Enjoy England for Excellence 2008
In case it passed you by, yesterday was St. George’s Day. And I’m sure it was no co-incidence that the presentation of the Enjoy England for Excellence 2008 awards was celebrated on the same day. For the first time, the event was held outside London, with the organisers preferring to opt for the European Capital of Culture, Liverpool. Fittingly, it was held at St. George’s Hall. Here’s a round-up of the winners:
Gold Awards
Large Hotel of the Year
Chewton Glen Hotel, Hampshire
Self-Catering Holiday of the Year
Mill Granary Cottage, Lower Teesdale
Stone Cottage, Lake District
Tourism Website of the Year
Philharmonic Hall, London
Small Hotel of the Year
Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel, Yorkshire Dales
Meet England Business Tourism Award
Emirates Stadium, London
Caravan Holiday Park of the Year
Poston Mill Park, Herefordshire
Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year
Salty Monk Restaurant with Rooms, Devon
Sustainable Tourism Award
Cottage Lodge, New Forest
Strattons Hotel, Norfolk
Taste of England Award
Fifteen Cornwall
Tourism Information Centre of the Year
Liverpool 08 Place
Best Tourism Experience of the Year
Sunderland International Airshow
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Buckinhamshire
Outstanding Customer Service Award
David Pollard of Falmouth Ambassador Ltd.
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Consumer Voted Award – Best Day Out
Whitby, North Yorkshire
Silver Awards
Large Hotel of the Year
Radisson Edwardian Manchester
The Dorchester, London
Self-Catering Holiday of the Year
Compton Pool Farm, Devon
Tourism Website of the Year
Pennywell Farm, Devon
Small Hotel of the Year
Combe House Hotel, Somerset
Hillbark Hotel, Wirral
Meet England Business Tourism Award
Manchester Central
Heritage Motor Centre, Warwickshire
Caravan Holiday Park of the Year
Seafield Caravan Park, Northumberland
Sunset Park, Near Blackpool
Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year
Boltongate Old Rectory, Lake District
The Old Manse, Northumberland
Clow Beck House, County Durham
Sustainable Tourism Award
Fern Cottage Bed and Breakfast, Gloucestershire
Taste of England Award
The Old Bakery, Lincoln
Tourism Information Centre of the Year
Nottingham Tourism Centre
Brighton Visitor Centre
Best Tourism Experience of the Year
Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival
Castle Howard, York
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
Rockingham Castle, Leicestershire
Forde Abbey and Gardens, Somerset
Outstanding Customer Service Award
Mick Logg of Xscape, West Yorkshire
The Executive Team at the London Marriott West India Quay
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Tullie House Museum, Carlisle
Richard Hammond (I assume the one of Top Gear fame?) has a piece in today’s Guardian newspaper on the winners of the sustainability awards.
[…] A Luxury Travel Blog: Take a peek of England’s Excellence 2008 […]
How is Liverpool the European capital of Culture? There are much nicer cities in Europe than there.
Holiday James,
It is a long time since you asked why Liverpool was a European Capital of Culture and nobody has responded. The answer is that it is not related to how pretty a city is (although Liverpool being a waterfront port city it is not exactly ugly).
The term is capital of Culture and Liverpool excels here producing the bands from the Beatles to the Wombats, playwrights like Willy Russell, Alan Bleasdale. It is also home to some excellent Art Galleries including the Tate Liverpool.
I agree, John.
Glasgow was the European City of Culture back in 1990. People often think of the Gorbals and slums when they think of Glasgow, but that’s history.
Glasgow has a lot going for it. One of my favourite attractions is the Burrell Collection. That’s definitely worth a visit.
Got to agree Kay – Glasgow was very worthy of it’s cultural status with so many museums (Burrell, Lighthouse, Kelvingrove to name a few), theatres, festivals (Comedy, Celtic Connections), sport, and many attractions. It has a healthy cultural legacy and is a friendly city great for its shopping, restaurants and nightlife. I may be biased but you’ve got to love your home city!
I had no idea there was a Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinhamshire, will have to look that up, it’s funny how you can never visit the places that are just around the corner!