Old Rectory Hotel, Exmoor wins Gold at 2014 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence

The Old Rectory Hotel is absolutely thrilled to have been named 'Best Small Hotel in England' at the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2014. The award was announced at a glittering Ceremony held on Monday 12 May at Cheltenham Racecourse. 

With a history stretching back nearly 25 years, the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence represent the highest accolade in English tourism. Just to have made the finals demonstrates that The Old Rectory Hotel is amongst the very best of English Tourism. The Ceremony celebrates success and excellence and is a showcase for England's fabulous tourism products. James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland said “We received hundreds of applications of an exceptionally high quality making the competition for a Gold Award extremely tough.  It is therefore a tremendous achievement for The Old Rectory Hotel to win a Gold Award, the highest accolade for Excellence in Tourism which VisitEngland can bestow.  They have raised the bar for excellence for others to aspire to and I warmly congratulate them."  

Co-owner of the hotel Huw Rees said, “We are delighted. We had no hospitality experience six years ago but we knew that we wanted to run a hotel that we and our friends would love to stay in, and we have worked enormously hard to achieve this. Being recognised by VisitEngland and the tourism industry in this way is just amazing.”

“We try to do the simple things really well,” adds Co-owner Sam Prosser. “Guest comfort, good food and friendly service are our watch words. The location isn't bad either!” Situated just 500 metres from the craggy North Devon and Exmoor coastline and surrounded by National Trust and National Park countryside, often the only sound here is the call of the birds. Repeat business is very high. “We are lucky to have a great many returning customers who automatically become part of our Old Rectorians Club,” smiles Sam. 

Notes to Editors:

• The Old Rectory Hotel www.OldRectoryHotel.co.uk 01598 763363 @HuwOldRectory
• PR Information: Jennette Baxter 07738 643211 pr@baxter1.clara.net

• The Old Rectory Hotel is situated in the tiny hamlet of Martinhoe on Exmoor and has just 11 rooms and suites and a romantic, country-house appeal. One of only 15 hotels in the UK to be awarded a prestigious Michelin Red Pavilion, the Old Rectory Hotel was also named Devon Hotel of the Year 2014 by the Good Hotel Guide, and recently listed number two in The Times top kid-free places to stay in Europe. It regularly wins Traveller's Choice Trip Advisor Awards.

About VisitEngland

VisitEngland is the country's national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors. Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights.  You can access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics on www.visitengland.org/insight-statistics 

• England is a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism.  It represents 84 per cent of the total UK visitor economy, is worth £106 billion, and supports 2.6 million jobs.

• For corporate information see www.visitengland.org and for consumer information see www.visitengland.com.

About the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2014

The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2014 celebrate the best of English tourism. They promote healthy industry competition and high standards, helping to ensure England's place as a world-class destination.www.visitenglandawards.org.

• The 18 categories for the 2014 awards include: Access for All Tourism Award, Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year, Business Tourism Award, Holiday Park / Holiday Village of the Year, Large Hotel of the Year, Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, Self-Catering Holiday Provider of the Year, Small Hotel of the Year, Small Visitor Attraction of the Year, Sustainable Tourism Award, Taste of England Award, Tourism Event of the Year, Tourism Experience of the Year, Tourism Pub of the Year, Visitor Information Provider of the Year.

• Included in the 18 categories are the additional Awards of Tourism Superstar, Travel Article of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Tourism.  The Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award will be announced on the night.  Previous winners of this award have included The Great English Pub, Michael Eavis CBE, HM The Queen, the Harry Potter films, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Sir Paul McCartney, Liverpool, The National Trust, the English Garden and last year the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Makers.