Loved By Guests Awards 2018: Who’s on Top?

DALLAS—The U.S. had the highest number of “Most Wanted” properties worldwide in the Hotels.com Loved by Guests Awards 2018, voted on by guests.

Knowing that reviews are becoming even more influential than the official star ratings, Hotels.com looked at more than 25 million Hotels.com guest reviews on the website to pick the winners.

New York, Chicago and Houston topped the list of award-winning cities in the U.S., continuing their reign from last year. Additionally, travelers can check into award-winning properties in more than 500 towns and cities across the country.

For travelers visiting the Big Apple, there are many Most Wanted properties to choose from with 20 properties receiving an average guest rating of 9.4 or higher. The Mark and The Library Hotel both received a 9.6 average guest rating, with Conrad New York and Hotel 50 Bowery not far behind with a 9.4.

Chicago also had properties that guests loved, with The Sono Chicago, The Peninsula Chicago and The Langham all receiving a 9.8 average guest rating.

In Houston, top hotels were the Hotel Granduca Houston and The Lancaster Hotel, both receiving a 9.6 average guest rating. The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, which received a 9.4, was another highly rated option. 

Top 5 Cities in the U.S.:
New York: 20 hotels
Chicago: 17 hotels
Houston: 16 hotels
Washington, DC: 11 hotels
Austin, TX: 11 hotels

More than 3,400 properties across 91 countries were identified as truly outstanding. The winning hotels had to receive a rating of 9.4 (out of 10) or above to be categorized as one of the world’s “Most Wanted” properties. Globally, the U.S. had 1,498 properties receiving a ‘Most Wanted’ award, with Italy (232), the U.K. (192), Canada (126) and Spain (101) rounding out the top five countries.

While the U.S. had the most “Most Wanted” hotels total by far, the awarded properties were widely spread across several cities in the states. The cities around the globe where travelers are most likely to check into a Most Wanted award-winning hotel are Rome (39), Florence (38), London (36), Hanoi (36) and Venice (32)—with Italy home to three out of the top five cities.

More than 20 properties around the world received a “10 out of 10” in their reviews throughout the whole of 2017. The U.K. had six hotels receiving top marks, followed by five in the U.S. and two in the Czech Republic. Korea, New Zealand, Vietnam, Iceland, Portugal, Turkey, Brazil, Canada and Indonesia all had one hotel each with a perfect report.