You’ve probably heard of a Michelin star, but have you ever seen a place awarded a Michelin ‘key’? If Michelin keys are news to you, that’s because they’ve only just been introduced to the UK and Ireland.
Michelin keys work pretty similarly to Michelin stars – only the keys are for hotels, rather than restaurants. Hotels are given keys according to five factors: ‘architecture and interior design; quality and consistency of service; overall personality and character; value for the price; and a significant contribution to the guest experience in a particular setting’.
Getting just one key is an achievement – but receiving three is particularly impressive. And in the first Michelin Guide for the UK and Ireland (announced on October 1), a whopping 12 British hotels received three keys.
Out of those 12, eight are in London, ranging from Claridge’s to the Savoy. Three are in the English countryside, (The Newt, Lucknam Park and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons) and the other is legendary Scottish manor hotel Gleneagles.
Here’s the full list of UK hotels awarded three keys by Michelin this year.
- The Newt in Somerset, Bruton, England
- Lucknam Park, Colerne, England
- Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, Oxfordshire, Great Milton, England
- Bvlgari Hotel London, London, England
- Claridge’s, London, England
- Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, London, England
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, England
- Raffles London at The OWO, London, England
- The Connaught, London, England
- The Peninsula London, London, England
- The Savoy, London, England
- The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder, Scotland
Many of the above establishments are widely renowned as among the world’s best hotels. In fact, in a recent ranking by World's 50 Best Hotels covered on Time Out featured Claridge’s, Raffles at The OWO, Gleneagles and The Connaught. On Time Out we’ve also covered British hotels in lists by TIME magazine and National Geographic.
And that isn’t all. In the Michelin Guide’s list of key-winning hotels, 34 establishments in the UK were awarded two keys and 62 earned one key. You can read more about all the Michelin Guide’s keyed hotels in the UK on the official website here.
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