The Michelin Key: A Distinction Dedicated To Hotels

The Michelin Guide, known for awarding stars to the best restaurants in the world, will soon expand its expertise to hotels. Starting in 2024, a new distinction will appear in the famous red guide: the Michelin Key! This symbol is intended to highlight the most exceptional hotel establishments. Explanations.

The expertise of the Michelin Guide extended to the hotel industry.

For over 120 years, the Michelin gastronomic guide has been an international reference in the field of restaurants and gastronomy. But the Michelin teams, who already offer a selection of hotels on their official website and application, do not intend to stop there!

Following the same model as the stars awarded to restaurants, they will now award "Michelin Keys" to exceptional hotels around the world.

With the Michelin Key distinction, the famous red guide aims to also become a reference in the field of tourist accommodations.

A selection of hotels in 120 countries.

To help travelers navigate through a mass of more or less reliable information, the Michelin Guide teams have selected over 5000 remarkable hotels in 120 countries.

This selection, which does not take into account other existing labels or pre-established quotas, is based on the following 5 criteria:
• The hotel is a destination in its own right and contributes to the local experience.
• It demonstrates excellence in terms of architecture and interior design.
• It distinguishes itself through the quality and consistency of service, comfort, and maintenance.
• It possesses a uniqueness that reflects the establishment's personality and unique character.
• There is coherence between the level of experience and the price paid.

The Michelin Guide's hotel selection is aimed at travelers who already trust this guide and are looking for reliable advice. You can find this new selection of hotels and accommodations, which is the result of four years of independent work, on the website guide.michelin.com and on the official mobile application.

It is within this selection that the Michelin Guide teams will highlight the most exceptional establishments by awarding them the Michelin Key. This is an additional distinction that will be awarded annually starting from 2024.

A reward for unique hotel experiences.

The Michelin Key is a special distinction that aims to highlight establishments offering unique hotel experiences.

While tourist accommodations are becoming increasingly standardized in terms of design, interior decoration, and hotel services, the Michelin Guide wishes to use its expertise to serve travelers and guide them towards exceptional addresses.

This distinction will be awarded to hotels whose excellence is matched only by their audacity. The winners will be establishments that stand out for their know-how, architectural choices, and the affirmation of a singular personality. This distinction will be awarded after one or more stays conducted anonymously by the Michelin Guide's selection teams.

With this new hotel symbol, the Michelin Guide teams aim to steer travelers towards characterful accommodations that offer much more than just a room for the night. Customers will thus be able to precede or extend a gastronomic experience with a memorable hotel stay.

According to Gwendal Poullennec, the international director of the Michelin Guides, "the Michelin Key is a clear and reliable indication for travelers. Just as Michelin stars distinguish restaurants at the top of their craft, the Michelin Key will reward the most exceptional hotels around the world."

The first ranking of the world's best hotels will not be revealed until the first half of 2024.

A website and an application to choose your stay.

You will have understood, through its hotel selection and the Michelin Key distinction, the Michelin guide is venturing into the hotel industry! In order to become a reference in this field, the famous guide not only offers a selection of establishments, but has also developed an independent platform and a mobile application allowing you to choose, book, and comment on your stay.

On these two online tools, the journey is intuitive and guides the user from organization to booking their stay. Specifically, you can first seek inspiration by browsing the magazine section of the website, before choosing your accommodation using a filtering system. All that's left is to book your room and pay online before packing your bags. At the end of your stay, you can comment and share your experience.

To top it off, the website and application are ad-free in order to not disrupt the reading of information during navigation. You can even benefit from the assistance of travel experts who are available 24/7 and offer personalized support if needed.