Awards for top tourism and hospitality

Tourism and hospitality organisations across the county have been recognised at this years Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism and Good Food Awards.

Businesses from across the county gathered at the Doubletree by Hilton Stoke-on-Trent for the awards event this Spring.

An audience of more than 280 guests saw the winners of 20 categories announced, including National Memorial Arboretum (Large Visitor Attraction of the Year), Lower Drayton Farm (Small Visitor Attraction of the Year), and Lunar (Independent Restaurant of the Year).

The Tawny in Consall was named Hotel of the Year, while The Duncombe Arms in Ellastone was Pub of the Year, and Pom’s Kitchen & Deli in Lichfield won the Tea Room/Coffee Shop of the Year award.

The Experience of the Year went to National Memorial Arboretum, for their Tailor Made Tour, while New Business of the Year was Lunar, and Denstone Hall Farm Shop, near Uttoxeter, was the Food & Drink Retailer/Farm Shop of the Year.

B&B and Guest House of the Year was Black Lion Inn in Butterton, and the Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year award went to Weston Park Holiday Cottages, on the StaffordshireShropshire border.

And there were wins for The ‘Stones’ Market in Newcastle-under-Lyme, in the Resilience & Innovation, The Trentham Estate’s Carol Adams in the Unsung Hero categories, and Alton Towers Resort, which was successful in the Accessible & Inclusive Tourism and the Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism categories for the second year running.

There was also a special award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism in Staffordshire presented to Colin Sweeney, CEO of Weston Park, in recognition of his work to position the estate as a premier destination.

Councillor Philip White, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member with responsibility for tourism at Staffordshire County Council, said: “Our annual tourism awards are an important event that we look forward to each year. They give us a great opportunity to celebrate all those working in the sector to give visitors a great experience of our wonderful county.

“We’re a brilliant visitor destination with so much on offer and I’d like to say a huge congratulations to all the winners and to those highly recommended.”

Cllr White continued: “It’s great to see such a range of businesses from larger more established attractions to some of our smaller independently owned businesses being recognised.

“They should all be extremely proud of their achievements and the great job they do in attracting more and more visitors, generating millions of pounds per month for our economy and sustaining tens of thousands of jobs.”

The winners of 16 categories progress to represent Staffordshire at the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, to be held in June 2023.

Full details of all winners can be found at www.enjoystaffordshire.com/visitorinformation/award-winners.