The Michelin Guide now rates hotels – these are the places awarded ‘keys’ in the UK and Ireland

Natalie Wilson
·4-min read
The Newt in Somerset was awarded three ‘keys’ in the Michelin Guide (The Newt in Somerset)
The Newt in Somerset was awarded three ‘keys’ in the Michelin Guide (The Newt in Somerset)

Looking for luxury in your hotel room? The Michelin Guide have announced the most outstanding accommodation across the UK and Ireland this year.

The British and Irish hotels awarded top honours for 2024 include Irish castles, stately Scottish homes and boutique London townhouses.

Since April 2024, the Michelin ‘key’ has recommended over 5,000 remarkable hotels worldwide following visits from guide inspectors.

Five criteria dictate which hotels make the list – excellence in architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, overall personality and character, value in relation to the price and a significant contribution to the neighbourhood or setting.

Those with dining habits guided by Michelin Star ratings are in luck. As with Michelin applauded restaurants, one key reflects a ‘very special stay’, two an ‘exceptional stay’ and three an ‘extraordinary stay’.

Among the 123 hotspots in the UK and Ireland, 14 were awarded three keys, 37 two keys and 72 one key in the Michelin hotel guide.

The ‘three key’ accommodations setting the benchmark for travel feature the iconic Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, impressive addresses such as Claridges and the Four Seasons in London and the five-star Adare Manor’s golf and hotel resort in Ireland.

A third of the overall list lives on London’s hotel scene with 44 opulent, old-world and Victorian era big name properties tried and tested for a night in the English capital.

Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, said: “For our latest European release, we are absolutely thrilled to present to world travellers our very first Michelin key selection for Great Britain and Ireland.

“Featuring no fewer than 123 outstanding hotels, this selection is an invitation to explore the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, visit their historically rich cities, relax in their charming countryside and scenic landscapes, and enjoy, for a few nights, a timeless lifestyle in century-old castles and manor houses.

“From boutique hotels or flagship luxury properties located in eclectic London to country houses nestled in dramatic Irish countryside; from stunning Scottish manor houses to tranquil Welsh retreats: every hotel awarded one, two or three Michelin keys is a gem sculpted by talented professionals.”

Three-key Hotels

England

  • The Newt in Somerset, Bruton

  • Lucknam Park, Colerne

  • Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, Oxfordshire, Great Milton

  • Bvlgari Hotel London, London

  • Claridge’s, London

  • Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane, London

  • Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

  • Raffles London at The OWO, London

  • The Connaught, London

  • The Peninsula London, London

  • The Savoy, London

Republic of Ireland

  • Adare Manor, Adare

  • Ballyfin Demesne, Ballyfin

Scotland

  • The Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder

Two-key Hotels

England

  • 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

  • Covent Garden Hotel, Firmdale Hotels, London

  • Ham Yard Hotel, Firmdale Hotels, London

  • Haymarket Hotel, Firmdale Hotels, London

  • Hotel Café Royal, London

  • 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

  • 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

Republic of Ireland

  • Cashel Palace, Cashel

  • Sheen Falls Lodge, Kenmare

  • The Merrion, Dublin

Scotland

  • The Fife Arms, Braemar

  • The Balmoral, Edinburgh

One-key Hotels

England

  • Amberley Castle, Amberley

  • Bath Priory, Bath

  • Homewood, Bath

  • The Gainsborough Bath Spa, Bath

  • 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, 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

  • 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

  • Sofitel London St James, London

  • 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, Southwold

  • The Idle Rocks, St Mawes

  • Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes

  • Thornbury Castle, Thornbury

  • Artist Residence Cornwall

  • Linthwaite House Hotel, Windermere

Channel Islands

  • Longueville Manor, Jersey

Republic of Ireland

  • Gregans Castle Hotel, Ballyvaughan

  • Cliff House Hotel, Ardmore

  • Castlemartyr Resort, Castlemartyr

  • Dylan, Dublin

  • Wilder Townhouse, Dublin

  • The Killarney Park, Killarney

  • The Victoria, Killarney

  • No. 1 Pery Square, Limerick

  • Dromoland Castle, Newmarket on Fergus

Scotland

  • Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae

  • Dumfries House Lodge, Cumnock

  • Links House at Royal Dornoch, Dornoch

  • 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh

  • Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh

  • Prestonfield Edinburgh, Edinburgh

  • Foyers Lodge Loch Ness, Foyers

  • The Grandtully Hotel by Ballintaggart, Grandtully

  • Kinloch Lodge, Isle of Skye

  • Cromlix Hotel, Kinbuck

  • Newhall Mains Dingwall, Resolis

  • Glenmorangie House, Tain

Wales

  • Palé Hall, Bala

  • Penmaenuchaf, Dolgellau

  • Grove of Narberth, Narberth

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast

Latest stories