One question we receive upon occasion regards our hotel ratings system. We don’t often have room to describe it fully in the Hideaway Report, and admittedly, you have to do some hunting on the website to find the meaning of the numbers. My small team and I consider a range of factors when rating a hotel, including substantive qualities, such as the size and appointments of a room’s bath; less quantifiable qualities, such as the level of the service; and simple gut reactions, based on having stayed in hundreds of top hotels. (We also take any nearby recommendations into account.) I suggest paying particular attention to the descriptions of hotels that are rated 90 to 92, which indicates we have a minor reservation or two. What’s minor to us may be a deal-breaker for you! Here’s a reminder of what the ratings mean:

99–100: A truly great hotel, among the world’s finest

96–98: An exceptional hotel of great individuality and distinction