The award winners will be announced in an award ceremony at Cheltenham Racecourse on Monday 12 May, and each finalist is guaranteed to receive one of a gold, silver, bronze or highly commended in their category.
The best hotels, pubs and restaurants
The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence are judged by a board of tourism industry experts. The list of finalists contains some of the finest in the hospitality industry with awards including both Large and Small Hotel of the Year and Tourism Pub of the Year.
Chief Executive of VisitEngland James Berresford said: “I would like to congratulate all those nominated as VisitEngland Awards for Excellence finalists this year. We receive hundreds of applications each year of an extremely high standard, so it is a tremendous achievement for any business to become a finalist.
“Each finalist is already a winner and can take justifiable pride and credit in earning a coveted place in the top five in their category in England, and in the contribution they make to an industry worth £106bn to the economy, supporting 2.6 million jobs. I wish all our finalists the very best of luck for the awards ceremony in May.”
The award for England’s Tourism Superstar 2014, which is chosen by public vote, will also be presented at the ceremony. This award is for an unsung tourism hero who goes beyond the call of duty to make visitors feel welcome while being an ambassador for their local area. The 2014 winner is Buzby Allen, an entertainer from Potters Resort in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk.
English Tourism Week
The Excellence Awards finalist announcement comes during English Tourism Week, which is running from the 29 March to 6 April and is intended to highlight the importance of tourism to the country.
Earlier this week, VisitEngland released data from the Office for National Statistics which showed tourism to be the major driver of jobs in the UK since the recession, with many of these jobs being in the hospitality industry.
The statistics show that between September 2009 and September 2013 the number of people working in tourism industries in England rose by six per cent, while the number of people working in other industries grew by just three per cent.
Hospitality category finalists in the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2014
Large Hotel of the Year
- Burleigh Court, Loughborough, Leicestershire
- Ellenborough Park, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
- Hope Street Hotel, Liverpool, Merseyside
- Peckforton Castle Hotel, Tarporley, Cheshire
- Rockliffe Hall, Darlington, County Durham
Small Hotel of the Year
- Brockencote Hall Hotel, Kidderminster, Worcestershire
- Hell Bay Hotel, Bryher, Isles of Scilly
- Rothay Garden, Ambleside, Cumbria
- Swinton Park, Ripon, North Yorkshire
- The Old Rectory Hotel, Martinhoe, Devon
Sustainable Tourism Award
- Bleasdale Cottages, Preston, Lancashire
- Colton House, Rugeley, Staffordshire
- Killhope Museum, Cowshill, County Durham
- Little White Alice, Redruth, Cornwall
- Newlands Adventure Centre, Keswick, Cumbria
Taste of England Award
- 1884 Dock Street Kitchen, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire
- Delifonseca Dockside, Liverpool, Merseyside
- Eckington Manor, Eckington, Worcestershire
- River Cottage Canteen & Deli Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon
- The Parkers Arms, Clitheroe, Lancashire
Bed & Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year
- Browns, Holbeck, Yorkshire
- Eckington Manor, Eckington, Worcestershire
- Kester House Bed & Breakfast, Sedlescombe, East Sussex
- Low Mill Guest House, Leyburn, Yorkshire
- St Cuthbert’s House, North Sunderland, Northumberland
Tourism Pub of the Year
- Pandora Inn, Falmouth, Cornwall
- South Causey Inn, Stanley, County Durham
- The Feathered Nest Country Inn, Nether Westcote, Oxfordshire
- The Horse and Jockey, Manton, Manton, East Midlands
- Watermill Inn & Brewery, Kendal, Cumbria