Every year, the tourism body VisitEngland hosts its Awards for Excellence to celebrate the ‘crème de la crème’ of the country’s tourist and hospitality industry.
Last week’s ceremony saw Liverpool’s Titanic Hotel win the gold award for large hotel of the year. It sits in a former warehouse on the city’s Stanley Docks overlooking the River Mersey. On its website, the Titanic Hotel describes itself ‘an attraction in itself and an asset for the city’, combining contemporary design with its original Victorian architecture. The building features an open kitchen, and if you venture beneath the hotel, you’ll find a wellness sanctuary featuring a hydrotherapy pool, steam room and sauna.
Bowood Hotel, a four-star site in Wiltshire, snapped up silver for best large hotel, while Rockcliffe Hall Hotel in County Durham received bronze.
The awards had 16 core categories plus four special categories. Other big awards of the night included pub of the year, which went to The Blind Bull in Derbyshire and large attraction of the year, which was awarded to the Warner Bros Studio Tour, The Making of Harry Potter in London. Gold award for best small hotel of the year went to Askham Hall in Cumbria, home to a Michelin-star restaurant and its own kitchen garden.
Andrew Stokes, of VisitEngland, said: ‘It is fantastic to come together as an industry to celebrate our world-class tourism businesses. Competition this year was fierce with customer service excellence evident across every category, thanks to the passion and dedication of individuals.
‘From an outdoor theatre in Suffolk to a boutique B&B in Essex, from an arboretum museum in Staffordshire, a zoo farm in Bristol, to island boat tours in Northumberland, this year’s awards also showcase the wonderful range of quality tourism products on offer across England.’
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