Our guide is independent

Andrew Davis, the founder of Von Essen Hotels, is said in your cover feature (Caterer, 4 January, page 24) to be "still outraged" that the Good Hotel Guide dropped several Von Essen hotels from its 2005 edition, including Sharrow Bay.

The guide's policy, clearly stated in its introduction, is that hotels are omitted from the guide if there has been a change of ownership. New owners and new managers need to be judged over a period of time if we are to be confident that their hotel meets our standards. Whether a hotel has an entry in the Good Hotel Guide is dependent on what our readers tell us, backed by independent inspection.

We are a genuinely independent guide and do not receive payments, advertising or hospitality from hotels. Our latest published guide, the 2007 edition, lists several Von Essen hotels, including Sharrow Bay.

Adam Raphael
Editor, the Good Hotel Guide, London

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