The Top 50 Boutique Hotels, sponsored by Taylors of Harrogate, is set to take place this month (Tuesday 22 November) following extensive voting from hundreds of industry experts across the sector, including operators, travel writers, industry experts and social media influencers.
Last week, the 50 best boutique hotels across England, Scotland and Wales were contacted and invited to an exclusive awards ceremony, which will take place at Lillibrooke Manor in Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire.
Exclusive event
Guests will be treated to a menu designed and cooked by owner and head chef of the Beehive in White Waltham, Berkshire, Michelin-starred Dominic Chapman. At the exclusive event, those invited will find out where they placed in the 50 and if one has been judged to be better than last year’s number one, The Newt in Bruton, Somerset.
Top 50 Boutique Hotels launched by media business William Reed in 2021 as a complement to the very established and widely sort list, Top 50 Gastropubs, of which the Hand and Flowers in Marlow, Buckinghamshire has been a mainstay.
It recognises the best in the luxury, niche sectors offering unique experiences and often fly under the radar being a best kept secret amongst those in the know.
Premium experiences
William Reed is a specialist in the food and drink media space, now one of the world’s biggest with market leading brands such as The Morning Advertiser, The Grocer and World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Chris Lowe, group director at William Reed said: “Despite the economy, consumers are seeking premium experiences.
“We are seeing people going out less but when they do really treating themselves. This is across drinking and eating out. Our Top 50s uncover the exceptional and unique, often known to those in the industry or local area”.
“We are contacted daily by gastropubs, cocktail bars and boutique hotels asking how they get on the list. But, these awards are not entered, they are chosen each year by those in the know. That’s what makes them so special, each person included has been named by their peers.”
Top 50 Boutique Hotels (in alphabetical order)
Another Place, Penrith, Cumbria
Artist Residence London, Pimlico, central London
Beaverbrook, Leatherhead, Surrey
Calcot Manor Hotel, Tetbury, Gloucestershire
Cliveden House, Maidenhead, Berkshire
Dormy House, Broadway, Worcestershire
Foyers Lodge Loch Ness, Inverness, Scotland
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House, Windmere, Cumbria
Grantley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire
Gravetye Manor, East Grinstead, West Sussex
Grays Court Hotel & Restaurant, York
Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey
Grove of Narbeth, Narbeth, Pembrokeshire
Hambleton Hall, Oakham, Rutland
Hampton Manor, Solihull, West Midlands
Heckfield Place, Hook, Hampshire
Henrietta Hotel, Covent Garden, central London
Hipping Hall, Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria
Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes, Cornwall
House of Gods, Edinburgh, Scotland
Idle Rocks, St Mawes, Cornwall
Lime Wood Hotel, Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Links House at Royal Dornoch, Dornoch, Scotland
Linthwaite House, Windermere, Cumbria
L'oscar London, Bloomsbury, central London
Lympstone Manor, Exmouth, Devon
Middleton Lodge Estate, Richmond, North Yorkshire
Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms, Aughton, Lancashire
Number 38, Clifton, Bristol
Number One, Bruton, Somerset
Padstow Townhouse, Padstow, Cornwall
Rothay Manor, Ambleside, Cumbria
Scarlet Hotel, Newquay, Cornwall
Seaham Hall, Seaham, Durham
The Fife Arms, Braemar, Scotland
The Gallivant, Rye, East Sussex
The Mandrake, Fitzrovia, west London
The Newt in Somerset, Bruton, Somerset
The Pig at Bridge Place, Canterbury, Kent
The Queensberry, Bath, Somerset
The Rectory Hotel, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
The Samling Hotel, Windermere, Cumbria
The Tawny Hotel, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
The Wild Rabbit, Kingham, Oxfordshire
The Zetter Townhouse, Clerkenwell, north London
Thyme, Southrop, Gloucestershire
Titchwell Manor Hotel, Brancaster, Norfolk
Watergate Bay, Newquay, Cornwall
Wild Thyme & Honey, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Yorebridge House, Bainbridge, North Yorkshire
As well as naming the best boutique hotels by their position on the list, a number of specialist category awards exist to showcase hotels with exceptional food and drink or even those offering a unique experiences to its guests. Last year saw Moor Hall walk away with the Food and Drink Award, while Links House at Royal Dornoch took the prize for Unique Experience, where guests are afforded tailored itinerary to explore Scotland’s beautiful North coast 500.
Top 50 Boutique Hotels will be announced in numerical order alongside special category winners on Tuesday 22 November. The full list will be available to view on Top 50 Boutique Hotels website.