NEWS: MICHELIN Announces FIRST-EVER Key Ratings for Hotels

For over a century, a MICHELIN ranking has represented the finest in dining. Now they’re expending to hotels.

Victoria & Albert’s is recognized by the Michelin guide

Since it’s first publication in 1900, the MICHELIN Guide – which was first published by the Michelin tire company as a way to try and get more drivers on the road, and in-turn more customers for their tires – has documented hotels and restaurants across the board. Their three star rating system, first introduced in the mid-1930s and featuring the elusive three-star tier for restaurants that rank “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”, has become the benchmark any find dining establishment hopes to surpass. In 2020, the company announced they were “refreshing” their hotel selection to be more in line with their dining rankings.

In April of 2024, MICHELIN announced their new guidelines for hotels, beginning in their native France. The company laid out the new criteria, saying that hotels are, “places that significantly add to your experience as a traveler, each vetted and judged excellent in five categories: 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.”

The Four Seasons George V, a Three Key Hotel

From there, Michelin laid out the new Key rankings – similar to their Stars for restaurants – that their rankings will be based on:

One Key: a very special stay.
Two Keys: an exceptional stay.
Three Keys: an extraordinary stay.

MICHELIN goes on to stress that every hotel in their guide is eligible for one, two, or even three keys, regardless of price, location, or perceived luxury:

“Every hotel in the MICHELIN Guide hotel selection is eligible for a Key, and the selection currently features over 5,000 accommodations across the world, with options for every style and budget. There are lively hotels and quiet hotels. Hotels in metropolises and hotels in the middle of nowhere. Hotels at the leading edge of modern design and hotels that celebrate the achievements of the past. There are castles, hostels, tents, and ryokans, places with two hundred rooms atop a city skyscraper, and with two rooms tucked inside an ancient watchtower. All will be eligible to earn a MICHELIN Key.”

The Ritz Paris, a Three Key Hotel – MICHELIN

The 2024 MICHELIN Guide’s hotel rankings in France feature 4 Three Key hotels, 38 Two Key hotels, and 127 One Key hotels, the full list of which is available on their website as well as in the published guide.

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