[Photo provided by Hotel Shilla Co.]

The Shilla Seoul, a luxury hotel operated by South Korea’s hotel and travel unit Hotel Shilla Co. of Samsung Group, was placed on the list of Five-Star hotels for the first time by Forbes Travel Guide.

The Forbes Travel Guide on Wednesday (local time) announced its 2019 Star Rating winners – the 61th annual list of the world’s finest hotels, restaurants and spas. The Shilla Seoul was the only Korean name in the list of 210 Five-Star hotels.

The Shilla Seoul is “a historic hotel outfitted with the latest technology from owner Samsung,” Forbes said.

[Photo provided by Hotel Shilla Co.]

This year’s list of star winners features 21 new Five-Star hotels out of 210, 49 new Four-Star hotels out of total 534 and 62 new “recommended” hotels out of 362, according to the Shilla Seoul on Thursday.

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul and Park Hyatt Seoul made the list of Four-Star hotels. Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul, Grand Inter Continental Seoul Parnas, Inter Continental Seoul COEX, Lotte Hotel Seoul, Millennium Seoul Hilton, Conrad Seoul and Westin Chosun Seoul were named “recommended.”

Forbes Travel Guide annually provides ratings of upscale hotels, restaurants and spas in 76 countries based on assessment of anonymous professional inspectors. They evaluate both service and facility based on 900 objective standards.

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