it's not all in the stars for guests when it comes to comparing the best hotels around europe while five stars seems like a fairly straight forward measurement, hotel and resort ratings aren't all created equal as there is  no uniform ratings system to keep it simple for tourists according to research by hotels4ucom, 71 per cent of us don't realise that a five star hotel in spain can differ significantly to one in great britain, turkey or italy the exclusive goring hotel must live up to demanding standards of service to be a british five star hotel  france's ratings system was put together by the tourism  department and enforced by the government, and five star hotels such as marseille's le petit nice passedat must live up to specific exacting standards  at british five stars, guests being welcomed on arrival is among their many criteria for qualification  each country has its own way to rank hotels from one star to five and beyond, all with their own set of priorities and standards established by a range of authorities from local tourism bodies to government in great britain, star ratings focus heavily on customer service, with a hotel not qualifying as a five star without a greeting at the entrance and multilingual staff, along with a high quality food and wine menu and many other factors while british standards are agreed by the aa (automobile association), visitbritain, visitscotland and visitwales, france's exacting standards on what makes a five star hotel   based on rooms, lobbies, services and amenities    were decided by their tourism authority and are enforced by the french government a long list of criteria for a five star hotel in france, such as the hotel du louvre in paris, includes staff speaking english and one other foreign language, valet parking, multiple pools and kids clubs  standards for spanish hotels, such as the hotel gran melia volcan lanzarote, are regulated regionally  along with opulent interiors, spain's hotel alfonso xiii must have a 24 hour concierge service to be five star  in spain  must offer the highest luxury  specially adapted rooms for wheelchair users and will often provide extra facilities  24 hour reception and 24 hour concierge  award winning on site dining facilities  rooms cleaned daily, including fresh towels and bed linen, and a trouser press  in france  immaculate settings  staff speak english and one other language  multiple pools, fitness centre, health and spa centres and kids clubs  24 hour room service  satellite television with a good range of channels  in great britain  guests are greeted at the hotel entrance  high quality menu and wine list  licensed bar or lounge  service with attention to detail and quality  formal reception and porters' desks with uniformed staff offering proactive service  extensive range of facilities, including leisure, retail and conference services in italy  offer at least three foreign language capabilities  single rooms at least nine square meters and double at least 16 square meters  an elevator  bed sheet and towels changed daily  daily cleaning and the room to be re set in the afternoon free transfer service for clients and baggage  in great britain  guests are greeted at the hotel entrance  high quality menu and wine list  licensed bar or lounge  service with attention to detail and quality  formal reception and porters' desks with uniformed staff offering proactive service  extensive range of facilities, including leisure, retail and conference services spain's five star hotels are crowned regionally rather than nationally, meaning discrepancies are possible, but to be top of the line a hotel must have 24 hour reception and concierge, award winning onsite dining facilities and the rooms must be cleaned daily for the italians, cleanliness is next to godliness for five star hotels in their uniform star rating system established in 2009   a one star hotel need only change bed sheets once a week but five star, you'll be pleased to know, have to change them daily most hotels in turkey are inspected by the ministry of culture and tourism while a similar system in compulsory in portugal and regulated ministry of economy and innovation italy's hotel ratings system, established in 2009, is judged heavily on its standards of cleanliness  along with its 18th century design by alfonso torregiani, sheets are changed daily in italian five star hotels  free wi fi 65%  english speaking staff 53%  swimming pool 48%  guest parking 41%  24 hour reception 40%  a safe in the room 39%  laundry and ironing services 11%  concierge services 9%  children's club 7%  a minibar in the room 7%  a computer in the room 7%  step free access 6%  fresh flowers/ present (eg chocolates) in the room on arrival 4%  sewing kit/ shoe polish kit in the room 4%  source: hotels4ucom  as a member of hotrec (hotels, restaurants & cafés in europe), greek accommodation has complied with their classification system since 2013 with star ratings covering a combination of 270 compulsory and optional measurements with such differences, hotels4ucom's commercial manager tim bekir recommends tourists use a combination of peer and official review systems when making travel choices 'when booking a hotel, it's important to be as well informed as possible and confident with your choice,' says hotels4ucom's commercial manager tim bekir 'understandably, customers may sometimes find star ratings confusing the italian government, for example, have implemented a system that rates cleanliness as one of the most important aspects with the highest rated hotels being cleaned twice a day france, on the other hand, focuses on more luxury and conveniences, such as room size, the location of the hotel and its amenities 'despite the variances, star ratings do give a good indication of the standard of the hotel that's why we'd encourage using both peer to peer reviews and star ratings for the best hotel choice'
71 per cent europe great britain italy
71 per cent of people don't realise there is no uniform hotel rating system . each country has its own way of deciding what makes a five star hotel . all nations in europe have their own criteria for classifying hotels . while great britain focuses on service, italy concentrates on cleanliness 