Based on five-star hotels, designer boutiques, spas and the very best dining available in the area, Devon scores highly
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Staycations have become an increasingly popular holiday option in recent years and Devon has been ranked among the best places to spend your UK break. Experts at Slingo, an online gaming website, have analysed a variety of luxury holiday hotspots and given each destination a luxury score based on five-star hotels, designer boutiques, spas and the very best dining available in the area.
Devon comes in at eighth in the UK based on these criteria. A table made by Slingo plots out that per 10 km2 Devon averages 0.04 Michelin-starred restaurants and 0.12 spas. It might seem like a small number but this is over an entire county.
Other parts of the table were ranked by various luxury facilities that were featured in hotels. 6% of Devon hotels have indoor pools (the third highest in the list), 6% also have a hot tub or jacuzzi (joint second highest), 2% house massage facilities (joint 3rd highest), and finally, 2% have in-house fine dining restaurants (joint 3rd highest).
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All these scores gave Devon a 6.18/10 luxury destination score on Slingo's table.
The top three destinations as ranked by Slingo were Jersey with an overall score of 8.68/10, Statford-upon-Avon which scored 7.11/10 which was closely followed by Falmouth at 7.04/10. Newcastle holds joint third place with Falmouth, also with a score of 7.04/10.
Interestingly, Bath, which placed 5th overall has the highest concentration of spas in the country with an impressive 9.50 per 10 km2 and includes the UK's only natural hot spring. It also ranks very well on the Michelin-starred restaurant front with an average of 4.13 per 10 km2. So if you're looking for a high-end meal and a relaxing massage to help digest, Bath could be the place to go.
Though in this area Stratford-upon-Avon should not be ignored either. It is one of the UK’s best places for Michelin dining – there are 3.54 Michelin restaurants per 10 km2, including Woodsman. Stratford-upon-Avon is also one of the best spots for a spa getaway, with 8.26 spas per 10 km2.
Though interestingly the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants outside of London in the country is not featured in the top 10 list – it comes in at 19th in the entire UK. Anglesey lays claim to that title with 6.9 of the Michellin-starred restaurants per 10 km2.
Jersey wins the ranking through its strength in hotels. While only having 0.33 Michelin-starred restaurants and spas per 10 km2, a staggering 19% of its hotels boast an indoor pool and a further 19% have a hot tub and jacuzzi. To put that in perspective, the next highest for those two categories is just 7% in Falmouth and 6% in Hampshire respectively.
But it doesn't stop there. 14% of Jersey hotels are reported to have massage facilities. This is 11% higher than the next-best rival areas Newcastle, Hampshire and Cambridge who sit at just 3%.
Finally, Jersey hotels top the last hotel category too with 4% of them having in-house fine dining restaurants including Longueville Manor – a Michelin restaurant serving British cuisine. The gap for this is not as large as the others, with the next best coming in at 3% in Darlington, but it proves how complete the Jersey hotel scene is.
The full table appears below (scroll left and right to view the whole table):
Per 10
km2
Percentage
of
Rank
Destination
Michelin-
starred restaurants
Spas
Hotels with an indoor pool
Hotels with a hot tub/jacuzzi
Hotels with massage facilities
Hotels with Fine dining restaurants
Luxury destination score /10
1
Jersey
0.33
0.33
19%
19%
14%
4%
8.68
2
Stratford-upon-Avon
3.54
8.26
3%
4%
2%
2%
7.11
3
Falmouth
1.65
1.65
7%
5%
2%
1%
7.04
3
Newcastle
2.59
6.22
3%
5%
3%
1%
7.04
5
Bath
4.13
9.50
1%
3%
2%
3%
6.79
6
Dublin
2.91
6.92
3%
3%
2%
2%
6.61
7
Darlington
0.88
2.21
3%
3%
2%
3%
6.21
8
Devon
0.04
0.12
6%
6%
2%
2%
6.18
9
Hampshire
0.05
0.26
5%
6%
3%
1%
6.11
10
Cambridge
1.66
1.90
2%
4%
3%
1%
6.07
Jersey has more 5-star hotels than any other location in the rating, one in ten (11%) hotels in Jersey offers this level of luxury and personalised services.
Newcastle might not be an obvious choice for a luxury UK trip, but its history, culture and bustling centre make this city a popular tourist destination. Newcastle is one of the best places for a relaxing massage, with 3% of hotels offering this service, including Grey Street Hotel and Hilton Newcastle Gateshead.
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