Tourism and hospitality businesses from Bath will battle it out with rivals from across the region in the prestigious South West England Tourism Excellence Awards next month.
Reflecting its importance to the region’s tourism sector, Bath is represented in nine of the 27 categories in the awards. City venues and attractions have swept the board in previous years’ awards, going on in a number of cases to also win at national level.
The Roman Baths, pictured below, and Pump Room – both owned by Bath & North East Somerset Council – have been shortlisted in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism and Wedding Venue of the Year categories, reflecting their bounce back from the impact of the pandemic lockdowns when they were forced to close.
Two luxury hotels close to Bath go head to head in the Large Hotel Of The Year category.
The four-star Bowood Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort based on the 2,000-acre Bowood Estate near Chippenham, lines up against The Manor House at Castle Combe, which is based in a 14th-century building set in 365 acres of secluded parkland also near Chippenham.
The Bishopstrow Hotel & Spa, the 32-bedroom historic Georgian country house near Warminster, is competing for the Small Hotel of the Year while in the Spa & Wellbeing Experience of the Year category The Reconnect Retreat at Lucknam Park, the serial award-winning 42-bedroom luxury hotel at Colerne, is among the three-strong shortlist.
The spa at No.15 by GuestHouse, Bath – no stranger to winning awards since it opened three years ago on Great Pulteney Street – is commended in the Spa & Wellbeing category so cannot claim victory this time. However, it can consul itself by being up a contender for the Restaurant of the Year Award.
The Castle Inn in Castle Combe is shortlisted in the Pub Of The Year category.
Other Bath finalists are Corkage, the independent wine bar, which is competing for the Casual Dining title, while Newton St Loe-based West of England Falconry’s Hawk Walk & Owl Encounter is hoping for success in the Experience of the Year category.
The winners will be announced on Thursday 23 March at a ceremony at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
A total of 482 entries from across Bath, Bristol, Somerset, Cornwall, Dorset and Devon were submitted for the awards,
Bath & North East Somerset Council leader Cllr Kevin Guy said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for these two prestigious awards. The Roman Baths is one of the finest ancient sites in Northern Europe, and it is wonderful to see this recognition on a regional and national level.
“2022 was a fantastic year for the Roman Baths, when we were ranked 1st in Britain and 8th world-wide in Tripadvisor’s ‘Best of the Best Things to Do,’ and, at the Bath, Bristol and Somerset Tourism Awards, won the Gold Award for Wedding Venue of the Year and Bronze for both the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award and the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award.
Photo of the Roman Baths’ Great Bath by Anna Barclay
