For the first time, Forbes Travel Guide is crowning a second batch of five-star hotels, restaurants and spas mid-year, offering travelers more up-to-date ratings

　　Forbes had named new five-star properties earlier this year. But today, it is adding three hotels, four restaurants, and one spa.

　　The new five-star hotels include the first ever for Seattle and Vancouver and a new five-star hotel in London.

　　Michael Cascone, president of Forbes Travel Guide, said the company decided to add the mid-year update "to provide even more, and more timely, information in a rapidly changing marketplace — to benefit travelers as well as the hotel community."

　　"This enables us to rate and review hotels which were not available for inspection in the previous cycle — such as new properties or those under renovation, or those who have worked to improve their service levels since the previous ratings cycle," he said. "In a fast-paced, information-intensive environment, it's important that consumers have the most up-to-date information when making travel decisions, and its our goal to provide them with the most comprehensive and authoritative information in the market."

　　Forbes will continue to name new five-star properties at the beginning of each year as well.

　　Rosewood Hotels' Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver received five stars after an extensive renovation, making it the first hotel in Canada to receive the highest rating.

　　The Sense Spa inside the Hotel Georgia also received five stars.

　　The Four Seasons Hotel Seattle received a five-star designation, the first to get one in that city.