AA and VisitEngland name Berkshire as "the hospitality capital of England"

Berkshire has been named as "the hospitality capital of England" following the pooling of data from the AA and VisitEngland's rating systems.

Highly rated establishments in the country, including the five-AA-rosette Fat Duck in Bray and five-red-AA-star Cliveden House (pictured) in Taplow, has driven Berkshire into the top spot.

Alongside restaurant and hotel ratings, B&B and campsite rankings were also taken into consideration, with each county being awarded an overall percentage of hospitality excellence.

Berkshire received a rating of 83%, as well as being named the fourth best destination for restaurants, fifth for hotels, 12th for B&Bs and 15th for campsites.

Surrey and Staffordshire followed Berkshire into joint second place in the rankings, with Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire in the third and fourth place respectively. All five counties have fewer establishments listed by the AA and VisitEngland than the likes of Devon, Cornwall and Gloucestershire.

Andrew Oxley, head of hotel & hospitality services at the AA, said he hopes that the new data will highlight some of the "very best hospitality experiences" in England.

"If a county scores over 80% is should be regarded as outstanding, over 70% excellent and over 60% very good."

Andrew Stokes, director at VisitEngland, added: "It's exciting to combine the data from VisitEngland and the AA for the first time and to celebrate the destinations where we see accommodation achieving excellence in quality."

The AA took over the VisitEngland quality assessment and star rating scheme in April following the signing of a three-year agreement between the two parties.

The VisitEngland scheme is run separately from the AA's assessment scheme, with each having his own team of inspectors.

England's top hospitality destinations, according to the AA and VisitEngland

1 Berkshire 84%
2 Surrey: 73%, Staffordshire: 73%
3 Bedfordshire: 72%
4 Northamptonshire: 70%
5 Nottinghamshire 69%, Shropshire: 69%
6 Buckinghamshire 68%, Cheshire 68%
7 West Sussex 66%
8 County Durham:66%, North Yorkshire: 66%
9 Herefordshire 64%
10 Greater London 63%, Hertfordshire: 63%

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