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The Chester Residence, a collection of 5-star Georgian townhouses in Edinburgh’s West End, took the top prize at the Scottish Hotel Awards, attended by 500 guests at a gala dinner in Glasgow.
Owned by Graham Wood (pictured holding the trophy with the Chester Residence team at the awards), its 23 ‘homes’ have their own front door and kitchen as well as central hotel facilities. Dining options include booking a chef or a mixologist to prepare cocktails.
“Guest feedback was rich with detail of how staff service led the way at the Chester Residence and this was mirrored in feedback from our reviewers,” said Gary McLean Quin, chairman of the awards’ judges.
The other shortlisted finalists were the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh, CitizenM and Grand Central hotels in Glasgow, the Malmaison in Aberdeen, Meldrum House in Aberdeenshire, Greywalls at Gullane in East Lothian and Hotel Missoni in Edinburgh.
Laurie Nicol, general manager of Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel, was named Manager of the Year. The Grand Central, opened in 2010 after a £20 million refurbishment, also won the Hotel Team of the Year Award. The Senior Manager fellowship went to Mark Gallagher of the Thistle Glasgow.
The Road Hole Grill at the Old Course Hotel, St Andrews, was voted Hotel Restaurant of the Year and Hotel Chef of the Year went to 39-year-old John Paul McLachlan who opened his signature restaurant at the 83-bedroom Macdonald Marine Hotel, North Berwick, in 2011.
Hotelier of the Year was Steven McLeod, head of the Aurora group, which recently added Cairn Lodge, Auchterarder, to its collection. Hotel Management Group of the Year was Inverlochy Castle Management International (ICMI) and the Atholl took the Luxury Hotel title.
ICMI’s chief executive, Norbert Lieder, was given the highest individual honour – the Awards’ Fellowship.
Gary McLean Quin added: “These awards have a unique approach: each single hotel, guest house and serviced apartment provider is looked at individually and in depth in order that our team can encourage, motivate and reward excellence. We often work with businesses to develop improvements.
“Hotels are, in turn, also carefully and expertly compared on a national level to create a specific, accurate guide for guests.”
Other Awards included; Conference Hotel of the Year, which went to The Beardmore, Clydebank; Wedding Hotel, awarded to Balbirnie House, Markinch; Reception Team, which went to the Hilton Garden Inn, Aberdeen and Louise Doig of the George Hotel, Edinburgh was awarded the Housekeeper accolade.
