Pride of Britain names two new members

Pride of Britain has named two new member hotels, taking its total to 48, two short of its self-imposed upper limit.

Bedford Lodge near Newmarket and Ellenborough Park in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire were accepted into the consortium after successful inspections and the group's voting process.

Both hotels have AA red stars and are highly rated for their food.

Pride of Britain chief executive Peter Hancock said: "We are thrilled to welcome these two excellent properties into the Pride of Britain collection of independent luxury hotels, taking our membership to 48. Given our upper limit of 50 we can therefore claim, in hoteliers' language, to have achieved 96% occupancy!"

For a new member to be accepted they must pass a first inspection by a member hotelier, whose report is considered by the Pride of Britain board. The hotel is then visited by mystery guests at least once every two years to ensure standards are maintained.