The winners of the Enjoy Staffordshire Tourism & Good Food Awards 2023 have been announced with the National Memorial Arboretum picking up a hat trick of honours.
Over 40 of the region’s best tourism and hospitality businesses were shortlisted for the awards and winners for all 20 categories were announced at a black-tie ceremony at Doubletree by Hilton Stoke-on-Trent last night, Thursday.
The winners were:
- Accessible & Inclusive Tourism Award – Alton Towers Resort
- B&B/Guest House of the Year – Black Lion Inn, Butterton, Leek
- Business Events Venue of the Year – Aspects at The National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas
- Camping, Glamping & Holiday Park of the Year, sponsored by Hoseasons – Quarry Walk Park, near Cheadle
- Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year – Duck Goose, Leek
- Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award, sponsored by Staffordshire Environmental Quality Mark – Alton Towers Resort
- Experience of the Year, sponsored by Blue Sky Radio – Tailor Made Tour, National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas
- Food & Drink Retailer/Farm Shop of the Year – Denstone Hall Farm Shop, near Uttoxeter
- Graeme Whitehead Award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism in Staffordshire – Colin Sweeney, CEO of Weston Park, Weston-under-Lizard
- Independent Restaurant of the Year – Lunar, Barlaston
- Large Hotel of the Year – The Tawny Hotel, Consall, near Leek
- Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, sponsored by Pear Marketing UK – National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas
- New Tourism Business Award, sponsored by Simpleview – Lunar, Barlaston
- Pub of the Year – The Duncombe Arms, Ellastone
- Resilience & Innovation Award, sponsored by Service Science Ltd – The Stones Market, Newcastle-under-Lyme
- Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year, sponsored by cottages.com – Weston Park Holiday Cottages, Weston-under-Lizard
- Small Hotel of the Year – Walnut House at The Duncombe Arms, Ellastone
- Small Visitor Attraction of the Year, sponsored by R H Advertising Ltd – Play@ Lower Drayton Farm, Penkridge
- Tea Room & Coffee Shop of the Year – Pom’s Kitchen & Deli, Lichfield
- Unsung Hero, sponsored by We Are Staffordshire – Carol Adams from Trentham Estate
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. 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.”
Over 95 entries from all over the county were received for the awards.
To find out who else was shortlisted and took home Silver, Bronze and Highly Commended titles, click here.
Many of the ‘Gold’ winners will now progress to represent Staffordshire at the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in June.
For another chance to profile your business and enjoy the benefits of an award win, businesses can submit a free entry for the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce Business Awards before the deadline on 31 March, here.
Congratulations to all the winners and participants. It’s so good to see our Staffordshire Tourism industry being recognised for their excellence and innovation. There are numerous venues here that I hadn’t known about and I look forward to getting to know them.