — are tagged “By Invitation.” The editorial intel is the same; the booking process is different. If one catches your eye, the route in is through us.