Northcote crowned national Hotel of the Year
Northcote Hotel in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley has been named national Hotel of the Year at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.
The awards, now in their 28th year, celebrate those businesses and individuals who continuously raise the bar of England’s tourism offer.
The 25 award winners, from Afternoon Tea of the Year to Sustainable Tourism Award, Tourism Pub of the Year to Business Tourism Award, span the length and breadth of the country.
The awards ceremony, hosted by actress, comedian and broadcaster Sue Perkins, took place at the Hilton Waldorf in London and welcomed 67 finalists selected from almost 600 applications, the highest number ever received.
Northcote won Hotel of the Year at the Lancashire Tourism Awards, which were held at Blackburn Cathedral, the Cathedral of Lancashire on Thursday 10 November 2016. These awards celebrate the very best of Lancashire’s visitor economy businesses and most of the winners then have the chance to go forward to the national Visit England Awards for Excellence.
The Tourism Superstar 2017 competition, run jointly with the Daily Mirror, was won by Duane, owner of the Grosvenor Fish Bar in Norwich, Nigel Thompson, the Daily Mirror’s Travel Editor presented the accolade.
Lancashire very own Tourism Superstar Leye D Johns was awarded third place in the national Tourism Superstar 2017 competition.
Ruth Connor, chief executive of Marketing Lancashire said, “We’re very proud to have Northcote, our winner of the 2016 Lancashire Tourism Awards Best Hotel, now being recognised as England’s Best Hotel by the national tourist agency, VisitEngland.
“Northcote has continued to invest and develop as a business and always strives for perfection. Northcote has nurtured an incredible team and continued to build on an already enviable reputation for excellence, which is being rewarded with an array of awards acknowledging their status as the country’s best in class – which they truly deserve.
“Our congratulations to the whole team on this tremendous achievement for Northcote and for Lancashire.”
Craig Bancroft, managing director of Northcote Leisure Group said: “We are absolutely delighted to win the award. Having already been won our regional award with Marketing Lancashire, you always hope that you may be lucky enough to reach the nationals.”
VisitEngland chief executive Sally Balcombe said, “This year’s awards were fiercely contested and we had some terrific applications, showcasing not only the excellence on offer within English tourism but also the outstanding innovation and the sheer diversity of experiences throughout the country.”
