VisitEngland Assessment Services
VisitEngland has a team of 50 assessors working across VisitEngland Assessment Services as well as over 40 trained assessors maintaining our standards and continually assessing the quality and star ratings of more than 30,000 accommodation businesses.
We are dedicated to ensuring you find the accommodation that suits your budget as well as meets the quality of your expectations.
If you want to check a VisitEngland rating on a particular property, search VisitEngland Assessment Services, where 20,000 of VisitEngland’s quality-assessed businesses are featured.
With strict criteria our assessors check the levels of services and facilities offered to determine which accommodation type is awarded which star rating. Each year, every aspect of an accommodation is thoroughly inspected from the efficiency of the booking process to the level of service.
Cleanliness is the most crucial element of any assessment and minimum standards, particularly at the higher star ratings, reflect consumer expectations.
Once an assessor has agreed the category with the owners they review the services offered within that scheme and award a quality score. If an establishment offers the facilities required at a certain level, it must also achieve the quality score for that level before being awarded the rating.
Every hotel assessment will include an overnight stay. B&B’s will be inspected via a ‘mystery shopper’ style visit at some point in the first year with follow-up pre-announced visits to confirm the quality rating. This will happen with every establishment at least one every two-three years.
Pre-appointed day visits will be carried out by an assessor for self-catering properties and holiday parks receive an unarranged day visit once a year. The quality rating of hostels is assessed a minimum of once every three years and campus accommodation once a year via a ‘mystery shopper’ or pre-arranged visit during the day. Hotel boats receive an overnight visit at least once a year while boat accommodation is inspected with an annual pre-arranged day visit.
Find out more about VisitEngland star ratings.
Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme
How can you be sure that England’s brilliant visitor attractions are all they say they are? Just look out for the Quality Rose Marque.
The VisitEngland Quality Rose Marque only gets awarded to attractions that have been independently assessed against the national standards of the Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme. Museums, art galleries, safari parks, gardens, historic houses, theme parks and more: VisitEngland ensures that you can experience and enjoy England’s incredible spectrum of attractions with confidence.
Find out more about Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme.
Place of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme
Look out for VisitEngland’s Quality Rose Marque to make sure your visit to a Place of Interest is top-notch.
Twice a year, every year, VisitEngland sends out a team of experienced quality assessors to scope out the whole range of places of interest in England, from majestic medieval castles to public art such as the wonderful Dream sculpture in St Helens. These assessments all take place as part of the Place of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme to make sure your visit is a good as it can possibly be.
Find out more about Place of Interest Quality Assurance Scheme.
Other Quality schemes
VisitEngland Business Development team works with industry experts who help with a range of advisory projects when there is a requirement for independent assessment.
Bespoke assessment and individually designed project plans are created where a scheme which does not fit either the VAQAS or PIQAS schemes is required.
Find out more about VisitEngland Other Quality schemes.