One of the AA guide's top hotels has renounced its listing, claiming the publication is "past its sell-by date". Martin Cummings, owner of Amberley Castle in West Sussex, told Caterer: "I think the AA ought to go and be replaced with marketing consortia. We can't trace any business from the AA and they don't understand us."

Albert Hampson, business manager hotel services for the AA, said: "It's an exceptional hotel with exceptional food, and I would recommend it to anyone. But I certainly dispute that we're outdated or unused - we sell 45,000 copies of the guide a year, and our website gets seven million hits."