Affiliations and Accolades

Great hospitality is the key to Pride of Britain’s longstanding reputation for excellence in hotel-keeping. The consortium is a not for profit organisation that belongs to its member hotels, a collection of never more than 50 independent, mostly family-owned, luxury hotels in some of the most beautiful locations around the British Isles – Hartwell House being one of them.

Each has its own distinctive style and character but all of them, including Hartwell, are run by people with a passion for great hospitality, verging on the obsessional.

The Good Hotel Guide is the leading independent guide to hotels in Great Britain and Ireland. It is written for the reader seeking impartial advice on finding a good place to stay. Hotels cannot buy their entry as they do in most rival guides. No money changes hands, and the editors and inspectors do not accept free hospitality on their anonymous visits to hotels. 

Please click here to read their review of Middlethorpe Hall 

Representation company for service focused, luxury hotels and travel related services. Today Rebecca Recommends is one of the leading luxury travel representation companies in the United States. 

4 Red Stars: The AA's supreme accolade for hotels, regardless of size or type of operation.  A hotel awarded red stars has been selected by the AA as one of the best hotels in the British Isles, offering excellent levels of quality throughout, outstanding levels of hospitality and service.  

2 Rosettes:  Excellent restaurants that aim for and achieve higher standards and better consistency.  A greater precision is apparent in the cooking, as well as obvious attention to the selection of quality ingredients.  Around 40% of restaurants/hotels within the AA Restaurant Guide have two Rosettes.

AA Notable Wine List Award:  The continuing evolution of the Middlethorpe Hall wine list gives us a great challenge, and indeed pleasure, in sourcing and tasting wines to ensure we have both balance and harmony throughout the old world to the new. Our wine list has a page dedicated to the cellarman’s choice, we also continue this theme throughout the list, highlighting wines of particular merit and interest, as a guide to helping you choosing the right wine to accompany your meal.

AA Ratings explained:  In 2006, in collaboration with VisitBritain, VisitScotland and VisitWales, the AA developed Common Quality Standards for inspecting and rating accommodation.  These standards and rating categories are now applied throughout the British Isles.  In addition, out of the many thousands of restaurants in the UK, the AA identify over 2000 as the best by awarding them Rosettes for culinary excellence.  

The Rosette is an award, not a classification, and they are awarded annually on a rising scale of one to five.  AA Rosettes are solely awarded by our hotel and restaurant inspectors, whose visit is a snapshot, whereby the entire meal, including ancillary items (when served) is assessed.