About The Ratings

At MobilTravelGuide.com, you have carte blanche!

We've given you exclusive and complete access to our experts' current research on thousands of the finest hotels, restaurants, and spas in the United States and Canada. Our comprehensive evaluation process and bar-setting standards have made Mobil Travel Guide the most trusted and respected source of expert ratings available.

Whether it has earned a One-Star or a Five-Star award, any and all Mobil Star-rated properties are recommended, just in varying degrees. In basic terms, the higher the Star rating, the more you can expect from your overall experience at the property. Understanding our ratings process and the specific criteria for each Star level will give you the background you need to get the most out of the ratings and reviews on MobilTravelGuide.com and ultimately help you find the best property to suit your needs.

Perhaps you are wondering... ..."What makes a Mobil Five-Star restaurant such a cut above the rest?" ..."Will a Mobil One-Star hotel be suitable for my upcoming business trip?" ..."Can a vacation with the kids feel like a vacation at a Mobil Three-Star resort?"

Here's your chance to find out exactly what the Mobil Star ratings mean and how our team of trained experts awards them. Let us help you make even better-informed travel and leisure decisions by giving you insight into Mobil Travel Guide's -- The original -- Star-ratings system.

Hotel Ratings
Mobil Travel Guide has been rating hotels since 1958, distinguishing a select group of exceptional properties in the US and Canada each year and helping travelers book their stays -- whether for business or for pleasure -- with greater confidence.

The facility inspection
Our evaluation process begins with a Mobil Travel Guide expert inspector visiting the property, be it a hotel, resort or inn. He conducts a facility inspection using more than 225 objective criteria to measure a property's cleanliness, physical condition and the appropriateness of its location. The property will not be recommended by Mobil Travel Guide, and will therefore not qualify for any Star rating, unless it passes this facility inspection. Depending on its score, the property can then receive a Mobil One-, Two- or Three-Star rating. (Click on a Star rating below to see the criteria for each.)

The service evaluation
Properties that have scored high enough on the facility inspection, and which might qualify for the highly sought after Mobil Four- or Five-Star awards, are visited by a second inspector. This time, the inspector visits the hotel unannounced to perform an incognito service evaluation.

Because Mobil Travel Guide recognizes that the notion of "exceptional service" is highly subjective and can be interpreted in a number of ways, we base our service evaluations on more than 525 standardized criteria. This allows our inspectors to generate an objective assessment of what otherwise would be a highly subjective area, enabling you to make "apples to apples" comparisons of the service levels at a broad range of hotel types.

Even before he arrives at the hotel, the hotel's performance is under our inspector's highly-trained eye. (Since Mobil Travel Guide believes that your experience actually begins at the time when you book a room, the hotel's reservation process is also rated by our inspectors!) Once the incognito inspector arrives, he or she checks in and use the property's facilities just as you or any other guest would. The difference is, during their stay, they are gathering the information you need to know before you plan your trip!

So, for example, our inspectors time how long it takes the bellman to bring luggage to their room. They take note of the courtesy and efficiency of the front desk staff, as well as the response time for room service to be delivered, and the knowledge of the employees in the fitness center. These and literally hundreds of other factors contribute to the final Star rating which ultimately offers you -- the traveler -- an accurate sense of what you can expect as a guest staying at that hotel.

Flawless. Exceptional. These are words that come to mind when thinking about Mobil Four- and Five-Star hotels. These elite awards are reserved for those few properties that -- according to Mobil's standards -- provide superlative service at the pinnacle of luxury. Click on a Star level below to discover the rigorous criteria these properties have to meet to earn such a distinctive honor.

Click here to start searching for hotels.

Restaurant Ratings
Whether you are planning a special occasion with family, an important business lunch, or a romantic first date, trust Mobil Travel Guide's more than 40 years of expert restaurant rating experience to ensure that your dining experience will not disappoint. Of the vast abundance of restaurants across the US and Canada, only 8,000 have been deemed worthy of a Mobil Star rating this year. And, of these, just an extraordinary fourteen establishments met the stringent standards necessary for an exclusive Mobil Five-Star Award.

The facility inspection
Mobil's restaurant ratings system mirrors the rigorous standards set by our hotel ratings. Our evaluation process begins with a Mobil Travel Guide expert inspector visiting the restaurant. He conducts a facility inspection to assess a property's cleanliness/condition, ambience, and location, using more than 100 objective criteria. The restaurant will not be recommended by Mobil Travel Guide, and will therefore not qualify for any Star rating, unless it passes this facility inspection. Depending on its score, the restaurant can then receive a One-, Two- or Three-Star rating. (Click on a Star rating below to see the criteria for each)

The service evaluation
No detail is too small to be included in Mobil Travel Guide's restaurant service evaluations. Each year, our incognito inspectors dine anonymously at hundreds of potential Four- and Five-Star restaurants using 125 criteria to objectively measure the restaurant's food quality and discriminatingly evaluate its service and ambiance. Our inspectors then generate a Star rating that enables you to fairly compare restaurants on key attributes that would otherwise be considered subjective.

From the weight of the silverware to the diversity of the wine selection, and from the fiber of the table linens to the presentation of the bill, our inspectors discerningly examine the myriad of factors that shape your overall dining experience.

Very few dining establishments have been able to meet the rigorous standards set by Mobil Travel Guide, making our Four- and Five-Star awards even more sought after and respected. These restaurants simply offer a stellar dining experience that is hard to duplicate and more difficult to forget!

Click on a Star rating below for a better understanding of Mobil Travel Guide's Four- and Five-Star rating criteria.

Click here to start searching for restaurants.

Spa Ratings
Since 2003, Mobil Travel Guide has been applying our rigorous evaluation standards to the finest hotel and resort spas in the United States and Canada, helping you find just the kind of spa experience you are looking for. Exceptional service, attention to detail, and the sheer luxury factor put Mobil Star-rated spas in a class all their own. In fact, Mobil Travel Guide only rates spas at a minimum Three-Star level.

To rate these elite properties, unannounced expert inspectors visit a spa anonymously and complete two spa treatments, using more than 450 different criteria to objectively evaluate their experience. They examine factors such as courtesy of the staff, overall efficiency, guest comfort and convenience, therapists' technical execution/skill and knowledge as well as the facility's cleanliness/condition.

Click here for an understanding of the kind of spa experience you can expect to have at each Star level.

Click here to start searching for spas.