The virtues of independence
The Good Hotel Guide prides itself on its independence. The hotels that we write about in our Guide are by definition outstanding. There are about 50,000 hotels and B&Bs in the UK and Ireland. We have space for fewer than 500 full list hotels. But a few of our selected hoteliers resent any criticism that we make of their establishment, though it is always based on what our readers tell us backed up by anonymous visits by experienced inspectors. Very occasionally the ill feeling spills over into a bitter exchange which ends with the hotel being turfed out of the Guide. Those with a taste for confrontation will enjoy the emails sent by the Loch Ness Lodge, a hotel in Scotland, which until very recently was in the Guide. Hoteliers (and readers), who prefer a quieter life, may learn something about how we operate and the fact that we don't respond to ultimatums.
See: http://www.goodhotelguide.com/files/LochNessLodge.doc