STAR RATING EXPLAINED
The accommodation featured in this guide has been quality assessed by VisitBritain or the AA. An advertiser not showing a rating has either recently applied and is awaiting assessment or, in the case of some larger hotel companies, chosen to operate their own internal inspection policy. Please be aware that ratings may change throughout the year. To confirm a rating, contact York Visitor Information Centre on 01904 550099.
To ensure that choosing a hotel or guest house is kept as simple as possible, all the accommodation featured in this guide has been divided into five categories:
Hotels Hotels must have a minimum of six rooms, a licence, offer dinner at least five nights a week (unless designated a Metro Hotel) and have all rooms en suite or with private bathrooms. They must also operate a high staff to guest ratio thereby making service very attentive.
The different hotel categories are: Hotel, Small Hotel, Country House Hotel, Metro Hotel, Town House Hotel and Budget Hotel.
Guest Accommodation This includes the following: Guest Accommodation, Bed and Breakfasts, Guest Houses, Inns, Farmhouses and Restaurants with rooms. These establishments tend to be personally run by the owners and there is very little difference between a designated Guest house and Guest Accommodation. NB: Some of the accommodation categories listed above do not apply to this guide, e.g. to date, there are no budget hotels listed.
Self Catering For self catering accommodation, the layout and design of the accommodation and the range and quality of the kitchen equipment is assessed, as well as the quality and comfort of the bedrooms and bathrooms and most importantly, the cleanliness. Higher star-rated accommodation tends to have more spacious bedrooms and bathrooms.
Hostels – Budget Accommodation Hostels provide safe, budget-priced accommodation for young people, families and larger groups, and are star-rated. Higher rated accommodation often provides en suite rooms.
Campus – Budget Accommodation As the name suggests the scheme applies to educational establishments. In general, Campus Accommodation is on a College or University site, with some aspects of communal living space.
Holiday, touring, and camping parks VisitBritain’s star ratings reflect the overall quality of the park from one to five stars – five stars being reserved for parks of exceptional quality. The AA provide a similar inspection scheme for which they award pennants.
Star ratings One to five stars are awarded to all types of accommodation, both serviced and self catering. As well as the star rating, each accommodation provider is also designated a category, e.g. Hotel, Inn, Guest House, Hostel etc. and this information will appear in their advertisement and on the plaque either outside or inside the property. Only hotels are allowed to use the term ‘Hotel’ and Guest Accommodation providers who, in the past have used the name ‘Hotel’ in their title, website etc. are being asked to remove the wording. If you are looking for a three star Hotel, do ensure you choose from the ‘Hotel’ section of the guide as opposed to choosing a three star guest house.
Ratings made easy
Simple, practical, no frills Well presented and well run Good level of quality and comfort Excellent standard throughout Exceptional with a degree of luxury
www.visityork.org
The Inspection Process Both VisitBritain and the AA now assess hotels and guest accommodation to the same criteria. The star ratings reflect the overall quality of the experience to the same criteria. Professional assessors visit properties every year, carrying out a routine day visit or an overnight stay in the case of serviced accommodation. On these occasions, they book in as a normal guest and test all the facilities and services. A quality score is awarded for every aspect of the experience including the comfort of the bed, the quality of the food and, most importantly, the cleanliness. They also score the warmth of welcome.
Awards – Gold, Silver and Red or Yellow Stars Places that 'go the extra mile' will, in the case of VisitBritain, be awarded a Gold or Silver award and in the case of the AA, be entitled to display red stars for a hotel or yellow for guest accommodation.
Rosettes The AA’s rosette scheme is an award, not a classification. It is designed to assess the quality of food served and is awarded annually on a rising scale of one to five.
National Accessible Scheme For wheelchair users and those with limited mobility.
Level 1 (M1) Typically suitable for a person with sufficient mobility to climb a flight of steps but would benefit from fixtures and fittings to aid balance.
Level 2 (M2) Typically suitable for a person with restricted walking ability and for those that may need to use a wheelchair some of the time and can negotiate a maximum of three steps.
Level 3 – Independent (M3-I) Typically suitable for a person who depends on the use of a wheelchair in a seated position. This person may be an independent traveller.
Level 3 – Assisted (M3-A) Typically suitable for a person who depends on the use of a wheelchair in a seated position. This person also requires personal/mechanical assistance (e.g. carer, hoist).
Access Exceptional – Attained by providing for all levels of mobility impairment listed above with reference to British Standards BS 8300:2001. This is awarded to establishments that fulfil all the requirements of M1, M2, M3 (A or I) and some additional Best Practice criteria.
There are a number of accommodation providers who, although not eligible to display a NAS symbol, are still able to offer suitable and very comfortable accommodation for people with limited mobility. For further details contact York’s Visitor Information Centre: 01904 550099.
Complaints If you have any issues that have not been resolved by the proprietor/manager and which you would like to bring to the attention of the inspecting authority, please address your correspondence to the relevant organisation:
For VisitBritain ratings: Quality in Tourism Farncombe House, Broadway,
Worcestershire WR12 7LJ
For AA ratings: The AA
15th Floor Fanum House Basing View Basingstoke RG21 4EA
More detailed information about the requirements of each star rating is available from Quality in Tourism
www.qualityintourism.com or the AA
www.theaa.com
Disclaimer: Please note the York Visitor Guide is only a guide and, as such, Visit York cannot be held responsible for the standard of the accommodation featured within it.
55
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60