Checked in, ate in: Why travellers are skipping the streets for great hotel eats.

It’s official: a good hotel restaurant is no longer just a nice-to-have when travelling – it can be the reason to book the whole trip. In fact, 67% of Brits say that having an on-site restaurant is important when choosing where to stay, and one in three have chosen a hotel specifically for its dining options. KAYAK and OpenTable see the trend taking off too, with more travellers searching for accommodation that serves great food as well as a good night’s sleep. If you’re hungry for travel inspiration, we’ve got the places where the food is worth the journey.

Forget the landmarks. Brits are increasingly booking trips with their taste buds.

And it’s not just a hunch. KAYAK and OpenTable insights, paired with consumer research back it up. It seems that Brits are building their holidays around what’s on the plate, and not just what’s on the map.

For many Brits, the journey seems to be starting with the menu. Nearly half (43%) have booked a trip specifically to dine at a particular restaurant, with Gen Z leading the way at 56%*. Furthermore, over a third (36%) of surveyed Brits state that they post more on their socials about the meals they’re eating than sights they’re visiting.

Food alone doesn’t seal the deal, ambience matters too. Thirty eight per cent of respondents booked a hotel because they saw posts from  other guests about its restaurant, while 34% agreed that they would choose to dine in a hotel restaurant because of its Insta-worthiness. And guess what? That figure jumps to 57% for Gen Z, because if it’s not on your social feed, did it even happen?

Beds and bites are the top priorities for Brits on holiday (especially for Gen Z).

What if reservations are hard to come by? Some travellers are savvy: one in five Brits have booked a hotel purely to guarantee a table at its restaurant. Overall, nearly 7 in 10 respondents say it’s important that a hotel has its own restaurant. With usage of KAYAK’s ‘restaurant’ filter up 72% by UK users when searching for a hotel in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2024, it’s clear that on-site dining is gaining serious momentum**. After all, why trek across town when there’s something you fancy just downstairs?

Funnily enough, satisfying an appetite shows up in the budget too: 56% of Brits say food and drink top their holiday expenses. This number rises to 71% for Gen Z*. Priorities? Clearly plated.

Where to sleep and eat well in the UK?

Looking for a stay that serves more than just a decent night’s sleep? We’ve mapped out the top UK spots where great hotels meet great food – perfect for a local getaway that satisfies both your appetite and your wanderlust.

Here is a selection of destinations with the hotels offering a great dining experience based on the Top 50 Hotel Restaurants in the UK that were identified in partnership with OpenTable***. They analysed diner reviews and demand metrics, including diner ratings, the percentage of bookings made in advance, and the number of five-star reviews, in order to advise on the top restaurants located in hotels.

Today’s travellers are as hungry for Instagram-worthy meals as they are for unforgettable travel experiences. With a lot of top hotel restaurants opening right here in the UK, it’s so much easier to plan a trip around food these days. At KAYAK, we help travellers find their flavour-packed getaways, whether they use our hotel restaurant filter or let KAYAK.ai plan their trip for them.

KAYAK’s UK travel expert Rachel Mumford

Here are six standout hotel restaurants selected by our friends at OpenTable.

Angler at the South Place Hotel

London

Pavyllon at the Four Seasons Hotel Park Lane

London

Ekstedt at the Yard, Great Scotland Yard Hotel

London

Longlands Inn & Restaurant

Carnforth

The Pickled Sprout at The Yorkshire

Harrogate

The Great Room Restaurant at The Merchant Hotel

Belfast

Hungry for more? View their full list of the UK’s Top 50 Hotel Restaurants.

Room service, salads and history: Three facts about hotel restaurants to dine out on.

Hotel restaurants are so much more than just places to grab breakfast in a hurry. They have shaped culinary culture, invented iconic dishes and even redefined what dinner can be. Here are three tasty titbits to chew on, from legendary venues to marketing stunts that turned into staples.

🥗 Your favourite dishes were born in hotel kitchens.

Hotel restaurants are the unsung heroes behind some of the world’s most iconic recipes.

• Caesar Salad? Created at Hotel Caesar’s in Tijuana.
• Baked Alaska? Popularised at NYC’s Delmonico Hotel.
• Singapore Sling? Shaken to life at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

It turns out that hotel kitchens don’t just serve trends – they invent them!

🛎️ Room service was just a PR stunt.

Originally a clever marketing gimmick to dazzle guests, room service was once a novelty at posh hotels like the Waldorf Astoria. It worked. What started as a way to show off soon became a hotel staple, and restaurant menus became an integral part of a hotel’s identity. (Not to mention a lifeline for anyone craving crisps at 2 a.m.)

🏛️ Where the steak comes with a side order of history.

Some hotel restaurants aren’t just legendary for their menus, they’re like time capsules. Take the Savoy Grill in London, tucked inside the city’s first luxury hotel to be lit by electricity. It served dinners to Churchill, Monroe and Sinatra (though not all at once, unfortunately). Guests come to places like this for the roast and stay for its stories.