Quality Gradings Explained

Never has quality meant so much

All the accommodation featured on this website is either part of a nationally recognised quality chain or has been quality assessed by either VisitBritain* or the AA - in some cases the establishment may have recently applied for a rating and is awaiting assessment. Please be aware that ratings may change throughout the year.

VisitBritain and AA - Enjoy England Ratings

If you wish to confirm a rating please visit www.enjoyengland.comor telephone VisitBritain on: 0208 563 3309 or email: feedback@visitbritain.org

For AA ratings, visit www.theaa.com or telephone: 01256 844455 or email: customer.services@theaa.com

All the national assessing bodies (VisitBritain*, VisitScotland, Visit Wales and the AA) now assess hotels and guests accommodation (including B&B's) to the same criteria and award one to five stars. The star ratings reflect the overall quality of the experience.

When choosing your accommodation look for the Quality Rose, the official marque of the Enjoy England national tourist board rating scheme.

Enjoy England ratings made easy

One star - Simple, practical, no frills

Two stars - Well presented and well run

Three stars - Good level of quality and comfort

Four stars - Excellent standard throughout

Five stars - Exceptional with a degree of luxury

The Enjoy England professional assessors visit every year, carrying out a routine day visit or an overnight stay in the case of a serviced accommodation. On these occasions, they book in as you would, as a normal guest and test all of the facilities and services. A quality score is awarded for every aspect of the experience including the comfort of the bed, the quality of the breakfast and dinner and, most importantly, the cleanliness. They also score the warmth of welcome. Places that 'go the extra mile' to make your stay a special one, will be awarded a high star rating and hotels and guest accommodation may achieve a Gold or Sliver award.

For self-catering accommodation, the layout and design of the accommodation and the range and quality of the kitchen equipment is assessed, as well as the quality and comfort of the bedrooms and bathrooms and most importantly, the cleanliness. Higher star-rated accommodation tends to have more spacious bedrooms and bathrooms, and in hotels a higher staff to guest ratio, so service should be very attentive. At five star, you can really expect to be pampered in luxurious surroundings!

For serviced accommodation, there are two separate schemes - one for hotels and one for guest accommodation.

Hotels have to be licensed, offer dinner at least 5 nights a week (unless categorised as a Metro Hotel) and have all rooms en suite or with private bathrooms.

The different hotel categories are:

Hotel, Small Hotel, Country House Hotel, Metro Hotel, Town House, Town House Hotel and Budget Hotel

Guest accommodation categories are:

Guest Accommodation, Bed and Breakfast, Guest Houses, Inns, Farmhouses and Restaurants with Rooms. They tend to be personally run by the owners.

Guest Accommodation - Diamonds and Stars

The diamond ratings that were previously awarded to guest accommodation (B&B's, Guest Houses etc) are gradually being replaced by stars. You will find some entries in this guide with diamonds ratings and some with star ratings. The new star ratings are designed to meet the greater expectations of consumers with regards to quality and facilities. Higher ratings are therefore more difficult to achieve than under the diamond scheme. In this guide you may find, for example guest accommodation that previously held a 4 diamond rating has been reassessed under the new standards as 3 stars. It does not necessarily mean that their quality standards have dropped.

Hotels have to provide certain additional facilities and services at the higher star levels.

Guest accommodation owners have to provide certain additional facilities and services at the higher star levels.

Gold and Silver awards for Hotels/Guest Accommodation

Silver Awards recognise exceptional quality at all levels and Gold Awards are given to the very 'best of the best'.