Michelin starts classifying the best hotels in the world – 04/10/2024 – Tourism

The Michelin Guide announced a symbol for classifying the best hotels in the world. The establishments will receive recognition “keys” based on five criteria evaluated by the team, such as architecture, quality of service and contribution to the neighborhood in which they are located.

The selection began to be announced on the 8th, the first of which includes 189 hotels and accommodations that received keys in France. Just like a Michelin-rated restaurant, a hotel can win one, two or three keys.

See the positions:

One key: very special stay
Two keys: exceptional stay
Three keys: extraordinary stay

Anonymous reviewers visit establishments and keys can be granted after a single visit or multiple stays. According to the Guide, there are five universal evaluation criteria: architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, general personality and character, value and significant contribution to the neighborhood or environment.

The Michelin Guide website already features a booking platform with more than 5,000 boutique hotels in 120 countries. The company made its first major foray into the area in 2018, when it acquired the online travel agency Tablet, which selected hotels based on anonymous reviews similar to those of Michelin.

Starting in 2024, the keys will be announced by country. The next announcements will be for hotels in Italy, Spain, the United States (Atlanta, California, Chicago, Colorado, Florida, New York and Washington DC) and Japan.

Restaurants

The company is famous for its restaurant reviews, in which establishments are rated with up to three Michelin stars for excellence. The guide was created by brothers Edouard and André Michelin in 1900, in France, with information on where to gas up and repair the car, where to eat and stay. The first stars were awarded in 1926.

Although considered the ultimate culinary honor, gaining or losing a star can have dramatic effects on business. In recent years, restaurants and chefs have given up, saying stars come with enormous pressure to maintain standards for the culinary elite. French chef Sébastien Bras has asked to be excluded from the 2018 Michelin Guide after maintaining three stars for more than a decade at his restaurant Le Suquet in France.