Verification

No review is published until each load-bearing fact in it has been checked against a source the desk can name. That includes opening years, room and suite counts, Michelin star counts and the year they were awarded, World's 50 Best rankings, prices and rates, chef and general-manager names, distillery and builder facts, cigar vitolas and ring gauges, vessel ranges and cabin counts, and membership criteria. Where a figure cannot be independently confirmed, the review says so in approximate terms rather than asserting a precise number the desk cannot stand behind. A wrong opening date or a departed chef presented as current is treated as a failure, not a rounding error.

Sources are weighted, not treated as interchangeable. In descending order of authority:

Primary. The property, maison, distillery, builder, or club's own published material — rate sheets, press kits, spec sheets, official menus. Used for facts the operator controls (room counts, ABV, vitola, range).

Authority. Independent rating and ranking bodies — the Michelin Guide, The World's 50 Best, Forbes Travel Guide, Decanter, Cigar Aficionado, BoatInternational. Used for awards, stars, and rankings, always checked against the current year's edition.

Trade and press. Reputable reporting — the trade and quality press. Used to corroborate openings, ownership changes, and personnel moves.

Operational. The desk's own paid, first-hand experience — the booking, the receipt, the timed wait, the photographed room or vehicle. This is what a score ultimately rests on; the other tiers establish the facts around it.

Most reviews on this site carry a Verification section at the foot of the article listing the external sources consulted, with the date they were checked. The list is not exhaustive of every click made during reporting, but it names the sources a reader would need to audit the principal claims. The sourcing is part of the published product, not a private working note.

The desk uses software tools, including automated research assistance, to gather and cross-check facts. It does not use them to invent them. Every figure that appears in a published review was confirmed against a nameable human-published source; an unverifiable claim is cut or softened rather than dressed up. Editorial accountability rests with the publication, under its house byline, not with any tool.

If you believe a published figure is wrong, write to corrections@premiumtravelreview.com with the URL and the disputed claim, ideally with a source. The desk verifies the underlying fact independently before changing anything. Where a correction moves a verdict, it is logged permanently in the corrections log. The standing procedure is set out in the editorial standard.