Michelin to Award Hotels

The Michelin Guide is to recommend hotels and add a new award scheme called The Michelin Key.

Previously confined to restaurants, the Michelin Guide will now cover 5,000 selected hotels in 120 countries. The publishers say that the new Guide will appeal to travellers’ emotions “by orienting them towards bold establishments that excel in every way: architectural approaches, professional know-how, and the existence of a true, identifiable personality”. 

It will also offer a booking service through an online platform.

Michelin will also award distinctions, to be called “The Michelin Key”, to selected hotels, along the lines of its “star” classification for restaurants. The Guide teams “seek to highlight the establishments that raise hospitality to an art form, forging absolutely unique experiences for travellers” the publishers say. 

Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of The Michelin Guides, adds:

“The Michelin Key is a clear, reliable indication for travellers. Just as the Michelin Star distinguishes those restaurants that are at the peak of their art, the Michelin Key recognises the most exceptional hotels throughout the world. It is also an acknowledgment of the teamwork of committed, enthusiastic hospitality professionals.”

The Michelin Key will be awarded following one or several stays conducted anonymously by the selection teams. The teams are currently in the field and will reveal the first Michelin Key selection in the first half of 2024.