Hail, César! And no, that’s not a spelling mistake. The César I’m talking about was Swiss, not Roman; and in his day, at the close of the 19th century, he was the world’s most famous hotelkeeper, forming a partnership with the superstar chef Auguste Escoffier, revolutionising standards, founding the Ritz hotels in Paris and London, and donating his surname to the English language.

So, if your hotel gets an award named after César Ritz, it’s quite a big deal. Today, his moniker has been borrowed for the UK’s most prestigious awards for independently owned hotels, bestowed in the opening pages of each new edition of The Good Hotel Guide.

The GHG is not the product of a homesick legion of hotel inspectors or the pampered editors of a glossy magazine. Yes, some of its reports come from regular contributors, whose bills are picked up by the guide; but these are more than matched by contributions from ordinary readers. Crucially, the book does not take fees from the hotels featured.

In other words, it’s about as honest and disinterested as a hotel guide can be. It cares about something that many hotel reviews overlook, the price of a room, and has a nose, too, for top-notch cooking, beautiful locations and attentive service. It champions privately owned, family-run establishments over the mighty chains. When it picks out 10 of its featured hotels and gives them a César, people take notice.

Here, then, are this year’s winners, and as the new edition of the GHG doesn’t come out until Thursday, you are the first to see them. I’ve made an anonymous visit to each, and I have to say it’s an impressive list — the best of the three I’ve covered for the Travel section since 2002. All the usual strengths are here, there’s only one dud, and two of the hotels are blessed with the kind of exciting design that actually seems to energise you during your stay — something of a first for the Césars. And more than half represent stunningly good value. Enjoy.

RESTAURANT WITH ROOMS OF THE YEAR
Read's Restaurant, Faversham, Kent

“That’s no problem, Mr Stowy,” purred the woman on the phone when I called to say I’d be late. “I’ve just been up to open the windows in your room, and it won’t hurt to let the air circulate a little longer.” On a sticky summer evening, it was a good sign. Even more impressive was the time and care she took to show me to my enormous, well-aired room — at precisely the moment that half of Kent seemed to be piling into Read’s for its dinner.

“Take as long as you want before coming down,” she said, “and help yourself to drinks from the pantry — just fill in the honesty pad.” I was about to go and have a look when I saw that the room was already furnished with a free decanter of sherry. Now that’s what I call a welcome.

The location: a handsome 18th-century house, set in a medium-size garden and well placed for trips to Canterbury and the coast. I couldn’t help wishing it was a little more rural, however: having the A2 at the end of the drive means things are not quite as tranquil as they might be. 8/10

The rooms: okay, the TV was tiny, but then high-tech isn’t really this place’s style. Everything else was near perfect — from the Peter Reed bed linen (which, if you believe the label, is what the Queen sleeps on) to the double sinks and Pen- haligon toiletries in the gleaming bathroom. 9/10

The decor: old-fashioned by design rather than default, with ample use of rich, thick fabrics. 8/10

The food: the fact that the rest- aurant was full, midweek, says a lot about its quality. So does the Michelin star it has had for 15 years. The cooking is strong on local ingredients, such as Kent lamb and Whit- stable crab, and mixes strong flavours to amazing effect: cheddar soufflé with smoked haddock; lemon tart with red wine and elderflower sorbet. The wine list is big, serious and very, very tempting. 9/10

The service: charming and self- confident. 10/10

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