Swinton Park wins Hotel of the Year at White Rose Awards 2009

Swinton Park is celebrating its success at the White Rose Awards, held on 19th October 2009. The awards were organised by the tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, and over 800 guests attended the event at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, for the presentation of the tourism "Oscars" for the region.

The hotel was awarded Hotel of the Year 2009 in the category of Hotels 50 bedrooms and under, having demonstrated the highest commitment to excellence, both in customer care, accommodation and dining, and also to staff training and marketing. Swinton Park was also Highly Commended as one of the nominees for the Sustainability Award.

"We are thrilled to have achieved this accolade", commented owner Felicity Cunliffe-Lister, "the whole team at Swinton Park have worked particularly hard this year to maintain standards in the face of some very challenging times, and I am very proud of them."

The hotel will now be put forward for the national Enjoy England Awards, which Swinton Park previously won in 2004.

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Press enquiries : Felicity Cunliffe-Lister : 01765 680944 : felicity@swintonpark.com

Notes for the Editor :

1. Swinton Park is a luxury 4 star castle hotel set in 200 acres of parkland in the Yorkshire Dales, a mile outside the charming market and brewery town of Masham
2. The castle was sold by the Cunliffe-Lister family in the 1970’s and then bought back by them in 2000, and converted into a 30 bedroom hotel, opening in 2001.
3. Facilities include a cookery school (with residential courses run by celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager), spa and country pursuits including golf, fishing and a Bird of Prey centre
4. The hotel has invested in energy saving measures such as a wood-chip boiler to replace its oil burners, an eco laundry, and restoring its four acre walled garden to supply the hotel and cookery school with seasonal produce and flowers throughout the year