A centuries-old stone watchtower sits at the edge of a cliff in Greece, overlooking the Aegean. From its windows, views of the sea and surrounding mountains are panoramic. Inside, two rooms plus another in an adjoining house have been brought up to modern luxury standards, all while retaining the irreplaceable rustic charm of the original structure. This is Tainaron Blue Retreat. It’s a MICHELIN Guide hotel.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, in the wilds of southwestern Colorado, there’s an authentic ghost town, an abandoned prospectors’ camp. As you approach, the buildings seem to appear the same as they did when the last miner stumbled away in 1918. But peek inside and you’ll gaze upon some of the most desirable accommodations you can imagine. This is Dunton Hot Springs. It’s a MICHELIN Guide hotel.
For as long as we’ve been recommending places to eat, the Michelin Guide has been recommending places to sleep. Lodging was a foundational part of the first guides — perhaps the most crucial component for those early motorists facing down the dark in an unfamiliar place. Over the years, though, the star ratings for fine dining took the lion’s share of the spotlight. The MICHELIN Guide became a benchmark in global gastronomy. Now it’s setting a new standard for hotels.
Take a glance at the MICHELIN Guide website or apps today and you’ll notice that hotels have a prominent new position, equal to restaurants. We’ve refreshed our approach to hotels, reinforcing our historical commitment to highlighting only the best experiences — and we’ve done it with Tablet Hotels. Acquired in 2018, Tablet is the official hotel selection of the MICHELIN Guide, and the most trusted way to book hotels online.
For more than two decades the experts at Tablet have scoured the earth to find the world’s most exciting hotels — places that stand out for their style, service, and personality. Places where guests get a memorable experience, regardless of price. Following the acquisition, Tablet experts added the most exceptional hotels featured in the MICHELIN Guide to their selection, creating a single, authoritative list that covers the globe. The MICHELIN Guide hotel selection now goes where it has to. Wherever there’s an extraordinary hotel, we are there.
The entire list of hotels is available on guide.michelin.com.
Hotels have changed dramatically in the last few decades. The boutique hotel boom that bubbled up through the 80s and 90s has come to a full-throated boil. What was, until recently, the minority — hotels that promise distinct experiences, as opposed to uniform familiarity — is now the standard. Nearly all new luxury and boutique hotels arrive on the scene boasting of the details that make them unique.
Tablet was at the forefront of this revolution, charting its trends and tendencies, cutting through the clutter and identifying only the most essential hotels. As one of the first online hotel booking services, their finger was on the pulse in ways no one else’s was. Tablet’s process may differ from the anonymous restaurant inspections of the MICHELIN Guide, but it is no less effective. Tablet experts examine hotels through a variety of methods other than on-site inspections, including secret shoppers and recommendations from a network of travel industry veterans. To help ensure the selection stays fresh and vital, feedback from verified Tablet guests is used to help determine whether or not a hotel should remain.
And what remains ? Every kind of hotel you can imagine. The new MICHELIN Guide has hotels spread throughout entire ancient villages in Italy, and built with entirely reclaimed materials in New York City. Hotels perched high up in the treetops of Thailand, and in towering temples of glass and concrete in Tokyo. Hotels in Oaxaca with a working mezcal distillery, and hotels in London with a wonderland of Modern design. There are hotels looking out over lava fields in Iceland, calderas in Santorini, and the Pacific Ocean in Big Sur. There are even hotels made from old Airstreams. Yes, there are cave hotels too.
We also have hotels that are a little less extreme, but no less capable of making you feel like you’re living an upgraded version of life. From hip indie boutiques to grand old palaces, from major cities to the middle-of-nowhere, the MICHELIN Guide is your source for finding and booking the best, most interesting hotels. It’s also how you discover new places to go. Places you might’ve never considered, and won’t ever regret visiting. Hotels have that power.
Those responsible for creating hotels in this young century realized there’s no reason your accommodation should take a backseat to your destination — it can just as easily be the destination. If your location is desirable — if, for example, you’re located amongst the otherworldly landscape of Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia — it’s probably good enough for your hotel to stay out of the way and simply cover the basics. But thankfully some folks decided to build a bold structure ; a modern marvel that resembles a prehistoric, skeletal body washed ashore on Chile’s Lake Sarmiento. Tierra Patagonia would be the main attraction wherever it was placed.
Travel is more accessible than ever. Learning about new places is easier than ever. Options have become overwhelming. The new MICHELIN Guide turns down the noise, letting travelers discover, plan, book, and share all of their future journeys, all in one place. With the inclusion of Tablet, users receive first-class customer support and a hotel booking process that’s smooth and sophisticated. If you haven’t already, download the brand new MICHELIN Guide app for iOS or Android and see the road ahead for Michelin.
As a MICHELIN Guide reader, you know that food is nothing to mess around with. A great meal is just about the finest thing one can experience. A hotel stay isn’t much different — except it’s not just two hours, it’s two or ten or twenty days. It’s a big commitment, and you want someone who can help you get it right. That’s what Tablet does, and that’s why we’re proud to introduce this major evolution of the MICHELIN Guide.
Start your next adventure today.
Hero Image : Tainaron Blue Retreat, Vathia, Greece / Tablet Hotels
