Middleton Lodge secures top ten ranking

A North Yorkshire hotel is celebrating national recognition.

Middleton Lodge Estate has secured seventh place in the Top 50 Boutique Hotels 2025, rising three positions from last year and earning an additional Food and Drink Award at this year’s ceremony held at The Newt, in Somerset. 

The ranking reflects the estate’s growing reputation for thoughtful restoration, seasonal dining and understated luxury across its 200-acre Georgian grounds.

Owned and developed over two decades by managing director James Allison, the estate now features a fifty-eight-bedroom hotel, two restaurants, the Forest Spa, a Palladian main house for private events and a walled garden created by landscape architect Tom Stuart-Smith. 

Its menus are shaped by the seasons, with produce drawn from the gardens, woodlands, orchard and wider estate. 

Forge, the estate’s Michelin-starred and Michelin Green Star restaurant, offers a tasting menu built around estate-grown and foraged ingredients, while The Coach House serves daily changing dishes inspired by the land, garden and sea. 

James said: “To be recognised as number seven in the Top 50 Boutique Hotels is something we are all very proud of. 

“Moving up three places this year is a real credit to the hard work of our team. I’m so grateful to have the team that we do. 

“They bring such joy and personality to the estate, and it’s a pleasure to work alongside them and to see the family environment they’ve created.

“The Food and Drink Award feels particularly special. 

“It highlights the dedication of our head chefs, Jake Jones and Ross Forder, and the way they work so closely with our gardeners and growers to bring our estate-to-plate ethos into everything we do. 

“Their care, creativity and commitment to the estate come through in every menu at Forge and The Coach House. 

“It has been a meaningful moment for all of us, and we’re looking forward to celebrating with the team and our guests.”

The Top 50 Boutique Hotels list is voted for by more than two hundred hospitality and travel experts, with rankings based solely on the quality of each hotel’s offer. 

Specialist awards, such as the Food and Drink Award, are independently judged across sustainability, innovation and guest experience.

To find out more about the restoration of Middleton Lodge and its innovative farm-to-table culture, read our interview with James Allison in our sister publication, N, here.

You can also find out more about The Forge and head chef Jake Jones in our recent review of the restaurant here.

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