How we choose and describe hotels
Meridian is a small, opinionated atlas rather than a booking engine. This page explains what earns a hotel a place, how we score and describe it, where our information comes from and how we keep it current.
What earns a place
Every hotel in the atlas has to be a reason to travel in its own right, not only somewhere to sleep. We look for five things:
- Place. A setting you can't find anywhere else: a canal, a crater rim, a square, a vineyard, a glacier valley.
- Architecture and design. Buildings with a story, whether a restored palace, a converted bank or a new structure made for its landscape.
- Character of service. A recognisable way of looking after guests, from grand-hotel ceremony to barefoot informality.
- Food. Kitchens that reflect their region and are worth eating in even if you are not staying.
- Responsibility. Hotels that employ locally, protect their surroundings and give something back to their community.
We deliberately keep the list short and varied across regions, budgets within the luxury range, and travel styles. Inclusion is never paid for, and no hotel sees its entry before publication.
How the scores work
Each hotel carries eight scores from 1 to 5: city, nature, culture, adventure, rest, romance, family and food. They describe what a stay is like, not how good the hotel is: a safari lodge scores low on city life and that is not a flaw. The scores power the hotel finder, the quiz and the comparisons, so you can match hotels to the trip you want.
Best and good months reflect weather, seasons such as wildlife migrations or ski seasons, and crowds. Climate figures are approximate average daily highs.
Where our information comes from
- Hotels' own published information on rooms, restaurants, facilities and opening seasons.
- Official sources for practical facts: tourism boards, government travel and entry pages, national school calendars and emergency numbers.
- Airline and rail operators' published schedules for journey times, which we round and present as indicative.
- Our own editorial research and judgment for itineraries, tips and the character of each place.
We do not claim first-hand stays unless an entry says so, and we never invent reviews, ratings, guest quotes or prices.
Illustrations
The images on this site are original illustrations drawn for the atlas. They evoke each setting and are not photographs of the hotels; check each hotel's own website for photographs.
Updates and corrections
We review dossiers regularly and date our updates. Room counts, journey times, seasons and entry rules change, so please check current details with the hotel and official sources before you travel. If you spot something out of date, tell us; we check every report and correct the page.
Independence
We do not take bookings, payments or commissions, and we have no commercial relationship with the hotels listed. The site may show clearly labelled advertising, which never influences which hotels we include or what we write about them. Read our editorial policy for more.