York hotel with two rosettes but just one food hygiene star

The luxury Dean Court Hotel, in the shadow of York Minster, has two AA rosettes and is rated by the Michelin Hotel and Food Guides, but has been given a hygiene rating defined as “needing major improvement”.

The hotel, which is part of Best Western’s four-star “Premier Collection” and advertises “an exceptional travel experience”, was one of eight visited by undercover researchers from Which? Travel.

The organisation said none of the establishments had its food hygiene rating on public display.

Hotels are not covered by the same regulations as restaurants, which are required to put “scores on the doors” for diners as they enter. But today’s revelations, which identify more than 650 hotels and B&Bs with poor ratings, have prompted calls for a change in the rules.

London’s five-star Royal Horseguards Hotel, which also has two AA rosettes, was revealed to have a hygiene rating of just two, while the four-star Novotel in Birmingham was given a rating of two for “high-risk food...out of temperature control”.

Last night, Which? called for the mandatory display of food hygiene ratings at hotels, B&Bs and guest houses across the UK, outside premises and on websites.

The government-run Food Standards Agency also says a compulsory scheme is necessary and is building a case for a mandatory display requirement to be rolled out in England.

A spokesman for the agency said: “All food businesses, including hotels, should be able to achieve the top food hygiene rating of five. It shows people that the business takes food hygiene seriously.”

Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “Around nine in 10 of us eat at least one meal in our overnight accommodation so it’s vital that hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses have high standards of food hygiene.

“We know that displaying the rating outside the premises encourages higher standards, which is why we support the FSA case for a compulsory display scheme for the whole of the UK.”

Best Western said the Dean Court Hotel’s score was due to “administrative oversight and clerical error”. A spokesman said: “We are absolutely confident that the result had nothing to with the food hygiene standards of the hotel, of which they have always proudly scored the maximum.

“The hotel is currently waiting for another inspection and has actively encouraged the York environmental health officer team to expedite this.”

The Royal Horseguards Hotel said a new management team had taken action “to improve standards to the level our staff and customers expect”.