The Ritz and Saltmoore awarded two Michelin keys at 2025 ceremony

The Ritz London and Saltmoore in Whitby in North Yorkshire have joined the Michelin Guide having been awarded two Michelin keys at the 2025 ceremony dedicated to hotels.

 

Thirteen one-keys and six two-keys were newly awarded to hotels in the UK and Ireland at a global presentation ceremony at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris last night.

 

Joining the Ritz London and Saltmoore with two keys was the Lanesborough, the Adria and At Sloane in London, as well as Moor Hall in Lancashire.

 

No hotels in UK or Ireland received the highest accolade of three keys at this year’s presentation ceremony.

 

Among the one-key hotels added to this year’s guide was Paul Ainsworth’s Padstow Townhouse in Cornwall, Boys Hall in Willesborough in Kent and the Bull Burford in the Cotswolds.

 

No hotels in Wales or Scotland received keys this year.

 

The Michelin keys are similar to stars and are a three-tiered award designed to highlight the best places to stay across the globe. Hotels can be rated as one key (a special place to stay), two keys (an exceptional stay) or three keys (an extraordinary stay).

 

Hotels have been recommended in Michelin guides since the 1920s, but the organisation launched its standalone key award in 2023.

 

Michelin awarded 123 keys to hotels in the UK and Ireland in its inaugural selection a year later in 2024, with Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Gleneagles and the Connaught among those receiving the maximum three keys.

 

However, several high-profile venues were absent from the selection, with the Ritz London only entering the guide with two keys this year, signalling some controversy around how hotels become eligible for the awards.

 

According to Michelin, properties are judged on five criteria, including architecture and interior design; quality and regularity of service and comfort; unique character; consistency between quality and the price paid; and contribution to the local experience. They do not have to include a Michelin-starred restaurant to qualify.

 

Which UK hotels received Michelin keys in 2025?

England

• The Lanesborough, London (two keys)
• The Ritz London (two keys)
• Moor Hall, Lancashire (two keys)
• Saltmoore, North Yorkshire (two keys)
• The Adria, London (one key)
• At Sloane, London (one key)
• Beadnell Towers, Northumberland (one key)
• Boys Hall, Kent (one key)
• Bull Burford, the Cotswolds (one key)
• The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow, Derbyshire (one key)
• The Feathers Hotel at Woodstock, Oxfordshire (one key)
• Great Fosters, Surry (one key)
• Leonardslee House at Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, West Sussex (one key)
• Old Parsonage hotel, Oxford (one key)
• Padstow Townhouse, Cornwall (one key)

 

Channel Islands

• The Blonde Hedgehog, Alderney (one key)

 

Northern Ireland

• Regency House, Belfast (one key)

 

Republic of Ireland

• Ashford Castle, County Mayo (two keys)
• Park Hotel Kenmare, County Kerry (two keys)