The 2026 MICHELIN Keys: Italy overtakes France with 224 awarded hotels

The hotel equivalent of the star has found its stride. On 18 September 2026, the MICHELIN Guide published its second global Key selection: 2,832 awarded hotels, nearly 500 first-time Keys, over 80 promotions, and ten countries entering the list for the first time. Amid this landscape, one country has shifted position: Italy overtakes France to become Europe’s premier hotel destination, with 224 honoured addresses.

☰Contents

1. Italy edges ahead of France by four Keys
2. Four new Italian Three-Key hotels
3. What a Key reveals that a star does not
4. The US leads, ten countries join in
5. Desert Rock, Elmau, Londolozi and Venice honoured
6. Our perspective

Italy edges ahead of France by four Keys

The contest was decided by just four properties. Italy boasts a total of 224 awarded hotels compared to 220 for France, placing it at the top of Europe and second in the world behind the United States. The United Kingdom follows with 131 Keys, Germany with 130, and Spain with 122. The European continent remains by far the most richly endowed, with more than 1,300 awarded hotels, nearly 200 new Keys and promotions, and eight new Three-Key properties this year.

Behind the Italian total, the details reveal the pace of change. Of the 224 Italian Keys, 44 are new additions or promotions: 17 Three-Key hotels (including 4 new), 49 Two-Key hotels (including 6 new), and 158 One-Key hotels (including 34 new). The selection pool is expanding at the same rhythm: of the roughly 830 Italian hotels currently listed in the guide, 180 are 2026 additions. South-western Sicily, long off the beaten track, emerges as the newest frontier in this selection.

Four new Italian Three-Key hotels

The four top-tier Italian promotions share a common narrative: historic buildings brought back to life rather than newly built structures. Collegio alla Querce, opened by Auberge Resorts Collection in the hills of Florence, occupies a former Renaissance villa turned boarding school, where over 300 contemporary works of art converse with period furnishings. In Venice, Airelles Palladio has restored a 16th-century complex on the Giudecca, including the Istituto delle Zitelle designed by Andrea Palladio and the church of Santa Maria della Presentazione.

In Portofino, Belmond’s Splendido entrusted its renovation to Martin Brudnizki, who reconnected the property with its Ligurian heritage: Genoese graniglia, Lavagna slate, and Albisola ceramics. The fourth name, Borgo Santandrea, belongs to no international group: it is a 1960s hotel revived by two Italian families, cascading down nearly a hundred metres of terraces and gardens to its own private beach · a rarity on the Amalfi Coast.

What a Key reveals that a star does not

The guide embraces the comparison: the Key is to hotels what the star is to restaurants. Inspectors assess five criteria: excellence in architecture and interior design, quality and consistency of service, individuality and character, value for money, and the hotel’s contribution to its local neighbourhood or setting. An awarded hotel must meet all five criteria simultaneously, not just one.

The distinction is structured across three tiers: One Key for a very special stay, Two for an exceptional stay, Three for an extraordinary stay. The accolade is not reserved for the most expensive addresses: all 9,000 hotels in the MICHELIN selection are eligible, from ryokans to tented camps, châteaux to two-room inns. Established in 2024 and expanded globally in autumn 2025, the Keys are now in their third edition.

The US leads, ten countries join in

In terms of volume, North America leads the way. The United States boasts 359 awarded hotels, ahead of Mexico with 98 and Canada with 42 · together accounting for nearly 500 addresses across North America, accompanied by more than a hundred new Keys and promotions in a dozen Caribbean countries and territories. Costa Rica secures the Americas’ only new Three-Key property with Nekajui, on the Papagayo Peninsula. South America holds 94 Keys across seven countries, from Brazil to Uruguay.

Elsewhere, the map is broadening. Ten countries receive their first Keys: Liechtenstein and Slovakia in Europe; Mongolia, Myanmar, Armenia, and Kazakhstan in Asia; and Benin, Botswana, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe in Africa. The African continent surpasses one hundred awarded properties across fifteen countries, featuring a new Three-Key hotel, Delaire Graff Estate in the South African Winelands. Asia counts 34 Three-Key hotels, including the only direct entry to the top tier this year, Soneva Secret in the Maldives. Oceania expands by a third to 92 properties, with two promotions to the top tier: Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island and Saffire Freycinet in Tasmania.

Desert Rock, Elmau, Londolozi and Venice honoured

Four special awards round out the honours, selected exclusively by the inspectors. The Architecture and Design Award goes to Desert Rock Resort in Saudi Arabia, whose structures are carved into the rock face in the spirit of Nabataean civilisations. The Wellness Award is awarded to Schloss Elmau, set in a secluded valley of the Bavarian Alps, where six spas span the estate around an outdoor pool facing the Wetterstein.

The Local Heritage Award honours Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa, celebrating a century of history, five camps, and a foundation supporting wildlife conservation and education. The Opening of the Year Award is bestowed on Airelles Palladio, Venice, featuring 17 rooms, 28 suites, a three-bedroom private villa, and a 1,700 m² Guerlain spa over three levels · the largest in Venice.

Our perspective

Three years after its inception, the Key achieves what no hotel ranking truly did before: it applies an anonymous inspection methodology to hospitality, fully funded by the guide, with an explicit criteria framework. The 2026 shift speaks volumes: Europe’s top spot is no longer won by the sheer number of urban grand hotels, but by the density of truly distinctive addresses · and Italy now boasts more than France. Four Italian promotions to the top tier, four historic buildings revived, and not a single new build.

We evaluate these same establishments through our six criteria and ratings. Several of the properties mentioned here already feature in our ranking of the World’s 50 Best Hotels, and we will continue to review them one by one, beginning with Italy’s new Three-Key properties.

Practical information

• Borgo Santandrea, Via Giovanni Augustariccio 33, 84011 Amalfi, Italy, +39 089 831148
• Airelles Palladio, Venice, Giudecca 33, 30133 Venice, Italy, +39 041 872 7400, five-minute boat transfer from St Mark’s Square
• Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino, redesigned by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio
• Schloss Elmau, In Elmau 2, 82493 Elmau, Germany, +49 8823 18-0, two-MICHELIN-starred restaurant Ikigai
• Delaire Graff Estate, Helshoogte Pass, Stellenbosch, South Africa