Big Sky, Montana

From Anguilla To Australia, Forbes Travel Guide’s 2025 Star Award Winners
The 67th annual luxury hospitality awards celebrate the world’s best hotels, spas, restaurants, ocean cruises and—new this year—cruise restaurants.
The world’s most luxurious hotels can often be discovered in the unlikeliest destinations. From the ancient streets of Azerbaijan to the rugged terrain of Western Montana, Forbes Travel Guide’s annual Star Awards celebrate hospitality’s finest across the globe. This year’s winners—the most geographically diverse list in FTG’s 67 years—showcase excellence across 90 countries, with Brunei, Finland, Montenegro and Romania making their debut appearances.
Behind every Forbes Travel Guide Star Award lies a thousand small gestures: the concierge who tracks down a hidden café beloved by locals, the chef who sources ingredients from a generations-old farm, the spa therapist who crafts custom aromatherapy blends from native flowers. From established luxury capitals to emerging destinations, the 2,187 award recipients for 2025 demonstrate that true luxury is not measured in thread counts or square feet, but in moments of genuine connection.
FTG’s ratings are objective, independent and data-driven. Incognito inspectors pose as everyday guests—checking in at hotels, embarking on cruises, taking in spa treatments and dining at fine restaurants. They test hundreds of exacting standards that emphasize exceptional service, which accounts for 70% of a property’s rating. The quality and condition of the facilities account for the remaining 30%. Beyond these metrics, inspectors assess the intangibles behind a truly remarkable guest experience: whether a property allows you to continue a health-conscious lifestyle and enhance your well-being; whether the location, design or other elements conjured a strong sense of place; and whether all that added up to a stay that was unforgettable.
See the full list of 2025 Star Awards winners here, and learn more about the newest additions to the collection below.
Winning Destinations
Domestically, the United States had several notable Five-Star wins this year. Montana’s RiverView Ranch was joined by The Maybourne Beverly Hills, a glamorous escape with an outpost of New York City’s famed Dante bar; The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Fort Lauderdale, a water-inspired refuge; and Spa Montage Big Sky, an alpine retreat in Montana.
VIEW FULL ARTICLE ON FORBES
Big Sky leaders to teach hands-on wildlife safety
‘Mobile wildlife education center’ to inform visitors, residents and workers about local wildlife, backcountry safety Charles Johnson paces excitedly around a trailer, quizzing EBS on paw prints, scat, pelts, and the difference between antlers and horns. More than just a trailer, it’s a “mobile wildlife education center,” Johnson says. He’s leading an effort called Wild Big […]

The Still Wild West
One of the best ski-in-ski-out resorts around is Montage Big Sky, owned by developer Lone Mountain Land, which opened its doors in December 2021 as the largest luxury hotel in the area. It has 139 guest rooms and suites plus 39 residences (all now sold), ranging from two-six bedrooms and up to 8,100 square feet, […]

From Mauritius To Montana, Forbes Travel Guide’s 2024 Star Award Winners
The Only Five-Star Hotel Brand Montage Big Sky, an alpine ski retreat in Southwestern Montana that opened in 2021, picked up its inaugural top rating. The win marked a Five-Star sweep for Montage Hotels & Resorts across its seven properties, giving it the title of the world’s only all-Five-Star hotel brand. The Montage collection spans […]