Off to the oscars of cornish tourism
Ruby Abbott & Jack Philp - Silver for Restaurant of the Year
Newly Appointed Restaurant Manager & Assistant Restaurant Manager
Kyra Selene-Smith & Penelope Otham - Gold for Small Hotel of the Year
Deputy General Manager & Artist in Residence
Have you ever wondered how the Cornish Celebrate?
Well, on Thursday 7th November, 5 members of our team had the chance to experience this year’s Cornwall Tourism awards, an awards ceremony for the best hotels in Cornwall, Best Restaurants, the best attractions & all things tourism for Cornwall. Over 500 people attended representing of the best of the best, suppliers, sponsors & people within the sector. Not only did we have a brilliant time but it was great to be alongside like minded individuals ready to celebrate our success, as well as their competitor’s success.
As I’m sure you can all imagine, us Cornish like a drink just as much as the rest of the UK & this year arrival drinks did not disappoint, Sponsor Knightor Winery provided their very own Vermouth, accompanied with soda, we also had Loveday Gin Distillery who provided their Gin, with grapefruit & rosemary to garnish & tonic to accompany. Finally there was St Ives Brewery Serving their Slipway Ale & Helles Lager. It was a consensus within our attending team that these were all very delicious & highly recommended if you have the chance to try them! We actually stock the majority of items being served, which was a nice suprise!
We were then seated at our table ready for the celebrations. The nights entertainment was the fantastic Mimi Attenburrow, who came along prepared with comedy gold. Our Restaurant Manager & Assistant Restaurant Manager Ruby & Jack were running a little late and being the last to enter & sit down this resulted in the spotlight being on them! Lots of laughs among the attendees, some of them being: Housel Bay Hotel, Tregoad Holiday Park, Trelay Hideaway Holiday Park, Lydcott Glamping, Fowey Hall Hotel, The Minack Theatre, National Trust Lanhyrock, The Great Estate Festival & many more!!
As the awards is a lovely night to get together, it is also a good time for the team to get to know each other outside of the norm! So the 5 attendees had lots to discuss, catch up on & overall, have a nice time out! They were treated to a two course feast, which they enjoyed throughout the evening & the lead up to the awards. The Best Restaurant Award was up first, sponsored by Knight Winery, although it being number 18 on the list! And even though we came away with Silver, it is still such an achievement for Ruby & Jack who joined the team in February of this year!
Next up was Small Hotel of the Year & as we came away with Silver for Restaurant, we were a little nervous that a double Silver would be coming home with us & then it happened! After 6 years, we were awarded Gold! Sponsored by PKF Francis Clark. Kyra & Penny were over joyed! You can see a sneakpeak in the footage below. Penny pumping the air with such force! You can see how much the award means to the team. To be recognised as The Best Hotel in Cornwall puts all that hardwork into the forefront & makes all the sacrifice worth it! The team even video called the hotel to inform them as soon as the Gold was awarded!
Robin Baker, the chap behind all the awards organisation stated “It’s always fabulous to celebrate the very best in Cornish tourism. Businesses that whatever the challenge continue to keep Cornwall at the fore in terms of service, innovation, accessibility and sustainability. Congratulations to each and every winner.”
All in all, a fantastic night out & about. Meeting people, suppliers & making valuable connections. And to come away as a Winner makes it even better! But hats off to the team. Great people, make great times & great times are far & few between at the moment.
So if you want to stay in The Best Small Hotel in Cornwall, then book a stay, book an afternoon tea & enjoy the adventure! We go ‘Beyond The Obvious’, maybe you can too.
