The Peninsula Review 2026: Record Score of 85, Twelve Hotels and a Stale Five-Star Claim
By Richard Jasinski·Updated 26 September 2026
The Peninsula is tenth of twenty brands on our luxury hotel brand hierarchy, at 85 out of 100: hotel pages for twelve cities from the 1928 original in Hong Kong to London and Istanbul, owned by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited under its chairman, The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, with no loyalty programme confirmed on any page we opened. This record is the evidence file behind that score. It sets out what The Peninsula and its parent, HSH, publish about themselves, how Forbes Travel Guide rates the hotels we could read, what could not be found, and where our other pages and The Peninsula's own figures disagree.
Verified 26 September 2026 · peninsula.com (home page, about us, Hong Kong, Paris, Bangkok, London and Istanbul hotel pages, contact us, website terms, newsroom and London residences) · hshgroup.com (about, history and investors) · Forbes Travel Guide · our luxury hotel brand hierarchy of 7 September 2026
Is this your company? Correct a fact. The Peninsula can correct any line of this record through the contact page. Corrections are logged with the previous value kept, and the score moves only if the evidence does.
How The Peninsula scores: 85 out of 100
The Peninsula scores 85 out of 100, tenth of twenty brands: 24 of 25 for consistency across the portfolio, 18 of 20 for service depth, 16 of 20 for rate band, 14 of 15 for food and drink, and 13 of 20 for privacy and scale. The points are the luxury hotel brand hierarchy's of 7 September 2026, carried unchanged; under each criterion is what we could read on 26 September 2026. Two figures do not match between The Peninsula's own pages and outside sources: its about page still claims Five-Star status "across entire portfolio" from 2019 to 2020, while Forbes now rates four of its twelve hotels Four-Star; and its site names ten cities in its own description while carrying hotel pages for twelve.
| Criterion | Points | Out of | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate band | 16 | 20 | No Peninsula page prints a room rate, and its offers address returned an error. The hierarchy places The Peninsula in its premium band, EUR 800 to 2,000 a night. |
| Consistency across the portfolio | 24 | 25 | Forbes Travel Guide rates seven Peninsula hotels Five-Star (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok, Manila, Chicago) and four Four-Star (Paris, Beverly Hills, London, Istanbul); New York could not be read. The MICHELIN Guide gives Keys to eleven: Three at London, Two at Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai, Chicago, Beverly Hills and Istanbul, One at Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing and New York; Manila is not listed. |
| Service depth | 18 | 20 | No Peninsula page we opened states butler service, staff numbers or room sizes. |
| Food and drink | 14 | 15 | L'Oiseau Blanc at The Peninsula Paris holds Two Stars in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide France, as the hotel says; the MICHELIN Guide's London entry links Brooklands by Claude Bosi at The Peninsula London. |
| Privacy and scale | 13 | 20 | Forbes Travel Guide gives The Peninsula Paris 200 rooms and 34 suites, Bangkok 370 rooms, London 190 rooms and suites and Istanbul 177 rooms and suites. |
| Total | 85 | 100 | Luxury hotel brand hierarchy score of 7 September 2026, carried unchanged; evidence read 26 September 2026. |
The Peninsula publishes who owns it, when its flagship opened and which cities carry its name, but its own description has not caught up with its own hotel pages: it names ten cities while running twelve, and its about page still claims a Forbes Five-Star sweep from 2019 to 2020 that Forbes' current ratings do not support. No page we opened states a room rate, a staff ratio, room sizes or a loyalty programme; the strongest outside evidence is Forbes Travel Guide and the MICHELIN Guide, which between them cover all twelve hotels: Forbes rates seven Five-Star and four Four-Star, and its New York page could not be opened; the MICHELIN Guide gives a Key to eleven of the twelve, from Three at London down to One at four hotels, with Manila not listed.
The evidence record
The record holds 18 facts about The Peninsula, each with its source and grade. Grade A means the company's own site or terms; grade B means a rating body such as Forbes Travel Guide or the MICHELIN Guide, a registry or major press; grade C means a secondary source not confirmed elsewhere. Every line was read on 26 September 2026 unless its source says otherwise.
| Attribute | Value | Source · grade |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | The Peninsula Hotels; hotel pages for twelve cities, ten of them named in the site's own description (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Bangkok, Manila and Paris), plus London and Istanbul; also The Peninsula Residences, London | Home page · A |
| Company | The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH); its website names "The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, its subsidiaries, and/or affiliates" as the operating entity, and its footer credits "HSH Management Services Limited. (The Peninsula Hotels)" | Website terms · A |
| Registered office | 8/F, St. George's Building, 2 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong (map) | Website terms · A |
| Founded | HSH incorporated 2 March 1866 as "The Hongkong Hotel Company, Limited" its flagship, The Peninsula Hong Kong, opened in 1928 | HSH history · A; Peninsula Hong Kong · A |
| Owner and leaders | The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie, named Chairman of HSH; no Chief Executive, President or Managing Director is named on any HSH page we opened | HSH about · A |
| Stock listing | Not confirmed; HSH's investors page describes a share price and shareholders' circulars, implying a listing, but names no exchange or ticker | HSH investors · A |
| Hotels and countries | No numeric count on any Peninsula page; the home page names ten cities and separate hotel pages exist for London and Istanbul, twelve in total, the figure our hierarchy prints | Home page · A; London · A; Istanbul · A |
| Openings | None dated; Istanbul, the most recently added hotel page, carries no opening date or operating status | Peninsula Istanbul · A |
| Residences | "The Peninsula Residences, London" "an exquisite collection of 25 residences" no completion date given | London residences · A |
| Published rates | None outside booking; the offers page and the hotel-terms-and-conditions page both returned an error | peninsula.com · A |
| Forbes Travel Guide | Five-Star: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok, Manila, Chicago (seven hotels); Four-Star: Paris, Beverly Hills, London, Istanbul (four hotels); three attempts at a New York page each returned Forbes' own home page | Hong Kong, Paris, Bangkok and Istanbul · B |
| MICHELIN Keys | Eleven of twelve hotels carry a Key: Three at London; Two at Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai, Chicago, Beverly Hills and Istanbul; One at Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing and New York; Manila is not listed. The Peninsula Bangkok's own page claims "MICHELIN Two Keys & Forbes 5-Star" but the MICHELIN Guide's own Bangkok listing shows One Key | London, Hong Kong, Paris and Bangkok · B |
| Restaurants | L'Oiseau Blanc at The Peninsula Paris holds Two Stars in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide France, confirmed on MICHELIN's own restaurant page; the MICHELIN Guide's London hotel entry also links Brooklands by Claude Bosi at The Peninsula London, which places it in the MICHELIN selection but does not confirm a star | MICHELIN, L'Oiseau Blanc · B; MICHELIN, Peninsula London · B |
| Rooms at named hotels | Paris 200 rooms and 34 suites; Bangkok 370 rooms; London 190 rooms and suites; Istanbul 177 rooms and suites | Paris, Bangkok, London and Istanbul · B |
| Service claims | None found; no butler service, staff numbers, room sizes or check-in style stated on the Hong Kong, Paris, Tokyo or Bangkok pages we opened | Peninsula Hong Kong · A |
| Loyalty and booking perks | No loyalty programme found; the offers and hotel-terms-and-conditions pages both returned an error, and "My Peninsula" which might describe one, is disallowed by the site's robots.txt. Our own Direct vs Amex FHR vs Virtuoso guide names a perk programme, Peninsula PenClub, which no Peninsula page we could open confirms | Direct vs Amex FHR vs Virtuoso · B |
| Legal and regulatory events | None found on any Peninsula or HSH page we opened | HSH about · A |
| Our other pages | No. 10 of 20 on the hierarchy at 85; named in our Booking.com vs direct audit at The Peninsula Istanbul and grouped into our hotel check-in privacy page | Hierarchy · B; Booking.com vs direct · B |
Who owns The Peninsula?
The Peninsula is run by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH), whose chairman is The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie; no chief executive is named on any HSH page we opened.
HSH traces itself to 2 March 1866, when it incorporated as "The Hongkong Hotel Company, Limited" (HSH history). Its flagship, The Peninsula Hong Kong, opened in 1928 (Peninsula Hong Kong). The registered office on file is St. George's Building, 2 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong (map), named on the same page (Website terms) as "The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, its subsidiaries, and/or affiliates" the footer there credits "HSH Management Services Limited (The Peninsula Hotels)".
HSH's investors page describes a share price and shareholders' circulars, implying a listing, but names no exchange or ticker (HSH investors). Neither that page nor HSH's about or leadership pages name a chief executive; Sir Michael Kadoorie is named only as Chairman (HSH about). This matches what our own hierarchy prints for the owner, the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels and the Kadoorie family (Luxury hotel brand hierarchy).
How many hotels does The Peninsula have?
The Peninsula's home page names ten cities without a running count, but hotel pages exist for two more, London and Istanbul, twelve in total, the same figure our hierarchy prints. Read as printed on 26 September 2026:
| Hotel | Named in home page description | Forbes Travel Guide |
|---|---|---|
| The Peninsula Hong Kong | Yes | Five-Star |
| The Peninsula Shanghai | Yes | Five-Star |
| The Peninsula Beijing | Yes | Five-Star |
| The Peninsula Tokyo | Yes | Five-Star |
| The Peninsula New York | Yes | Not read |
| The Peninsula Chicago | Yes | Five-Star |
| The Peninsula Beverly Hills | Yes | Four-Star |
| The Peninsula Bangkok | Yes | Five-Star |
| The Peninsula Manila | Yes | Five-Star |
| The Peninsula Paris | Yes | Four-Star |
| The Peninsula London | No, has its own hotel page | Four-Star |
| The Peninsula Istanbul | No, has its own hotel page | Four-Star |
The description on peninsula.com has not been updated to add its two most recent hotel pages, London and Istanbul (London, Istanbul); that is a gap in the site's own copy, not a disagreement over how many hotels The Peninsula runs. The brand also lists residences: "The Peninsula Residences, London" describes "an exquisite collection of 25 residences" (London residences), with no completion date given.
The about page still displays a claim from 2019 to 2020: "Only Brand to Achieve Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Status Across Entire Portfolio" (About us); Forbes now rates four of the twelve hotels Four-Star, so that claim has not been updated to match Forbes' current ratings, set out below.
How The Peninsula's hotels are rated by Forbes Travel Guide and the MICHELIN Guide
Forbes Travel Guide rates seven Peninsula hotels Five-Star and four Four-Star, and the MICHELIN Guide gives a Key to eleven of the twelve, from Three at London to One at four hotels; The Peninsula New York's Forbes page could not be opened, and MICHELIN does not list Manila.
| Hotel | Forbes Travel Guide | Rooms | MICHELIN |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Peninsula Hong Kong | Five-Star | Not stated on the page we opened | Two Keys |
| The Peninsula Paris | Four-Star | 200 rooms and 34 suites | Two Keys |
| The Peninsula Bangkok | Five-Star | 370 rooms | One Key (the brand's own page claims Two) |
| The Peninsula London | Four-Star | 190 rooms and suites | Three Keys |
| The Peninsula Istanbul | Four-Star | 177 rooms and suites | Two Keys |
The MICHELIN Guide also gives Two Keys to Shanghai, Chicago and Beverly Hills, and One Key to Tokyo, Beijing and New York; Peninsula Manila does not appear on its Manila listing, checked in full. Forbes Travel Guide also rates Shanghai, Beijing, Manila, Tokyo and Chicago Five-Star, and Beverly Hills Four-Star (Shanghai, Beijing, Manila, Tokyo, Chicago and Beverly Hills); three attempts at a page for The Peninsula New York each returned Forbes' own home page, so it is marked not read.
The Peninsula Bangkok's own page claims "MICHELIN Two Keys & Forbes 5-Star" (Peninsula Bangkok); the MICHELIN Guide's own Bangkok listing shows One Key, read twice on 26 September 2026 (MICHELIN, Bangkok). Both are printed here, neither over the other.
How to book The Peninsula, and whether any perks come with it
The Peninsula prints no loyalty programme, preferred-partner scheme or booking terms on any page we could open, and a two-night audit at The Peninsula Istanbul found Booking.com beating the direct flexible rate.
The offers page and the hotel-terms-and-conditions page on peninsula.com both returned an error, and "My Peninsula" which might describe a loyalty scheme, is disallowed by the site's robots.txt and was not fetched. Our own Direct vs Amex FHR vs Virtuoso guide names a perk programme, Peninsula PenClub, grouped with Shangri-La Luxury Circle, but no page we could open on peninsula.com confirms it. How a card programme such as Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts compares with booking direct is set out in Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve and best luxury travel credit cards.
Our Booking.com vs direct audit priced a two-night stay at The Peninsula Istanbul for two adults in a Superior King room, Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October 2026: Booking.com's flexible rate came to EUR 2,972 against EUR 3,300 booked the same way direct, though a non-refundable direct rate at EUR 2,805, which still carried The Peninsula's flexible check-in and check-out, was the cheapest of the three.
Because no Peninsula stay we could confirm earns points in a chain programme, the tiers compared in Hilton Diamond vs Marriott Titanium vs Hyatt Globalist and the hotel status match guide belong to other brands, not this one.
Who The Peninsula suits, and who it does not
The Peninsula suits a traveller who wants an established flagship hotel in a major city with a Forbes rating; it suits less well anyone who needs a published rate or points that carry to another brand.
The brand's oldest hotel, in Hong Kong, opened in 1928 and is still rated Forbes Five-Star (Peninsula Hong Kong, Forbes). Its other Five-Star hotels sit in Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo and Chicago, and how those and other cities compare for a short stay is in best city break destinations. Four hotels, Paris, Beverly Hills, London and Istanbul, are rated Four-Star.
Booking through an adviser or a company that already knows the portfolio can close some of the gaps in this record; how the leading names compare is in best luxury travel companies. Anyone weighing a room here against Mandarin Oriental, tied with The Peninsula at 85 on the hierarchy, can read that record next (Mandarin Oriental).
The Peninsula: the decisions that come next
Which brand, how to book, and whether points matter are the next decisions, and each has its own page here.
| Decision | What matters | Where we cover it |
|---|---|---|
| Which brand | Twenty brands scored on the same five criteria, and where The Peninsula ties Mandarin Oriental. | Luxury hotel brand hierarchy; Mandarin Oriental record |
| Direct or an OTA | Booking.com beat the direct flexible rate at The Peninsula Istanbul; paid in advance, direct was cheapest. | Booking.com vs direct |
| An adviser or a card | Fine Hotels + Resorts and Peninsula PenClub, compared with booking direct. | Direct vs Amex FHR vs Virtuoso; Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve |
| Points or no points | No Peninsula stay we could confirm earns chain status. | Hilton vs Marriott vs Hyatt top tiers; Status match guide |
| Which city | Twelve hotels, from the 1928 original in Hong Kong to London and Istanbul. | Best city break destinations |
Where The Peninsula stands on Uncompromised Travel
The Peninsula appears on four Uncompromised Travel pages with a position or a figure, and holds a numbered rank on one of them.
| Page | Position | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Luxury hotel brand hierarchy | No. 10 of 20, 85/100, Premium luxury | Prints the owner as the Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels and the Kadoorie family, and "twelve hotels" the brand's home page still names only ten cities in its own description, and its about page still shows a claim from 2019 to 2020 to Forbes Five-Star status across its entire portfolio, which Forbes' current ratings do not support for four of the twelve hotels |
| Booking.com vs direct | The Peninsula Istanbul priced, no score | Found Booking.com's flexible rate at EUR 2,972 beating the direct flexible rate of EUR 3,300 by about 10 percent, though a non-refundable direct rate at EUR 2,805 was the cheapest of the three and still carried flexible check-in and check-out |
| Direct vs Amex FHR vs Virtuoso | Names Peninsula PenClub, no score | Groups Peninsula PenClub with Shangri-La Luxury Circle among booking perk programmes; no page we opened on peninsula.com confirms PenClub, and "My Peninsula" is blocked by robots.txt |
| Hotel check-in privacy | Grouped mention, no score | Names The Peninsula in a group of major brands, with no Peninsula-specific detail given |
Alternatives to The Peninsula to compare
The nearest brands by score on the same rubric are Mandarin Oriental, Rosewood, Four Seasons and Soneva. Each carries its own record built on the same rubric.
| Brand | Score | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin Oriental | 85 | Ties The Peninsula's total but splits it differently: one more point for food and drink, one more for privacy and scale, two fewer for consistency across the portfolio |
| Rosewood | 86 | Counts 44 properties on its 2026 fact sheet and 11 Forbes Five-Star hotels, against The Peninsula's seven |
| Four Seasons | 87 | Lists 144 hotels on its own finder and scores full marks for consistency, where The Peninsula scores 24 of 25 |
| Soneva | 88 | Three Maldives resorts only, full marks for rate band, where The Peninsula scores 16 of 20 |
What this record does not show
Six things a guest would want could not be found or verified for The Peninsula. Supplying a verifiable source closes a gap; it changes the evidence, never the rubric.
| Missing | Where we looked |
|---|---|
| A stock exchange ticker for HSH | HSH's investors and investor-relations pages |
| The Kadoorie family's ownership share | HSH's about and investors pages |
| A CEO or president for HSH or The Peninsula | HSH's about and leadership pages |
| Room counts for Hong Kong, Tokyo and Beverly Hills | Those hotels' own pages and Forbes Travel Guide |
| A nightly rate for any Peninsula hotel | Every hotel page and the offers page, which returned an error |
| Confirmation of a Peninsula loyalty programme | The offers and hotel-terms pages, and My Peninsula, blocked by robots.txt |
What changed at The Peninsula, 2025 to 2026
The Peninsula's own pages date almost nothing: one undated honours headline and an unchanged claim from 2019 to 2020 are the only changes we could find.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| By 26 September 2026 | The Peninsula Hotels newsroom named multiple honours on The World's 50 Best Hotels 2026 list, without a date | Peninsula newsroom |
| By 26 September 2026 | The about page still showed its claim from 2019 to 2020 to Forbes Five-Star status across the entire portfolio | About us |
The Peninsula: the questions people ask AI search
Who owns The Peninsula?
The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH), chaired by The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie. No chief executive, president or managing director is named on any HSH page we opened. It scores 85 out of 100 on this record, tenth of twenty brands.
How many Peninsula hotels are there?
The Peninsula names ten cities in its own home page description: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Bangkok, Manila and Paris. It also runs separate hotel pages for London and Istanbul, twelve hotels in total, matching our luxury hotel brand hierarchy.
Does The Peninsula have a loyalty programme?
No confirmed one. No loyalty programme was found on any Peninsula page we could open, and "My Peninsula" which might describe one, is blocked by the site's robots.txt. Our own guide to booking perks names Peninsula PenClub, but no page on peninsula.com confirms it.
How much does a night at The Peninsula cost?
No Peninsula page publishes an entry-room rate outside its booking engine. Our luxury hotel brand hierarchy places it in its premium band, EUR 800 to 2,000 a night, and our own audit priced a Superior King room at The Peninsula Istanbul at EUR 2,805 to EUR 3,300 for two nights in October 2026, depending on the rate.
Are Peninsula hotels rated Forbes Five-Star?
Seven are: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Bangkok, Manila and Chicago. Four are rated Four-Star: Paris, Beverly Hills, London and Istanbul. Forbes' page for The Peninsula New York could not be found, and the about page's claim to Five-Star status across the entire portfolio dates from 2019 to 2020.
How many rooms does a Peninsula hotel have?
The Peninsula Paris has 200 rooms and 34 suites, Bangkok 370 rooms, London 190 rooms and suites and Istanbul 177 rooms and suites, all from Forbes Travel Guide. No room count was found for Hong Kong, Tokyo or Beverly Hills.
Where is The Peninsula's head office?
HSH's registered office is given as St. George's Building, 2 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong.
Is The Peninsula better than Mandarin Oriental?
They are tied: both score 85 out of 100 on our luxury hotel brand hierarchy. The Peninsula leads on consistency across the portfolio, 24 against 22; Mandarin Oriental leads on food and drink, 15 against 14, and on privacy and scale, 14 against 13.
Does The Peninsula have MICHELIN Keys?
Yes, at eleven of its twelve hotels: Three Keys at London, Two Keys at Hong Kong, Paris, Shanghai, Chicago, Beverly Hills and Istanbul, and One Key at Bangkok, Tokyo, Beijing and New York. Manila is not listed. The Peninsula Bangkok's own page claims Two Keys, but the MICHELIN Guide's own listing shows One.
Where did The Peninsula begin?
In Hong Kong, where The Peninsula Hong Kong opened in 1928. Its parent, HSH, dates itself to 2 March 1866, when it incorporated as The Hongkong Hotel Company, Limited.
Read next
- The luxury hotel brand hierarchy 2026: twenty brands scored on the same five criteria
- Booking.com vs direct: the exact rates we found at The Peninsula Istanbul
- Direct vs Amex FHR vs Virtuoso: where Peninsula PenClub fits, unconfirmed by the brand
- Mandarin Oriental record: tied with The Peninsula at 85