tl;dr – Because restaurants ratings simply were not enough.
Last month, Michelin unveiled its first-ever global hotel guide, awarding 1-key, 2-key, and 3-key distinctions to over 2400 hotels. This is the second year that ‘Michelin Keys’ have been a thing, though it’s the first year where the distinctions were available to properties across the globe. And yes, if you’re wondering, the idea is just the same as Michelin’s ‘star’ distinction awarded to restaurants – it’s essentially its counterpart.
Here’s how the key-echelon breaks down, according to Michelin.
Of the 2,457 hotels receiving distinction, there are 1,742 One-Key, 572 Two-Key, and 143 Three-Key properties across the globe.
Unfortunately, Michelin’s website doesn’t YET have a tidy search for covering its hotel distinctions as it does for its restaurant guide, so I’ll just mention a few highlights.
That said, if you’re wondering about North & Central America + Caribbean, there are ‘23 Three MICHELIN Keys; 123 Two MICHELIN Keys; 380 One MICHELIN Keys across the region.
South America boasts five Three-Key properties, and they are: “Hotel das Cataratas, A Belmond Hotel and Rosewood São Paulo in Brazil; Tierra Patagonia Hotel & Spa and Awasi Patagonia in Torres del Paine, Chile; and Las Casitas, A Belmond Hotel, Colca Canyon in Arequipa, Peru.”
Over in Oceania, ultra-luxe Polynesian property – The Brando – claimed Three Keys.
