New York, Houston and Chicago boast best hotels in US

969 hotels in the US have been revealed as the country’s ultimate hotel hotspots, according to the Hotels.com ®™ Loved by Guests Awards 2017, where the hotel guests are the real judges.

New York, Houston and Chicago topped the list of award-winning cities in the US, but travellers can check into prize-winning properties in more than 608 towns and cities across the country.

Travelers visiting the Big Apple had plenty of top rated options, with 15 hotels receiving 4.7 stars or higher. The Mark, Hotel Giraffe, The Library Hotel and Baccarat Hotel and Residences New York all received 4.8 stars, with the Q&A Residential Hotel, The Peninsula and 1 Hotel Central Park coming in with a 4.7 star ratings.

Down south, Houston travelers were big fans of the SpringHill Suites, which received 4.9 stars. Other options for travelers are Hotel Granduca, which received 4.8 stars, and the Houstonian Hotel, which received 4.7 stars.

Chicago visitors had some of the best options, with The Sono Chicago receiving a perfect 5 star rating. Other highly rated options were the Langham Hotel with 4.9 stars and the Talbott Hotel with 4.8 stars.

Top 5 Cities in the US winning Loved by Guest Gold Awards:

1.New York – 15 hotels
2.Houston – 14 hotels
3.Chicago – 13 hotels
4.Key West – 10 hotels
5.Charleston – 8 hotels

Hotels.com has over 25 million trusted, genuine guest reviews on its website and is seeing a shift in reviews becoming a more powerful influence than official star ratings, especially as these can be read instantly on travelers’ smartphones on the go.

To find this year’s best of the best, the travel experts analysed millions of guest reviews, with 2,500 hotels across 87 countries being recognized as truly outstanding. Those taking home the top prize of a Loved by Guests Gold Award* have all achieved an average guest review rating of 4.7 or higher* (out of 5).

Worldwide, hotels in the US were the biggest gold award winners, with 969 properties being recognized. Other top countries included the UK (171 hotels), Italy (153), Canada (86) and Spain (70).

The destinations around the globe where travelers are most likely to check into a gold award-winning hotel are: London (31 hotels), Rome (27), Prague (25), Florence (24), Venice (24) and Hanoi (23). To bag the best deals on hotels in these top destinations, download the Hotels.com mobile app for access to Secret Prices.

The Gold Stars
There were 17 hotel superstars that scored the coveted 5 out of 5 from all their reviews in 2016. These top marks went to 10 hotels in the UK, three in Italy, one in the US, one in Croatia and one in the Czech Republic. In the US, The Sono Chicago received the exclusive 5 star score.

Best in Class
When today’s mobile-savvy travelers are heading to the beach, looking for an amazing spa hotel or just want some all-inclusive indulgence, then they should look no further than the 1,000 hotel winners in the Loved by Guests ‘Best for’ categories**. These awards celebrate the very best 100 hotels for each of the 10 bespoke categories – Luxury, Business, Boutique, LGBT, Beach, Ski, Family, Spa, New and All Inclusive.

In the top 5 cities to receive Loved by Guest awards, Key West and Houston both received ‘Best for’ recognitions.

If you are looking to visit Key West for business purposes, Ambrosia received a rating of 4.6 stars. For a new hotel in the Houston area, the Residence Inn by Marriott received 4.7 stars.

Popular LGBT hotels included Montage Laguna Beach, California, which has 4.6 stars, or the Travaasa in Austin, Texas, which has 4.6 stars.

“The Loved by Guests awards celebrate those top notch hotels that guests really loved and wanted to tell everyone about,” said Taylor L. Cole, APR, travel expert for Hotels.com. “We’re finding reviews are becoming more powerful than ever and in fact many travelers are preferring to book based on guest reviews rather than official star rating. Think of how many times you’ve chosen a hotel because you’ve been scrolling through reviews on your smartphone and read about its comfy beds and fantastic breakfast.”

All the award winning hotels are bookable through the award-winning Hotels.com mobile app, available on iOS and Android. Look out for the Loved by Guests badges to find your favorite. Check out some of the award winning hotels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the #LovedbyGuests hashtag or visit us at the Hotels.com Loved by Guests page. For any other press inquiries, please visit our online Media Room.

Loved by Guests Gold Award Winners by Country

1.United States of America – 969
2.United Kingdom – 171
3.Italy – 153
4.Canada – 86
5.Spain – 70
6.Germany – 54
7.Mexico – 50
8.Portugal – 49
9.Japan – 48
10.Thailand – 42
11.Vietnam – 42
12.France – 38
13.Australia – 37
14.Poland – 34
15.Greece – 33
16.Taiwan – 27
17.Czech Republic – 26
18.United Arab Emirates – 26
19.Indonesia – 25
20.Netherlands – 24
21.Turkey – 23
22.Ireland – 22
23.New Zealand – 22
24.Brazil – 21
25.Switzerland – 19
26.Cambodia – 18
27.South Africa – 17
28.Hungary – 16
29.Austria – 15
30.China – 15
31.Russia – 15
32.Columbia – 13
33.Costa Rica – 13
34.Croatia – 13
35.Peru – 12
36.Argentina – 11
37.Malaysia – 11
38.Belgium – 10
39.Iceland – 9
40.South Korea – 9
41.Hong Kong – 8
42.Chile – 8
43.India – 8
44.Israel – 7
45.Morocco – 7
46.Sweden – 7
47.Finland – 6
48.Romania – 6
49.Estonia – 5
50.Singapore – 5
51.Macau – 4
52.Maldives – 4
53.Norway – 4
54.Philippines – 4
55.Ukraine – 4
56.Serbia – 3
57.Bosnia and Herzegovina – 2
58.Cyprus – 2
59.Jamaica – 2
60.Latvia – 2
61.Lithuania – 2
62.Mauritius – 2
63.Nicaragua – 2
64.Puerto Rico – 2
65.Slovakia – 2
66.Slovenia – 2
67.St Lucia – 2
68.US Virgin Islands – 2
69.Andorra – 1
70.Aruba – 1
71.Bahrain – 1
72.Belarus – 1
73.Bermuda – 1
74.Cayman Islands – 1
75.Denmark – 1
76.Dominican Republic – 1
77.Ecuador – 1
78.Fiji – 1
79.Kyrgyzstan – 1
80.Laos – 1
81.Malta – 1
82.Oman – 1
83.Saudi Arabia – 1
84.Tanzania – 1
85.Tunisia – 1
86.Turks and Caicos – 1
87.Uruguay – 1

Loved by Guests Gold Award Winners by City

Top EMEA Cities
1.London – 31
2.Rome – 27
3.Prague – 25
4.Florence – 24
5.Venice – 24
6.Berlin – 19
7.Lisbon – 18
8.Amsterdam – 17
9.Dubai – 17
10.Istanbul – 17

Top North America Cities
1.New York – 15
2.Houston – 14
3.Chicago – 13
4.Montreal – 13
5.Quebec – 11
6.Key West – 10
7.Toronto – 8
8.Vancouver – 8
9.Charleston – 8
10.Austin – 7

Top APAC Cities
1.Hanoi – 23
2.Siem Reap – 17
3.Tokyo – 14
4.Ubud – 13
5.Taipei – 11
6.Bangkok – 10
7.Kyoto – 9
8.Beijing – 6
9.Chaing Mai – 6
10.Hoi An – 6

Top LATAM Cities
1.Buenos Aires – 7
2.Santiago – 7
3.Playa del Carmen – 6
4.Bogota – 5
5.La Fortuna – 5
6.Lima – 5
7.Mexico City – 5
8.Cusco – 4
9.Puerto Vallarta – 4
10.Rio De Janeiro – 4