The 2026 GHG Cesar Awards: The Best of British Hospitality

The updated Good Hotel Guide is now live online, and the winners of our annual César awards have been announced. Named after the legendary Swiss ‘King of Hoteliers’, César Ritz, our Césars, ‘the Oscars of hotel-keeping’, were launched in 1986, nine years after the Guide’s founding. César winners are the best of the best, judged by us to be the most outstanding in their region, or in each of our ‘Editor’s Choice’ categories. These categories vary slightly from year to year and have expanded from an initial ten to 21.

While we have no ‘Best Newcomer’ award this time, we are excited about two winners new to The Guide, the richly atmospheric Abbots Grange (Best Romantic - see image above), and The House of George W. Davies (Best Foodie), which thrilled our inspector when it opened in August 2025. Though both hotels, by chance, are in Broadway, Worcestershire (increasingly a hotel hotspot), they are strikingly different, one steeped in history, the other, behind its traditional façade, at the cutting edge of fashion.

Abbots Grange could equally have been a contender for ‘Best Historic’, introduced in collaboration with Britain magazine, but that accolade went to Hartwell House in the Chilterns, a grand mansion in parkland, beautifully maintained by the National Trust, with the ambience of a stately home, artworks and antiques.

Best for Garden Lovers, the Pig in the Cotswolds is both new to the Césars and an old awards favourite. The former Barnsley House in Gloucestershire, it is the latest addition to the burgeoning Pig collection, with landscaped gardens laid out from the 1950s by Rosemary Verey, doyenne of the English garden style.

As regular readers will know, certain special hotels may crop up more than once on our awards lists, simply because they are so consistently excellent. The Nare and The Scarlet (Best Seaside and Best with Spa), both in Cornwall, are no strangers to our lists, nor is Newforge House in Co. Armagh (Best in Ireland), which is run with such heart and soul by Louise and John Mathers.

Hart’s Hotel in Nottingham, which scooped Best in City/Town, is an eco-friendly contemporary venture for Tim and Steffa Hart, whose former hunting box, Hambleton Hall, overlooking Rutland Water, has been repeatedly recognised by this Guide for country-house comforts, delightful grounds and Michelin-starred cuisine.

Then, even as Henry Hunter’s friendly and affordable Castle Hotel in Shropshire has been rated Best for Dogs, the Hunter family’s Pen y Dyffryn is sitting pretty as Best in the Midlands.

As always, the César winners are diverse, reflecting the eclecticism that is so characteristic of the Guide. They range from Sam and Claire Mercer Nairne’s quaint and characterful pub with rooms and fishing hotel, The Meikleour Arms (Best in Scotland), to the ever-innovative, luxurious but family-friendly Chewton Glen on the edge of the New Forest (Best in the South), and the sensational Gilpin Hotel and Lake House, Windermere (Best in the North). Gordon’s in coastal Inverkeilor, an intimate mother-and-son enterprise (Best Restaurant with Rooms), and Chad Pike’s The Three Daggers in Wiltshire (Best Pub with Rooms), comfortably hold their own alongside Congham Hall in Norfolk, a Georgian manor house so brilliantly restored and cared for by Nicholas Dickinson as the nightmare von Essen years fade from memory.

When choosing hotels for awards – and, indeed, awards for hotels – we are heavily influenced by readers’ feedback and, of course, by our inspectors’ reports. Some hotels attract perennial flurries of reports, including from readers whom we have long known and trusted. Now and then we receive a single report so detailed, plausible and perceptive that we are bound to take notice.

No hotel is a shoo-in, and all are eligible for consideration. In this, you can play an essential part by dropping us a line to let us know of recent positive experiences, a warm welcome, a great meal, a fabulous room, exceptional service… As we have so often said, readers’ reports are the life blood of the Guide, and you, too, can have your say, so please stay in touch.

See our full list of GHG Cesar Award winners here.

New Partner announcements

We are proud to welcome the following partners:

ZENO - ALCOHOL-FREE ENJOYMENT, WITHOUT COMPROMISE

“Our mission is to craft wines of virtue with regional and varietal expression and gently liberate them from alcohol, for the more discerning wine drinker on occasions when they choose to abstain.”

Passionate foodies, wine trade veterans David & Will crafted ZENO wines to pair well with food, with low residual sugar and excellent flavour, texture & balance. They are also delicious on their own.

ZENO alcohol-liberated wines are vegan and from single estate, family-owned organic vineyards in central Spain.

Did you know?

36 million UK adults/76% of drinkers are actively moderating their alcohol intake.
1 in 3 on-trade visits involve no alcohol at all.
Tap water default = £800m missed annual revenue for the hospitality sector.
There is currently a visibility & range gap vs consumer expectation.
40% of drinks in venues are now no/low or mid strength.
96% of venues stock AF beer, but just 17% stock AF wine despite Club Soda stating that most of their online enquiries are for AF wine.

ZENO – “Happiness is a good flow of life.”

For further information contact: info@zenowine.com

@drinkzeno

https://zenowine.com

Hoogly Teas: "It was lovely to meet those who came to the Good Hotel Guide Live event and tried some Hoogly Teas" says Tina Gloggengeiser. "All our teas are hand blended in the UK using only the finest natural ingredients, and the teas are ethically sourced and fairly traded. We offer a great tea package that can cater for any parts of your hotel, with storage jars, wooden boxes and tea training / support for when you need it. Please let us know if you want any Hoogly Tea samples or Hug and would get them out to you. Wishing you a great festive month :)" https://hooglytea.com

We are also pleased to announce another new partner: Best.Energy. Best.Energy truly understands the unique challenges facing hoteliers right now, especially when it comes to controlling costs and reducing carbon footprints. To help you take the next step in efficiency, they have just released a brand new whitepaper: Cut Costs, Not Comfort: The Profit Case For Hotel Energy Efficiency. We recommend downloading this free resource, which is packed with actionable insights, useful tips, and proven strategies to future-proof your hotel and meet the challenge of rising energy costs head on.

Download the Best.Energy whitepaper here

And we also welcome our continuing partners...

We are pleased to announce that we are partnering once again with the wonderful Bramley for the next few months. Bramley are known for their naturally fragrant bath and body products, which you’ll find in many of our incredible hotels, crafted with botanical extracts and pure essential oils. See more at bramleyproducts.co.uk.

Quote of the month: “Making exceptional wine takes craftsmanship, respect for nature… and uncompromising attention to detail.” Andrew Weeber, Gusbourne Founder. See more about Gusbourne here.

Hotels, inns and B&Bs with a special offer