Michelin Keys 2026: 18 new hotels in UK and Ireland

The Michelin Keys 2026 list for the UK and Ireland took in 18 hotels on 18 September, lifting the selection to 138 properties across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Fifteen of the newcomers were awarded One Key and three went straight to Two Keys. Nobody joined the top tier: the Three Key group stays at eleven, exactly where it was a year ago, according to the guide's announcement.

Michelin Keys 2026 adds 18 hotels

The keys barely move at the top: eleven houses, and not one of them new.

The Chancery Rosewood in Mayfair, which opened inside the former US Embassy in September 2025, is one of the three houses promoted to Two Keys, praised by inspectors for what they call its class and refinement. The other two are Scottish: Cromlix in Stirlingshire and Gleneagles Townhouse in Edinburgh.

The One Key additions run from city bedrooms to working farms. London took three of them: Pan Pacific London in the City, Six Senses London in Bayswater, open since March, and the Newman in Fitzrovia, open since February. Beyond the capital the guide picked Fowlescombe Farm in Devon, Priory Wareham in Dorset, Manor House Lindley in West Yorkshire, Tillingham Winery in East Sussex, Seaham Hall in Durham and the Old Course Hotel at St Andrews.

Scotland also took the Torridon in the Highlands and LYLA Restaurant & Rooms in Edinburgh, the bedrooms attached to the restaurant of the same name.

Ireland's share was four, all at One Key: the Leinster and the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin, Glenlo Abbey in Galway and Marlfield House in Gorey, Co Wexford. That takes the country to 19 keyed hotels, The Irish Times reported, two of them at the top level.

Where the three keys still sit

Three Keys is the bedroom equivalent of three stars and it barely moves. Claridge's in Mayfair, Gleneagles in Auchterarder and the Newt in Somerset hold it in Britain; Adare Manor in Co Limerick and Ballyfin Demesne in Co Laois hold it in Ireland. Eleven houses in all share the rank across both countries.

Michelin started handing out keys in 2023 and now runs them as a separate annual exercise from the restaurant guide, judged on architecture, service, personality, consistency and a sense of place. The wider selection landed earlier this year, when Michelin added 470 hotels to the 2026 Key list worldwide.

Nothing else is due for Britain and Ireland until the 2027 restaurant ceremony, when stars and Bib Gourmands are settled. For now the only new metal on offer is handed to the bedroom, not to the pass.