Herald Express (Torbay, Brixham & South Hams Edition)
SPOTLIGHT ON AWARDS FINALISTS
These are the hotels vying for Devon tourism honours
THE clock is ticking as we prepare for the glittering final awards night for the 2018 Herald Express South Devon Tourism and Hospitality Awards.
The judges are busy working their way through all the entries in a variety of categories, aimed at celebrating the success of our local tourism sector.
Our Associate Editor Jim Parker and BBC Spotlight’s Victoria Graham will host the awards at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay on November 29.
Guest speaker on the night will be Hilary Bradt MBE, the founder and director of Bradt Travel Guides, the award-winning publisher which has been championing unusual destinations since 1974.
More recently the company has started to cover much of Britain with a series of Slow guides which have become the fastest-growing series of local guide books in the UK.
Hilary is the author and co-author of three Devon guides, insisting that such a beautiful county deserved to be divided into regions.
Hilary was awarded a MBE in 2008 for services to tourism and charity. She lives in Seaton.
Readers can vote for the Tourism Event or Festival of the Year by going to hetourismawards.co.uk and choose from BrixFest, Brixham Pirate Festival, Cockington Court – Apple Day, Cofton Holidays – American Classic Car Show, Fishstock Brixham, Sea Change Festival or Torbay Airshow.
Here are the contenders for Small Boutique Hotel and Guest Accommodation:
The Cary Arms & Spa Inn on the Beach exudes charm, fun and all the values of a good English inn with the style and comfort of a boutique hotel. Offering residents the choice of dining in the traditional inn, the sea view conservatory, the Captain’s Table or the Pod, an individual glass sphere set on the side terrace with panoramic sea views, the Cary Arms & Spa aspires to represent Devon Tourism at its best and are proud of what it does and the local area.
Orestone Manor Hotel is an independent family-run classic country house hotel. The magnificent Georgian manor house is in the pretty South Devon coastal village of Maidencombe, with spectacular sea views over Lyme Bay and beyond. The award-winning res-
taurant has a warm and inviting ambience with views to the countryside. Their chefs have created wonderful menus with the finest local meats, freshly caught Brixham fish and vegetable produce, some of which has been grown in the hotel gardens. Orestone Manor is renowned for relaxed, efficient and yet unobtrusive service.
The D owns, Babbacombe has been offering serviced accommodation since before the Second World War and is located on the seafront of Babbacombe, 1.9 miles from the main harbour area of Torquay. It benefits from 12 en-suite bedrooms, a fully licensed bar lounge and restaurant and has eight balcony rooms with breath-taking panoramic sea views over Lyme Bay. The Downs, Babbacombe is owned by Kate andEd Wood, who purchased the lovely old house in June 2007.
Here are the contenders for Hotel of the Year, a category sponsored by Bays Brewery
The Belgrave Sands Hotel and Spa opened in November 2016 after an £2.5 million refurbishment that took place over 18 months. In the subsequent months, it soon became the highest rated four-star hotel in Torbay, and is currently the seventh most highly rated hotel in Torquay on TripAdvisor.
It has 50 elegantly furnished bedrooms, an AA Rosette restaurant, a lounge area serving food and drinks throughout the day and a beautifully refurbished spa. In the evenings, the team of talented chefs serve a six-course evening meal in Seasons Restaurant for residents and non-residents, using fresh local produce with all food cooked to order.
The Berry Head Hotel at Brixham is set in a superb waterside position enjoying spec- tacular views of the English Riviera. Surrounded by six acres of grounds in the seclusion of the Berry Head Country Park, yet only a short walk from the picturesque fishing port of Brixham.
This elegant three-star South Devon hotel has a range of facilities to cater for conferences as well as weddings and private functions.
Bovey Castle, part of the Eden Hotel Collection, has recently undergone major refurbishment with over £10 million being spent. The luxury hotel and resort is set in 275 acres of Dartmoor National Park and comprises 60 bedrooms and 22 luxury lodges which offer a high-end country escape for guests. At Bovey Castle the team aims to provide a memorable experience to each guest in luxurious, yet unpretentious, surroundings where customer care comes first.