Red Carnation Hotels is delighted to announce they have just been awarded one star in the Best Companies Accreditation Awards 2009.

These awards have been established to identify the very best companies to work for in the UK. They acknowledge excellence in the workplace and accreditation certifies that the company is doing a great job of focussing on workplace engagement as an integral component its success and growth.

"Our core value is exceptional customer service," comments Jonathan Raggett, Managing Director of Red Carnation Hotels, "and we can only deliver that if our staff are truly passionate about working with us to deliver that. This award is a terrific endorsement of the whole Red Carnation team - it's one thing to say the management takes workplace engagement seriously, but the real litmus test is what the staff themselves say."

This 'Michelin style', elite accreditation system recognises organisations by 'Star Status'. One star is acknowledged as first class, two stars as outstanding and three stars as extraordinary. Only 55 companies in the entire UK were awarded three stars, only 150 were awarded two stars, and only 209 were awarded one star, so on this measure few organisations do a better job of creating an exceptional workplace than Red Carnation Hotels.

The rating is arrived at through a rigorous process which relies heavily on feedback from the staff themselves to identify workplace performance and best practice against eight key factors:

Leadership - how employees feel about the head of the organisation, senior managers, and the company's values and principles My Manager - how employees feel about and communicate with their direct manager Personal Growth - what employees feel about training and their future prospects Wellbeing - how employees feel about stress, pressure at work, and work life balance My Team - employees feelings towards their immediate colleagues and how well they work together Giving Something Back - the extent to which employees feel their organisation has a positive impact on society My Company - the level of engagement employees have for their job and organisation Fair Deal - how happy employees are with their pay and benefitsEvery company that goes for Best Companies Accreditation is given a Best Companies Index score (BCI). This score (on a scale of 1 to 1000) is defined from employee's responses to questions within the Best Companies survey and determines their star rating.

"This is a great achievement," concludes Jonathan Raggett, "but we can do even better - it gives us something to aim for over the coming twelve months."

RED CARNATION is a boutique collection of 5 and 4 star family run hotels. LONDON: The Milestone Hotel, overlooking Kensington Palace; "41", overlooking Buckingham Palace's Royal Mews; The Egerton House Hotel, in Knightsbridge;The Rubens at the Palace, opposite Buckingham Palace; The Montague on the Gardens, adjacent to the British Museum; The Chesterfield Mayfair, in the heart of Mayfair DORSET: Summer Lodge Country House Hotel, Restaurant & Spa, Evershot GUERNSEY: The Old Government House Hotel & Spa, Channel Islands GENEVA: Hotel d'Angleterre, overlooking Lake Geneva, Switzerland PALM BEACH: The Chesterfield Palm Beach, Florida SOUTH AFRICA: The Twelve Apostles Hotel & Spa, Cape Town, Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Retreat, in the heart of the Cederberg Mountains in the Western Cape.

Contact Arnelle Kendall at: USA: (561) 659-2174 UK: 0791 770 8666 E-mail: akendall@rchmail.com