Leading Hotels of the World

What is it?

An exclusive hotel listing company based in New York, the Leading Hotels of the World provide a guarantee of quality across hotels internationally.

To qualify for the list, a hotel must be 5 star rated, and must apply for membership of the list to one of the 18 regional offices. They will then be inspected for comfort, cuisine and services.

If successful, they are granted a three-year listing during which time they will be reinspected.

Hotels with fewer than 100 beds may apply for the "Leading Small Hotel" list.

Locations

As an example of the Elitism of this group, in March 2002, the complete listing for England is:

• The Bath Spa Hotel, Bath
• Stoke Park Club, Buckinghamshire
• The Dorchester, London
• Four Seasons Hotel, London
• The Halkin, London
• The Lanesborough, London
• Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London
• The Milestone Hotel, London
• One Aldwych, London
• The Ritz Hotel, London
• The Carlton Tower Hotel, London
• Lower Slaughter Manor, Lower Slaughter
• The Lowry Hotel, Manchester

Sweden has only the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm, and Finland seems to have no entries at all.

Prices?

For two people to stay in the Tower Deluxe 1 Bedroom Suite at the Palace Hotel, New York, is a snip at USD1600. I must point out that this is an extreme example, with most rooms coming in the much more reasonable range of USD300-500 per night.