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Ratings explained

English Tourism Council (ETC)
AA and RAC Diamond Scheme

This covers guest houses and bed and breakfasts that do not offer all the facilities of a hotel. Typically they will be smaller, probably family run, establishments. Sometimes the only thing stopping an establishment from being categorised as a hotel is that they do not offer an evening meal.

Guest houses in the London area tend to be small hotels. In common with most capital cities, London prices tend to be higher than prices outside the capital.

If a guest house has a diamond rating, you can expect to find the following minimum standards at all Diamond levels:

• Clean, comfortable, secure accommodation, with bedrooms equipped to modern standards.
• Beds, bedding and other bedroom furniture and equipment in good condition.
• Bedding and towels changed for each new guest, and at least weekly if the room is taken for a long stay. Additional pillows and blankets should be available on request.
• Adequate lighting and comfortable seating, a wardrobe or equivalent, shelves or drawers.
• Curtains or blinds correctly fitted and functioning.
• Adequate, clean and comfortable floor covering with bedside rugs, or fitted carpets.
• Proper attention to hygiene in bathrooms and WCs; adequate provision of toilet tissue and fresh soap.
• Adequate heating at no extra cost, and extra heating available at no extra cost on request.
• Hot water available at reasonable times.
• Normally a full, cooked breakfast will be available, although some establishments may offer only a continental breakfast. Note that a few establishments display room only rates - if this is the case, breakfast will be charged extra!

Diamonds explained

Guest houses can be awarded from one Diamond at the simplest level, to 5 Diamonds at the luxury end.

To be awarded any Diamonds at all, establishments must provide sufficient quality in all areas of operation shown below. They are given a score from 1 to 5 in each section. If they do not achieve a sufficient quality standard, they cannot be awarded a diamond rating at all.

The standards they are judged on are:

• Cleanliness and Housekeeping
• Service and Hospitality
• Bedroom Facilities
• Bathroom, Shower, WC and en-suite Facilities
• Food Quality and Service
• Public Rooms such as guest lounges
• Safety and Security, Exterior and Interior Appearance and upkeep

The awards take all these factors into account.

At all Diamond levels, cleanliness and good housekeeping are of the highest importance and the emphasis of the assessment for a Diamond rating is on guest care and quality rather than the provision of extra facilities.

Once everything has been assessed, the scores are converted into a percentage which is then turned into a Diamond rating:

 1 Diamond - Standard Quality - reflects a score of between 20% and 34%

Hotels are given star ratings: