Hotel celebrates hospitality award

Hotel celebrates hospitality award

2 October 2013

NEWCASTLE’S Slieve Donard Resort and Spa is celebrating after being crowned the best provider of Irish hospitality.

The hotel received the accolade at the glittering Hotel and Catering Review Gold Medal Awards ceremony in Dublin this week.

Judged by industry experts, the independent awards recognise and reward excellence in hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, spas, clubs and catering operations across Ireland.

The four-star resort, part of Hastings Hotels, won the Gold Medal Award for Four Star Hotels and was then awarded the overall winner with the Hotel and Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2013.

Howard Hastings, Managing Director of Hastings Hotels, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won two prestigious awards including the

Gold Medal Award for Excellence which is the highest honour in Ireland’s hospitality industry.

“We are the first hotel in Northern Ireland to have been bestowed this honour, which is not only a fantastic testament to the hard work and dedication of all the staff at the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa, but a tribute to the shining star that is the Northern Ireland tourism industry, which has had an incredible time, especially over the last couple of years.”

Stephen Meldrum, General Manager of the Slieve Donard, added: “This is a fantastic achievement for the Slieve Donard Resort and Spa and I would like to thank the whole team for ensuring we provide visitors from around the

world with a first class service and an enjoyable stay which has helped us win these awards tonight.”

Janice Gault, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation, said it was great to see local hotels winning such prestigious awards.

“The Hastings Hotels group has invested heavily in their properties over the years and it is good to see the company get recognition for their commitment to the Slieve Donard,” she said. “The hotel has been transformed in recent years with the addition of a superb spa and new bedroom stock. To win the overall award for excellence and the four star category is a great accolade.”

Now in its 25th year, The Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards draw entries from hundreds of hotels, restaurants, guesthouses, spas, clubs and catering businesses from across Ireland, and each entrant is rigorously assessed by members of the Gold Medal Awards jury.