Stars were already used for restaurants - as they are for hotel classification. So now we're going to have Clefs; one, two or three Clefs, for the crème de la crème. Famous for its benchmark awards for the world's best restaurants, the Michelin Guide is extending its expertise to hospitality. After starting to offer a selection of 6,000 hotels worldwide on its website and app last October, the famous red guide has just unveiled the best of them, initially in France.
This first prize list rewards 189 establishments In all, 127 hotels with one Key, 38 establishments boasting two Keys, while the 24 best addresses have been awarded three Keys. These are all extraordinary hotels, true destinations in their own right, while the two Keys recognise places that are exceptional in terms of their design, heritage and architecture, and the "one Key" recognise establishments with character and a strong personality.
" These awards are the result of the selection work carried out by our teams of inspectors in the field, in search of the best addresses, and not the validation of an inventory of hotel services and standards.explains Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guide. Our approach is truly independentA hotel that has been classified as a luxury hotel will not necessarily have three Clefs pour nous. For example, an establishment classified as a palace will not necessarily have three Keys for us." .
Some of them are not even among the 189 lucky winners - the Park Hyatt and Mandarin Oriental in Paris, for example, or the Barrière in Courchevel are not on the list - while more intimate establishments have been awarded a Clef, such as the Domaine de Murtoli in Corsica, which focuses on agritourism, or the Chateau et Village Castigno near Montpellier, organised around a revamped village in the middle of the vineyards.
In keeping with the idea of a selection to help travellers prepare their leisure breaks with a focus on gastronomy, the awards announced give pride of place to charming independent hotels, nestled in the most beautiful landscapes, rather than to the big names in business travel. With the exception of Paris, few of the establishments that travellers looking for excellence during their business trips will find on their route in the major provincial cities, apart from the Crayères in Reims (3 Keys), the Negresco in Nice (2 Keys), the Villa Florentine and Villa Maïa in Lyon, the Clarance in Lille, the Haras in Strasbourg, and the InterContinental Grand Hôtel in Bordeaux, all of which have been awarded a Key.
As for the capital, this first list recognised almost forty hotels, ranging from intimate boutique hotels such as Le Ballu, Les Bains or Maison Delano to big names in the Paris hotel industry. La Réserve, Saint James, Four Seasons George V, Cheval Blanc, Ritz, Bristol, Meurice, Plaza Athénée: all these stars of hospitality have been awarded the 3 Keys, as has the private hotel-club Maison Villeroy and its 11 ultra-chic flats complemented by a restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef Sébastien Sanjou.
And while the Michelin guide's awards may be off the beaten track for business travel road warriors, they will be a useful source of inspiration for event organisers looking for venues with a strong character. Many of the hotels included in the list offer authentic, personalised settings for seminars in the great outdoors or for exceptional management committees. Baumanière, Les Prés d'Eugénie, Pic, Georges Blanc: the great Michelin-starred establishments also know how to combine great cuisine with high-level thinking.
France to start with, the United States, Spain and Italy in a few weeks' time, and Japan at the beginning of the summer: the Michelin Guide's best hotel addresses will soon be revealed country by country, but on the same clear and uniform basis. These distinctions complement a digital strategy where hotels have been added to the restaurant sector. "Before, after booking a table, a gourmet traveller could spend hours searching on more than ten different platforms to organise their accommodation.says Gwendal Poullennec. With this selection of hotels, the Michelin Guide has established itself as the traveller's trusted companion, from upstream inspiration to booking and feedback." .
For hoteliers, these bookings translate into a commission". within market standards" says the international director of the Michelin Guide. " On the other handhe continues, What sets us apart from other e-commerce platforms is our independent editorial selection. Inspectors have no links with hotels, and hoteliers can choose whether or not to activate the online booking function. Nor is there any display bias based on commission percentages paid or incentives to book." . Concern for independence.
