Realigning the stars

HOTEL CLASSIFICATION:THE CLASSIFICATION system for Irish hotels and guest houses has been overhauled to provide greater transparency and assurance for the public.

A major change is that the new star ratings system is now mandatory and the Irish Hotels Federation and Fáilte Ireland have subcontracted the operation of the scheme to a company called Tourist Accommodation Management Services (Tams).

The procedure appears to be fairly straightforward, with five categories of hotel. For each category there is a list of services and facilities that must be provided to guests - from basics such as the provision of a bathroom or television and telephone in the room to more luxurious frills, such as 24-hour room service and valet parking.

Each hotel fills in an annual self-assessment form; it is subsequently visited by inspectors from Tams to verify the information. The hotel is then officially awarded its star rating, on a scale from one to five.

There is an appeals system for hotels that feel hard done by. A similar scheme operates for guest houses, which are accorded stars on a scale from one to four.

To check the star rating for any hotel, visit the website www.discoverireland.ie, click on "Where to Stay" and type in the name of the hotel or the county in which it is located.

An extra layer of grading applies only to hotels in the two-, three- and four-star categories. These can score extra points from a menu of optional-extra facilities and services, which are not mandatory requirements for their star-rating category.

The points are added together and expressed as a percentage. The system allows visitors to differentiate between hotels in the same grade.

For example, a three-star hotel with a percentage score of 68 per cent means that guests will have access to more additional facilities and services than a three-star hotel with a score of 29 per cent. The website provides details about the types of extra services that are offered.

According to John Power, chief executive of the Irish Hotels Federation, "Ireland's classification system for hotels is now one of the strictest and most carefully monitored in the world".

He said that 6 per cent of Irish hotels are now classed as five-star, 36 per cent as four-star and 49 per cent as three-star; the remaining 9 per cent have one or two stars.

The new system should end widespread confusion and argument about which Irish hotels have actually been awarded the coveted five stars.

The newest additions to the top table include the Capella at Castlemartyr, in Co Cork, the Dylan, in Dublin, and the Lyrath Estate Hotel, in Kilkenny. Old favourites such as Ashford and Dromoland Castles, the Shelbourne and the Four Seasons in Dublin have all had their five-star ratings reconfirmed.

But there are some surprises. Although the Conrad, on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin, is five-star, its country cousin, the Conrad Mount Juliet, in Thomastown, is four-star; the K Club, in Kildare, is five-star, but the nearby Carton House is four-star; and while the Radisson SAS St Helen's, in Dublin, has five stars, the Radisson SAS Farnham Castle, in Cavan, has four.