Since last April and their launch in FranceMichelin continues to expand the range of its Clefs, the hotel counterpart to its starred restaurants. Following in the footsteps of Italy, Spain, Japan, North America and Thailand, a number of major European countries have now been awarded Michelin stars. their most prestigious hotels or those with a unique character. At the beginning of October, it was the turn of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and more recently Germany, Switzerland and Austria, to learn of the hotel distinctions awarded by the reference guide to gastronomy.
London logically takes a large share of the 123 awards in the British Isles. While the Dorchester and the London boutique hotels in the Firmdale collection have been awarded 2 Keys, recognising exceptional places to stay, its 3 Key addresses, which, according to the guide, promise a "memorable stay", have been awarded 3 Keys. extraordinary" bring together the big names in London luxury hotels. These include the Four Seasons at Park Lane, Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and Bvlgari London, Claridge's and Connaught from the Maybourne group, and the Peninsulawhich recently opened, as well as two Accor hotels, the prestigious Savoy and the latest palace to appear in the British capital, the Raffles at The OWO.
Also owned by Accor, through its subsidiary Ennismore, the Gleneagles resort in Scotland also received the highest accolade, as did another of its sister resorts in the UK. golf resort also ideal for seminars and VIP conferences Adare Manor in Ireland. Dublin and Edinburgh are each home to a two-key hotel, The Merrion in the heart of the Irish capital, the result of the merger of four Georgian houses, and The Balmoral, the Scottish palace owned by the Rocco Forte group.
Among the hotels awarded the ultimate distinction, business travellers will find several 3 Keys addresses in the major cities in the German-speaking region such as the Fairmont Vier Jahreszeiten and The Fontenay in Hamburg, Germany, the legendary Hotel Sacher in Vienna and the elite of the Swiss luxury hotel industry, from the Hotel Baur au Lac in Zurich to the Trois Rois in Basel, not forgetting the Woodward and the Beau-Rivage in Geneva. As for those that did not win the highest accolade, most of them have two Keys, including the Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues and the Ritz-Carlton Hôtel de Paix in Geneva, the Dolder Grand in Zurich, the Beau-Rivage and Lausanne Palace in the city of Vaud, and the Mandarin Oriental Lucerne, recently renovated and entered in the Swiss luxury hotel category. into the fold of the Asian group.
Of the 36 two-key hotels in Germany, a number will be of interest to business travellers, including the Sofitel Frankfurt Opera and, in Munich, the Mandarin Oriental, the Rosewood and the Charles, owned by the Rocco Forte group, which also has a two-key hotel in Berlin, the Hotel de Rome. Other establishments in the German capital have also been selected. recognised as exceptional by the Michelin guide, including the Ritz Carlton and the Telegraphenamt, am Steinplatz and Patrick Hellmann Schlosshotel hotels. In the Austrian capital, several hotels also received two Keys, including the Park Hyatt and the Rosewood, as well as the Imperial, Sans Souci and Amauris hotels.
All these awards enhance the hotel selections offered by the guide around the world. After starting its selection with the major destinations in the United States, the Michelin Keys have been extended this summer to include across the country, as well as in Canada and Mexico for a total of 412 establishments. Alongside the finest addresses in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago already revealed, the new three-key hotels are essentially resorts or exclusive boutique hotels, some on a private island like the Little Palm in Florida, others in the former residence of a European duchess like the Hotel Esencia in Mexico or, more surprisingly, only accessible by boat or seaplane like the Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge, a camp with around twenty ultra top-of-the-range tents.
The Michelin Keys extend their reach
But business travellers will also find award-winning hotels in major cities, including the Commodore Perry Estate in Austin, the Auberge Saint Antoine in Quebec City, which is both a hotel and a museum, and the Casa Polanco in Mexico City, an intimate hotel with 19 rooms and suites made up of a neo-colonial mansion from the 1940s and a modernist building. Alongside these two-key addresses, they will find other urban hotels awarded one key, such as the Peter & Paul Hotel in New Orleans, nestled in a church and a former Catholic school, the Bottleworks Hotel in Indianapolis, the result of the conversion of a former warehouse into a hotel. Coca-Cola bottling plantIn Canada, the 1 Hotel Toronto and Le Mount Stephen in Montreal.
In Asia, Japan was also added at the beginning of July, with 108 hotels ranging from from palaces to traditional ryokan as well as urban and design boutique hotels. This selection features three hotels in the capital which have been awarded three Keys - the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi, the Bulgari and the Palace Hotel Tokyo - as well as a luxury ryokan in what was once a hideout of the imperial family, the Gora Kadan in Hakonemachi, as well as the Mitsui in Kyoto, a blend of art and tradition integrated into the historic estate of the powerful family from which the hotel takes its name, and the onsen resort Amanemu in Shima.
Among the other urban hotels, the Capitol Hotel Tokyo, designed by the architect Kengo Kuma, and the JANU Tokyo, the Aman group's new, more 'affordable' chain, received two Keys, while the recently renovated Okura and Tokyo Station Hotels, located in Tokyo station, received one Key, as did the Tower Hotel in Nagoya.
As for Thailand, Bangkok hotels y represents a third of the 58 properties selected, with two three-key hotels - the Mandarin Oriental and The Siam - and seven two-key hotels, including the Capella Bangkok, recently recognised as the best hotel in the world by the World Hotel Awards. 50 Best Hotels.
