MICHELIN Guide reveals its first ‘Keys’ hotels in the UK and Ireland

Four years ago, MICHELIN Guide announced a major revamp of its hotel selection. Whilst it has been recommending hotels ever since its first Guide in the 1920s, with over 5,000 now listed globally, it never applied its restaurant rating system to them.

This changed last October when MICHELIN announced it would start awarding ‘Keys.’ Like its restaurant Stars, these would be awarded to the “crème de la crème of our selection.” To quote:

“All our hotels excel in design, architecture, service and personality — the MICHELIN Key denotes the absolute most outstanding experiences in our selection.”

Select hotels would be awarded either one, two or three Keys, with Three Key hotels marking out the pinnacle of hospitality.

2024 UK and Ireland MICHELIN Keys announced

A year after announcing the launch of Keys, MICHELIN Guide has published its first list of Key hotels in the UK and Ireland. These are the “culmination of countless hours of evaluation by our MICHELIN Guide Inspectors,” with the inaugural keys awarded to 123 hotels:

• 14 Three Key hotels
• 37 Two Key hotels
• 72 One Key hotels

We thought we’d publish the full list, because the ‘Three Key’ selection is pretty much as you would expect. I found the ‘One Key’ selection more interesting because it features hotels which may not automatically be on your radar.

At Head for Points, we have reviewed eight of them:

• The Gleneagles Hotel – Auchterarder (review here) – Three Keys
• Corinthia Hotel London (review here) – Two Keys
• Grantley Hall – Ripon (review here) – Two Keys
• Hotel Café Royal – London (review here) – Two Keys
• The Langham London (review here) – Two Keys
• The Gainsborough Bath Spa (review here) – One Key
• Gleneagles Townhouse – Edinburgh (review here) – One Key
• Shangri-La The Shard London (review here) – One Key

Two of the biggest openings this year have made it to the top of the list with both The Peninsula and Raffles at The OWO being awarded Three Keys.

The only hotels from the big five hotel loyalty schemes we cover are:

• Gleaneagles, Auchterarder (Accor/Ennismore, but not part of Accor Live Limitless) – Three Keys
• Raffles London at The OWO (Accor) – Three Keys
• The Savoy (Accor) – Three Keys
• Bvlgari Hotel London (technically part of Marriott Bonvoy but not points earning or redeeming) – Three Keys
• Sofitel London St James (Accor) – One Key
• NoMad London (now Hilton) – One Key
• Gleneagles Townhouse Edinburgh (Accor/Ennismore, but not part of Accor Live Limitless) – One Key

There are quite a few hotels which are part of Small Luxury Hotels (and so can be booked via Hilton) or Mr & Mrs Smith (and so can be booked via Hyatt). There are also a few Global Hotel Alliance properties, such as Corinthia London.

What does a MICHELIN Key mean for you? As a start, I wouldn’t be surprised to see hotels on this list try to push up their prices as they bask in the prestige of their awards. Prices at restaurants awarded a MICHELIN star often increase and I would expect to see something similar here.

Three Key Hotels

• The Newt in Somerset – Bruton
• Lucknam Park – Colerne
• Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel – Great Milton
• Bvlgari Hotel London
• Claridge’s – London
• Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane
• Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park – London
• Raffles London at The OWO
• The Connaught – London
• The Peninsula London
• The Savoy – London
• Adare Manor – Adare, Republic of Ireland
• Ballyfin Demesne – Ballyfin, Republic of Ireland
• The Gleneagles Hotel – Auchterarder, Scotland (review here)

Two Key Hotels

• Coworth Park, Dorchester Collection – Ascot
• The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa – Bath
• Gidleigh Park – Chagford
• Gravetye Manor – East Grinstead
• Lympstone Manor – Exmouth
• Hampton Manor – Hampton-in-Arden
• Heckfield Place – Heckfield
• Beaverbrook Surrey – Leatherhead
• Thyme – Lechlade
• 45 Park Lane, Dorchester Collection – London
• Brown’s Hotel, a Rocco Forte Hotel – London
• Corinthia Hotel London (review here)
• Covent Garden Hotel, Firmdale Hotels – London
• Ham Yard Hotel, Firmdale Hotels – London
• Haymarket Hotel, Firmdale Hotels – London
• Hotel Café Royal – London (review here)
• Mandarin Oriental Mayfair, London
• Rosewood London
• The Beaumont Hotel – London
• The Berkeley – London
• The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel, London
• The Dorchester, Dorchester Collection – London
• The Langham, London (review here)
• The Twenty Two – London
• Lime Wood Hotel – Lyndhurst
• Whatley Manor Hotel and Spa – Malmesbury
• Chewton Glen Hotel – New Milton
• Grantley Hall – Ripon
• Hambleton Hall – Rutland
• Cliveden House – Taplow
• Gilpin Hotel & Lake House – Windermere
• The Samling Hotel – Windermere
• Cashel Palace – Cashel, Republic of Ireland
• Sheen Falls Lodge – Kenmare, Republic of Ireland
• The Merrion – Dublin, Republic of Ireland
• The Fife Arms – Braemar, Scotland
• The Balmoral – Edinburgh, Scotland

One Key Hotels

England

• Amberley Castle – Amberley
• Bath Priory – Bath
• Homewood – Bath
• The Gainsborough Bath Spa (review here)
• The Queensberry Hotel – Bath
• The Yard, Bath
• The Collective at Woolsery – Bideford
• Farlam Hall Hotel & Restaurant – Brampton
• Artist Residence Brighton
• Artist Residence Bristol
• Number 38 Clifton – Bristol
• The Gallivant – Camber
• Cowley Manor Experimental – Cheltenham
• Foresters Hall – Cowes (Isle of Wight)
• Forest Side Hotel – Grasmere
• Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire
• The Old Rectory – Hastings
• The Harper Langham
• 1 Hotel Mayfair – London
• Artist Residence London
• Baglioni Hotel London
• Beaverbrook Town House – London
• Broadwick Soho – London
• Charlotte Street Hotel, Firmdale Hotels – London
• Chiltern Firehouse – London
• COMO The Halkin – London
• Flemings Mayfair – London
• Four Seasons Hotel London at Tower Bridge
• Knightsbridge Hotel, Firmdale Hotels – London
• L’oscar London
• NoMad London
• Number Sixteen, Firmdale Hotels – London
• One Aldwych – London
• Redchurch Townhouse – London
• Shangri-La The Shard London (review here)
• Sofitel London St James
• The Emory – London
• The Soho Hotel, Firmdale Hotels – London
• The Vineyard Hotel & Spa – Newbury
• Estelle Manor – North Leigh
• Artist Residence Oxfordshire – Oxford
• The Swan Southwold
• The Idle Rocks – St Mawes
• Hotel Tresanton – St Mawes
• Thornbury Castle – Thornbury
• Artist Residence Cornwall – West Cornwall
• Linthwaite House Hotel – Windermere

Channel Islands

• Longueville Manor – Saint Helier, Jersey

Scotland

• Glenapp Castle – Ballantrae
• Dumfries House Lodge – Cumnock
• Links House at Royal Dornoch – Dornoch
• 100 Princes Street – Edinburgh
• Gleneagles Townhouse – Edinburgh (review here)
• Prestonfield Edinburgh – Edinburgh
• Foyers Lodge Loch Ness – Foyers
• The Grandtully Hotel by Ballintaggart – Grandtully
• Kinloch Lodge – Isle of Skye – Sleat
• Cromlix Hotel – Kinbuck
• Newhall Mains Dingwall – Resolis
• Glenmorangie House – Tain

Wales

• Palé Hall – Bala
• Penmaenuchaf – Dolgellau
• The Grove – Narberth

Republic of Ireland

• Gregans Castle Hotel – Ballyvaughan
• Cliff House Hotel – Ardmore
• Castlemartyr Resort – Castlemartyr
• Dylan – Dublin
• Wilder Townhouse Dublin
• The Killarney Park
• The Victoria – Killarney
• No. 1 Pery Square – Limerick
• Dromoland Castle – Newmarket on Fergus

Hotel offers update – December 2024:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points?

• Hilton Honors is offering an 80%-100% bonus when you buy points by 31st December 2024. Click here to buy.

• IHG One Rewards is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points by 13th December 2024. Your annual purchase limit is increased to 300,000 points plus the bonus. Click here to buy.

• Marriott Bonvoy is offering a 40%-45% bonus when you buy point by 23rd December 2024. Your annual purchase limit is increased to 150,000 points plus the bonus. Click here to buy.

• World of Hyatt is offering a 25% bonus when you buy points by 4th January 2025. Your annual purchase limit is increased to 110,000 points plus the bonus. Click here to buy.