Hotels with more than five stars exist…because the hoteliers themselves consider them to be above that level.
Categorizing hotels by star rating is a way to ensure certain basics and is a concept that is widely held throughout the industry.
But a three-star hotel in Spain may not look anything like another hotel of the same category in another country in Europe or the rest of the world.
As explained Traveler’s Diary, There is no single international categorization scale.
Each country – whether the government or a hotel association – regulates the Features and services that hotel establishments in each category must presentso depending on where each hotel is located, it will offer certain minimums or others.
And it’s not just a question of the luxury or the amazing services offered by the establishment, but of such basic things as the number and size of the rooms, whether or not it has a swimming pool, how many elevators it has or if it has parking.
This explains why sometimes when you stay in a three-star hotel you are pleasantly surprised and think it deserves a fourth star, when in reality it lacks some essential service to upgrade it to a higher category. The same happens with boutique hotels: however wonderful they may be, they probably lack some necessary element such as a meeting room.
Just as you will have found establishments that are well worth a visit, upgradeit is likely that you have also stayed in other hotels where the opposite has happened to you and you consider that they have one or two stars too many, and sometimes the criteria become obsolete.
Homologating criteria at an international level is complex
This has led to some hotels awarding themselves more stars than the maximum five established.
Although European and American regulations set the limit at that number, the Growth of luxury tourism in Asia has shaken this scale.
Some of the most popular hotels in cities like Dubai have gone out of their way to satisfy the most demanding customers, and five stars are not enough there.
The world-famous Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, A 321-metre-high sail-shaped building built on an artificial island, it is a good example of what it means to be a seven-star hotel. There is no luxury or exclusive service that can resist this establishment, for which clients pay up to 30,000 euros for a single night.
From a personal butler to a fleet of chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces, a helipad and Michelin-starred restaurants, it’s easy to see why the Burj Al Arab falls short of the European scale.
Not far from there is the Emirates Palace Hotel Kempinski Hotelsin Abu Dhabi. At this hotel, luxury is the norm, as demonstrated by its suites full of marble and gold or the exclusive services enjoyed by its select clientele (including members of the country’s royal family).
I visited Dubai and it was clear to me that they want to be the first in everything: this is what surprised me the most
A category that officially does not exist in Europe
As in the Caribbean, in Europe there is also talk of another superior category, known as GL or Grand Luxury, which indicates that the hotel offers a service beyond five stars.
However, When we find hotels in Europe that talk about six or seven stars, it is more a way of promoting themselves than a real category. (and you can see this on the façade of the hotel itself), as they consider that their standards of quality, luxury and exclusivity exceed the approved scale.
Although this category is non-existent on the continent, there are only two hotels in Europe that appear to be at that level.
To enjoy an unparalleled stay You can travel to Milan and stay at Galleria Vik Milano (formerly known as TownHouse Galleria), inside the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele IIDespite being located in one of the nerve centres of the Italian city, it offers maximum discretion to its clients, as well as permanent butler service.
But you don’t have to leave Spain for a high-level experience: The Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa in Mallorca promises a stay that surpasses any stopover.
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