The region had several winners in the recent Scottish Hotel of the Year Awards held at Prestonfield Hotel in Edinburgh.
Ensuring the Scotland remains at the forefront of hospitality can only be done through excellent customer care and service. The commitment to quality demonstrated by these businesses in the Scottish Borders should be an inspiration to other tourism businesses, as raising standards within the industry is an essential part of our joint ambition to grow Scottish tourism by 50% by 2015.
Over 450 of Scotland’s top hoteliers were there on the night with Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth, Rt Hon John Swinney MSP presented the most prestigious awards for the evening.
The winners are decided through a series of public nominations, expert judging visits and awards panel, plus feedback from consumers. This year saw 24,069 votes via the HotelReviewScotland.com site.
Winners in the Scottish Borders were:
The Horseshoe Inn, Eddleston
Rising Star Restaurant with Rooms
Buccleuch Arms Hotel, St Boswells
Scottish Inn of the Year
Peebles Hotel Hydro, Peebles
Scottish Family Hotel of the Year
Sandra Dawson from Peebles Hotel Hydro
Conference and Events Co-ordinator of the Year Award
Burts Hotel, Melrose
Informal Dining Excellence Award
Patrick Bardoulet, Horseshoe Inn
Chef Médaille d’Or 2008 for Outstanding Cuisine at Dinner
Alan Reid, Windlestraw Lodge
Chef Médaille d’Or 2008 for an Outstanding Taste of Scotland
Commendations:
Donald Innes, Park Hotel
Special Commendation: Rising Star Hotel Manager of the Year
Peebles Hotel Hydro
Commendation: Conference Hotel Award
Billy Hamilton from the Buccleuch Hotel in St Boswells said; “We are delighted to be associated again with Hotelreviewscotland awards and to be shortlisted and Win is just the icing on the cake for us this year. In 2007 we came in Runners Up and having taken stock of last years award we realised that our aim was to continue this and maintain our position or come one better and Win the category.
“Since last year the Buccleuch Arms hotel has been through a significant refurbishment program which is still ongoing. All 19 guest bedrooms have been refurbished to a very high standard with plans afoot this year to break into the small wedding market with an ambitious refurbishment of our function room (The salmon room).
“Lastly, a big thanks go to all our staff here, who really won the award in all their hard work throughout the years.”
Well done to everyone who has achieved an award.
For any further information, please e-mail Info@HotelReviewScotland.com or visit www.scottishhotelsoftheyear.com
Picture: Billy and Rachael Hamilton receive their award for the Buccleuch Arms Hotel
