Skift Take
Michelin has bestowed its coveted “keys” upon a select handful of hotels, ranging from cliffside hideaways to palatial pads.
Michelin revealed its top picks for hotels in Italy, using its new hotel “key” system. Only a small number of hotels made the grade.
Michelin lists 526 hotels in its Italy guide and gave new “key” ratings to 146 hotels that stood out: 8 received three Michelin keys – the top rating – 31 received two Michelin keys, and 107 received one Michelin key.
Properties ranged in style, including hotels in former palaces and boutiques in former farmhouses. The region of Tuscany received the most awards, with 32 properties (1 got three Keys; 7 two Keys; and 24 one Key).
The “key” system mirrors Michelin’s restaurant star system, with one key denoting a “special” hotel, two keys for “exceptional,” and the three keys awarded to “extraordinary” establishments.
Eight hotels received the most-coveted three-key rating.
- JK Place Capri is a 22-room boutique hotel on a cliff. Some rooms have views of the Bay of Naples, while others have views of the sea. The hotel is designed in a classic style with English country touches, pastel colors, and geometrically patterned wallpaper.
- Il San Pietro in Positano offers views of the Amalfi Coast from every room’s private terrace. It has a swimming pool carved into a cliff.
- Corte Della Maestà is a four-room boutique hotel in a former bishop’s residence in the village of Civita di Bagnoregio. It’s furnished with the owners’ collection of art and antiques.
- Reschio Castle sits on a vast estate between Umbria and Tuscany. A couple of suites occupy the church sacristy, but the most glamorous suite spans the five floors of an ancient tower. A swimming pool appears to be carved into the lawn.
- Casa Maria Luigia is a country house with a dozen guestrooms and a Michelin three-star restaurant led by a celebrity chef. Amenities include a tennis court and a fitness center that doubles as an art gallery.
- Rosewood Castiglion Del Bosco, in Montalcino, has an organic vegetable garden, a winery, a cooking school, and a Michelin-starred restaurant, all set on a 2,000-hectare estate.
- Aman Venice is in restored Renaissance palace on the Grand Canal.
- Hotel Cipriani Venice is a Belmond Hotel brand in a 15th-century former aristocratic residence. It has a retro aesthetic with many pastels and a private butler for each guestroom.
Classifying luxury hotels
One winner of a Michelin two-key award was Portrait Milano, which opened in December 2022.
“I welcome any organization that has the ambition to bring clarity in this world of confusion in how to evaluate true luxury hotels,” said Valeriano Antonioli, the CEO of the Lungarno Collection, which runs Portrait Milano.
Antonioli also said that the guide could help international visitors unfamiliar with small independent brands find the best hotels in countries they plan to visit.
Two Keys: Michelin’s “exceptional” hotels
See Michelin’s full list of 146 Italian hotels with Michelin keys. The brand’s goal is to evaluate hotels by placing a premium on their restaurants, design, and service and by focusing on how a property provides service and reflects a locality. It plans to reveal its picks for Japan and Korea in July.
