Hotel dress code levels explained: from None to Formal
Updated: August 13, 2026
Grand hotels almost never use the same words for the same rule: one bar's “no sportswear” is another's “elegant attire”, and a third simply expects guests to use judgement. To make dress codes comparable across 12 hotels, every venue tracked on this site is normalized to one of five levels. This page explains what each level actually means in practice, with real venues as examples.
None
NoneNo dress requirement.
Examples: The Drawing Room (Brown's Hotel), The Foyer & Reading Room (Claridge's) — 1 more at this level tracked on this site.
Smart casual
Smart casualNo sportswear, closed-toe shoes expected.
Examples: Charlie's at Brown's (Brown's Hotel), Donovan Bar (Brown's Hotel) — 18 more at this level tracked on this site.
Formal
FormalJacket required.
Example: Afternoon Tea at The Ritz (William Kent House) (The Ritz London)
The level alone doesn't settle jeans, sneakers or a jacket
A dress code level is a summary, not the full rule — the same “Smart casual” venue can allow sneakers while another at the same level doesn't. Where a hotel publishes an explicit call on jeans, sneakers or a jacket, that call is tracked separately on every venue page and shown alongside the level — see the dress code decoder for the full venue-by-venue breakdown, or the per-city guides for London and Paris.
Where this scale comes from
Every level shown above is assigned by reading the hotel's own published dress code and matching its wording to the closest of the five bands — never guessed from reviews, forum posts or a venue's general reputation. If a hotel changes its policy, the level here changes too, on a re-verification cycle of at least once a year (how we verify).
Frequently asked questions
What does "None" mean at a hotel bar or afternoon tea?
No dress requirement. Among the venues tracked here, The Drawing Room (Brown's Hotel, London) and The Foyer & Reading Room (Claridge's, London) carry this level.
What does "Smart casual" mean at a hotel bar or afternoon tea?
No sportswear, closed-toe shoes expected. Among the venues tracked here, Charlie's at Brown's (Brown's Hotel, London) and Donovan Bar (Brown's Hotel, London) carry this level.
What does "Elegant" mean at a hotel bar or afternoon tea?
No jeans; shirt or dress expected. Among the venues tracked here, Le Bar (Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris) carries this level.
What does "Formal" mean at a hotel bar or afternoon tea?
Jacket required. Among the venues tracked here, Afternoon Tea at The Ritz (William Kent House) (The Ritz London, London) carries this level.