Nottinghamshire’s thriving tourism and hospitality sector celebrated in glamorous, high-profile awards ceremony

On Thursday 24 October, the highly anticipated Nottinghamshire Hospitality STARS Awards took place at the Crowne Plaza in Nottingham, celebrating the achievements of Nottinghamshire’s thriving tourism and hospitality sector, which employs over 23,000 people and is worth more than £1.9bn.

Back by popular demand, the awards were organised by Visit Nottinghamshire, the city and county’s official tourism body, and produced in affiliation with the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

The event was hosted by TV and Radio Presenter Iain Chambers and welcomed high-profile guests including William Smart, Programmes Manager at VisitEngland, Sara Blair-Manning, the Chief Executive of the Nottingham Castle Trust, and Patience Ifediora, the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The glamorous black-tie event offered guests an excellent opportunity for networking, publicity and inspiration. Attendees included the shortlisted businesses from each of the 15 awards categories, many of which came out in force, with large numbers of their employees present to celebrate their achievements and enjoy the evening together.

Winners of each category received a trophy and can now expect invaluable press and promotional opportunities for their business as they are able to announce the prestigious accolades and titles – such as Large Visitor Attraction of the Year - that they have gained. Additionally, 13 out of 15 Nottinghamshire winners will be put forward to compete against the best of the best in the country in the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence taking place in June 2020.

The event generated plenty of excitement on social media as the attendees enthusiastically shared photographs, wished each other good luck ahead of the announcements and congratulated the winners, including those who had beaten them in their own categories - contributing to the warm and positive atmosphere at the event.

Stephen Jackson, interim Chief Executive at Marketing NG, said:

“As the official destination marketing organisation for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, we were delighted to have this opportunity to showcase the quality of our amazing tourism and hospitality businesses. The Marketing NG team worked incredibly hard to make this event such a huge success and it was wonderful to be able to work with VisitEngland to celebrate the achievements of our thriving tourism industry, which grew by almost 5% over the last year. Recent data tells us that not only that Nottinghamshire is attracting more visitors year on year, but the average spend per visitor has increased too – meaning that there are plenty of reasons for the industry to celebrate.”

Congratulations to all of the 15 winners and 5 highly commended:

1. Bed & Breakfast of the Year – Bridleways

2. Camping, Glamping, Holiday Park & Self-Catering Accommodation of the Year – Sherwood Hideaway

3. New Tourism Business – Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre

4. Business Events Venue of the Year – NTU Events and Conferencing

5. Pub of the Year – Das Kino

6. Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award – Nottingham Playhouse

7. Ethical, Responsible and Sustainable Tourism Award – Castle Rock Brewery

8. Experience of the Year – Ezekial Bone for the Robin Hood Town Tour

9. Taste of Nottinghamshire – Restaurant Six at Trent Bridge

10. Small Visitor Attraction of the Year – The National Holocaust Centre and Museum

11. Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Creswell Crags

12. Small Hotel of the Year – Hart’s Hotel

13. Large Hotel of the Year – De Vere Orchard Hotel

14. Rising Star: Front of House – Sophie Robey (Jurys Inn)

15. Rising Star: Unsung Hero – Igor Chabros (Park Plaza)

Highly commended:

Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall – for ambitious targets around accessibility and inclusivity

D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum – for work on enhancing visitor experience

De Vere Orchard Hotel – for sustainability - in house eco green committee

The National Holocaust Centre and Museum - for ‘The Journey’ exhibition

Cockliffe Country House Hotel - for sustainability – plans for a Kitchen Garden