Three Oxfordshire venues have been ranked among the best in the UK by the Michelin Guide.

The guide which famously rates restaurants has inspected accommodation around the world for its new hotel ‘key’ ratings.

This week 123 hotels in Great Britain and Ireland received either one, two or three keys. One key means the inspector had a ‘very special stay’, two is for ‘an exceptional stay’ and three is for an ‘extraordinary stay’.

Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton received three Michelin keys - the highest hotel honour.

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Inspectors said: "It couldn't be more English, except for the fact that is the brainchild of a Frenchman, the celebrated chef Raymond Blanc."

Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons received three keys - the highest honour (Image: The Michelin Guide) Noting that Le Manoir was "more playful than your typical English country home", it added: "In one room, twin baths lie side by side underneath a canopy — and Le Manoir is the first house in the country to sport bathrooms that open onto bedrooms, ensuring that your pleasure is seamless."

Inspectors said the "dishes are divine", adding that although "the prices admittedly steep, everywhere in the dining room is the buzz of lively conversation and the relaxed expressions of people having an unpretentious good time".

It added that "there's no gym or pool at Le Manoir; for those in dire need of exercise, there's croquet, and the hotel also hosts one of the most respected cooking schools in the country".

"There was once a poltergeist in residence, but superstitiously-bent Blanc has had it exorcised," the guide says.

Thyme in the village of Southrop, near Lechlade, was awarded two Michelin keys for ‘an exceptional stay’ .

"Hotelier Caryn Hibbert bought Southrop Manor some two decades ago, and set to work rehabilitating its various 17th-century buildings, opening first a cooking school and now a luxury boutique hotel to go along with it," says the guide.

Thyme at Southrop was awarded two keys for 'an exceptional stay' (Image: The Michelin Guide) "The old barn is now the flagship Ox Barn restaurant, while the Swan, the village pub, is a more casual option, while an old cottage has been transformed into the lavish Meadow Spa.

"The rooms vary widely in size, layout, and design, but all are perfectly stylish and full of comforts; many include rolltop baths, and a couple of freestanding cottages offer an extra measure of space and privacy."

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And Artist Residence Oxfordshire, in South Leigh, near Witney, was awarded one key for "a very special stay".

Artist Residence Oxfordshire received one key fora 'very special stay' (Image: The Michelin Guide) Inspectors praised the "16th-century farmhouse that’s slowly evolved into a classic country pub".

"Under the Artist Residence banner, it’s a one-of-a-kind boutique inn that combines high-end comforts and a visual style that incorporates antique architecture and objects and modern furniture and contemporary art," the guide says.

"Rooms feature Bramley bath products and either rain showers or roll-top tubs; the Mason Arms, the pub-style bar and restaurant, serves upscale English country fare in a dining room full of artworks, including a neon sculpture by Andy Doig."