Which county in England scores the highest when it comes to offering the best hospitality experience? For the first time, the AA has ranked destinations across England to reveal the regions which offer the highest standards of hospitality.
47 regions are ranked by their average rating across four categories; B&Bs, hotels, caravan and campsites and restaurants. All establishments belong to the AA and/or Visit England quality assessment schemes which provide star rankings and rosettes in accordance with their level of excellence. This information has been combined to give an overall percentage of hospitality excellence for each county.
The top 20
| County | Rank | Overall % | B&B avg. rating | Campsites avg. rating | Hotel avg. rating | Restaurant avg. rating |
| Berkshire | 1 | 83% | 3.97 | 4.00 | 3.77 | 2.00 |
| Surrey | 2= | 73% | 3.62 | 4.50 | 3.71 | 2.17 |
| Staffordshire | 2= | 73% | 3.89 | 4.50 | 3.57 | 1.83 |
| Bedfordshire | 4 | 72% | 3.91 | 5.00 | 3.80 | 1.63 |
| Northamptonshire | 5 | 70% | 3.95 | 4.00 | 3.55 | 1.80 |
| Nottinghamshire | 6= | 69% | 4.00 | 3.86 | 3.46 | 2.09 |
| Shropshire | 6= | 69% | 4.00 | 4.25 | 3.26 | 1.76 |
| Buckinghamshire | 8= | 68% | 3.79 | 4.00 | 3.87 | 1.75 |
| Cheshire | 8= | 68% | 4.05 | 4.00 | 3.76 | 1.53 |
| West Sussex | 10 | 66.5% | 3.94 | 3.95 | 3.52 | 1.90 |
| County Durham | 11= | 66% | 3.71 | 4.00 | 3.75 | 1.80 |
| North Yorkshire | 11= | 66% | 3.97 | 4.03 | 3.44 | 1.75 |
| Herefordshire | 13 | 64% | 4.07 | 4.67 | 2.89 | 1.73 |
| Greater London | 14= | 63% | 3.55 | 4.00 | 4.16 | 1.89 |
| Hertfordshire | 14= | 63% | 3.92 | 4.00 | 3.80 | 1.55 |
| Gloucestershire | 16 | 62% | 3.98 | 3.82 | 3.65 | 1.75 |
| Cornwall | 17 | 60.1% | 4.00 | 3.89 | 3.29 | 1.84 |
| Cumbria | 18 | 59.6% | 3.99 | 4.08 | 3.43 | 1.60 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 19= | 55% | 3.78 | 4.29 | 2.92 | 2.00 |
| Suffolk | 19= | 55% | 4.19 | 3.80 | 3.39 | 1.72 |
Andrew Oxley, Head of Hotel & Hospitality Services at the AA said:
“We hope this data will be useful for consumers when planning a summer holiday or short break in England. If a county scores over 80% is should be regarded as outstanding, over 70% excellent and over 60% very good. We hope this information will highlight some of the very best hospitality experiences that England has to offer.”
Andrew Stokes, Director at Visit England said:
“It’s exciting to combine the data from Visit England and the AA for the first time and to celebrate the destinations where we see accommodation achieving excellence in quality. We would like to encourage people to go and try a break somewhere they might not have considered before.”
Why did Berkshire top the league table?
Berkshire tops the league table as the hospitality capital of England scoring the highest average rating at 83% and a place in the top 20 across all four categories. It is the fourth best destination for restaurants, fifth for hotels, 12th for Bed and Breakfasts and 15th for caravans and camping.
Exceptional restaurants and hotels in the county include The Fat Duck in Bray which has been awarded five red rosettes by AA inspectors, the 5 star hotel Cliveden House, one of Britain’s outstanding hotels and Hurley House in Hurley, a 5 star B&B in the county. Berkshire attractions including Legoland, Ascot races and Highclere Castle – where Downton Abbey was filmed – and Royal Windsor. A high volume of establishments and attractions of this kind have contributed to making Berkshire really stand out as an exceptional county to visit.
England’s top spots for hotels, B&Bs, restaurants and campsites
The data also reveals the destination ‘top spots’ based on average rankings for B&Bs, caravan and campsites, hotels and restaurants.
Bed and Breakfast top spot: Suffolk
Caravan & campsite top spot: Bedfordshire
Hotel top spot: Greater London
Restaurant top spot: Surrey