By Angela Green, Content Executive, H&C News: AA Hospitality Award winners 2022 announced.
Returning with an in-person ceremony for the first time in three years, and hosted by TV presenter Gabby Logan, the awards honoured the best hospitality establishments in the UK across twenty-six categories, including AA Restaurant of the Year, AA Hotel of the Year, the newly launched AA Accessible Award, AA Spa Hotel of the Year, AA Wine Award, AA Chefs’ Chef, AA Lifetime Achievement Award and AA Housekeeper of the Year.
Winners included Mark Birchall of Moor Hall as Chef’s Chef, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught as the restaurant with the best service in the UK, and John Williams MBE of The Ritz receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.
New to this year, and sponsored by Blue Access Award, the AA Accessible Award seeks to recognise a hotel that has gone above and beyond in making their property as accessible as possible, while proactively promoting their accessible credentials to consumers. The award not only recognises high quality accessible provision through the physical elements of the property but also, of equal importance, its approach to guests with accessible needs through tailored services, staff training and guest engagement.
The full list of winners of the AA Hospitality Awards 2022 are:
Chefs’ Chef
- Mark Birchall, Chef Patron of Moor Hall, Aughton, Lancashire
Restaurant of the Year
- England – Socius, Burnham Market, Norfolk
- London – Chez Bruce, London SW17
- Wales – Gem 42, Newport
- Scotland – The Cellar, Anstruther, Fife
Hotel of the Year
- England – Grantley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire
- London – Pan Pacific London, London EC3
- Wales – Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol, South Wales
- Scotland – The Balmoral, Edinburgh
- Northern Ireland – The Rabbit Hotel & Retreat, Templepatrick, County Antrim
Restaurant with Rooms
- England – The Angel at Hetton, North Yorkshire
- Wales – Crug Glâs Country House, Solva, Pembrokeshire
- Scotland – The Bonnie Badger, Gullane, East Lothian
Spa Hotel of the Year
- Lime Wood, Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Hotel Group of the Year
- The Pig Group
Small Hotel Group of the Year
- Iconic Luxury Hotels
Accessible Award
- Rudding Park, Harrogate, North Yorkshire
Sustainable Award
- Swinton Estate, Masham, North Yorkshire
Food Service Award
- Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, London W1
Finalists:
- Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London W1
- Lympstone Manor Hotel, Exmouth, Devon
Wine Award
- England – The Vineyard, Newbury, Berkshire
- Wales – The Grove, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
- Scotland – UNALOME by Graeme Cheevers, Glasgow
College Restaurant of the Year
- Senara Restaurant, Truro & Penwith College
Finalists:
- The Brasserie, Milton Keynes College
- The Classroom, Cardiff & Vale College
Lifetime Achievement Award
- John Williams MBE
Outstanding Contribution Award
- Northcote: Obsession, Langho, Lancashire
Housekeeper of the Year
- Diane Payne from Rockliffe Hall in Darlington, County Durham
New 4 Rosettes
- Bohemia Restaurant, St Helier, Jersey
- The Dining Room at Whatley Manor, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
- Edinbane Lodge, Edinbane, Highland
- The Fernery at The Grove, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
- The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Crieff, Perth & Kinross
- Grace & Savour, Solihull, West Midlands
- The Ledbury, London W11
- Ormer Mayfair, London W1
- Social Eating House, London W1
New 3 Rosettes
- Arkle at Chester Grosvenor, Chester, Cheshire
- The Chubby Castor, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
- Coast Restaurant, Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire
- The Dipping Lugger, Ullapool, Highland
- The Dower House Restaurant at the Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, Somerset
- The Flitch of Bacon, Little Dunmow, Essex
- The Great House, Lavenham, Suffolk
- HAAR, St Andrews, Fife
- Hammer & Pincers, Wymeswold, Leicestershire
- The Jackdaw, Conwy
- Langshott Manor, Horley, Surrey
- The Loch & the Tyne by Adam Handling, Old Windsor, Berkshire
- New Yard Restaurant, Helston, Cornwall
- Opheem, Birmingham, West Midlands
- Rafters Restaurant, Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- Restaurant 22, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
- Restaurant 8, Birmingham, West Midlands
- Restaurant Folium, Birmingham, West Midlands
- The Seacliff Restaurant, Sandy Cove Hotel, Ilfracombe, Devon
- The Sir Charles Napier, Chinnor, Oxfordshire
- The Victoria Oxshott, Leatherhead, Surrey
- White Swan at Fence, Burnley, Lancashire
New 5 Red Stars
- Cameron House on Loch Lomond, Balloch, West Dunbartonshire
- The Grove, Narberth, Pembrokeshire
New 4 Red Stars
- Bowood Hotel, Golf & Spa, Calne, Wiltshire
- Congham Hall Hotel and Spa, Grimston, Norfolk
- Homewood, Bath, Somerset
- Rothay Manor Hotel, Ambleside, Cumbria
- Storrs Hall, Windermere, Cumbria
New 3 Red Stars
- The Bildeston Crown, Bildeston, Suffolk
- Glewstone Court Country House, Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire
- The Pig in the South Downs, Arundel, West Sussex
