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It's not all in the stars for guests when it comes to comparing the best hotels around Europe. 

While five stars seems like a fairly straight-forward measurement, hotel and resort ratings aren't all created equal as there is no uniform ratings system to keep it simple for tourists.

According to research by Hotels4u.com, 71 per cent of us don't realise that a five-star hotel in Spain can differ significantly to one in Great Britain, Turkey or Italy.   

The exclusive Goring Hotel must live up to demanding standards of service to be a British five-star hotel

France's ratings system was put together by the tourism department and enforced by the Government, and five-star hotels such as Marseille's Le Petit Nice Passedat must live up to specific exacting standards

At British five-stars, guests being welcomed on arrival is among their many criteria for qualification

Each country has its own way to rank hotels from one-star to five and beyond, all with their own set of priorities and standards established by a range of authorities from local tourism bodies to government.

In Great Britain, star ratings focus heavily on customer service, with a hotel not qualifying as a five-star without a greeting at the entrance and multilingual staff, along with a high quality food and wine menu and many other factors. 

While British standards are agreed by the AA (Automobile Association), VisitBritain, VisitScotland and VisitWales, France's exacting standards on what makes a five-star hotel - based on rooms, lobbies, services and amenities  - were decided by their tourism authority and are enforced by the French Government. 

A long list of criteria for a five-star hotel in France, such as the Hotel du Louvre in Paris, includes staff speaking English and one other foreign language, valet parking, multiple pools and kids clubs

Standards for Spanish hotels, such as the Hotel Gran Melia Volcan lanzarote, are regulated regionally

Along with opulent interiors, Spain's Hotel Alfonso XIII must have a 24-hour concierge service to be five-star

Spain's five-star hotels are crowned regionally rather than nationally, meaning discrepancies are possible, but to be top of the line a hotel must have 24-hour reception and concierge, award-winning onsite dining facilities and the rooms must be cleaned daily. 

For the Italians, cleanliness is next to godliness for five-star hotels in their uniform star-rating system established in 2009 - a one-star hotel need only change bed sheets once a week but five-star, you'll be pleased to know, have to change them daily. 

Most hotels in Turkey are inspected by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism while a similar system in compulsory in Portugal and regulated Ministry of Economy and Innovation.  

Italy's hotel ratings system, established in 2009, is judged heavily on its standards of cleanliness

Along with its 18th-century design by Alfonso Torregiani, sheets are changed daily in Italian five-star hotels

As a member of HOTREC (Hotels, Restaurants & Cafés in Europe), Greek accommodation has complied with their classification system since 2013 with star ratings covering a combination of 270 compulsory and optional measurements.

With such differences, Hotels4u.com's commercial manager Tim Bekir recommends tourists use a combination of peer and official review systems when making travel choices. 

'When booking a hotel, it's important to be as well informed as possible and confident with your choice,' says Hotels4u.com's Commercial Manager Tim Bekir.

'Understandably, customers may sometimes find star ratings confusing. The Italian government, for example, have implemented a system that rates cleanliness as one of the most important aspects with the highest rated hotels being cleaned twice a day. France, on the other hand, focuses on more luxury and conveniences, such as room size, the location of the hotel and its amenities.

'Despite the variances, star ratings do give a good indication of the standard of the hotel. That's why we'd encourage using both peer-to-peer reviews and star ratings for the best hotel choice.'