Discover all the winners from the AA Hospitality Awards 2024
Recognising excellence
Each year, we recognise the best hotels and restaurants in the UK. Hosted by TV presenter Angellica Bell, the 2024 event was held at Grosvenor House in London on 23 September 2024.
Congratulations to all the 2024 winners on their amazing achievements. Now, here are the UK's top chefs, restaurants and hotels.
AA Chefs' Chef
Tom Aikens
Chef/patron at Muse, Belgravia, London
After leaving college in 1989, Tom apprenticed at Cavalier’s, the Capital Hotel, La Tante Claire and Pied à Terre. After time at restaurants in Paris and Reims, he returned to the UK, becoming head chef at Pied à Terre and then at La Tante Claire. Tom Aikens in Chelsea opened in 2003, achieving 5 AA Rosettes in 2008. During that time he opened Tom's Kitchen, a number of brasserie style restaurants. In 2020, he opened Muse in Belgravia which, in 2023, also gained 5 AA Rosettes.
Tom has restaurants in four different countries, three cookery books to his name, is a TV regular, and supports several charities. Cooking at the highest level since the age of 26, he is clearly one of the very best UK chefs, so it's no surprise his peers have voted him as the AA Chefs' Chef for 2024.
AA Restaurants of the Year
England
The Greyhound, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
London
The Silver Birch, London
Wales
Thomas by Tom Simmons, Cardiff
Scotland
AA Hotels of the Year
England
Down Hall Hotel & Spa, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
London
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
AA Restaurants with Rooms of the Year
Mingary Castle, Kilchoan, Highland
Finalists
The Checkers, Montgomery, Powys
AA Spa Hotel of the Year
Carden Park Hotel, Chester, Cheshire
In 2019, Carden Park added a standalone spa in its grounds. It fuses luxury and holistic wellbeing with the latest in contemporary design and facilities, all in natural surroundings. A two-storey building with a wide range of pools and thermal facilities, it's in a 2,500 square metre spa garden.
Visitors can spend the day at the spa, or enjoy it as part of a longer hotel stay. Treatments have also been considered; enjoy a facial, a massage, a manicure or a pedicure, then take a dip in one of the pools or thermal baths. There's also a state-of-the-art gym, and a dedicated spa restaurant.
Small Hotel Group of the Year
Owned by IT Entrepreneur Sir Peter Rigby, the six Eden Hotels focus on quality in excellent locations. The group doesn’t operate as a big company, and its strength is in the individual nature of the hotels and the care and attention which come from a personal ownership and a group of highly capable, dedicated professionals. Team spirit is important which means that staff retention is excellent.
MD Mark Chambers aims to improve standards across the group to ensure that all guests experience the same high quality of service and care. They also currently recycle 100% of their waste.
Group of the Year
Red Carnation’s aim is to provide exceptional, memorable hospitality by meeting and exceeding guest expectations, thus creating hotels that guests refer to as a "home away from home". This achievement is borne out by the regular awarding of AA Red Stars and Rosettes. The group is predominantly London based, with six hotels in the capital. There are other UK properties in Dorset and on Guernsey. 100 Princess Street in Edinburgh has just opened its doors and there are two more hotels in County Mayo in Ireland.
Chief Executive Jonathan Raggett has overseen huge investment in both the properties and the team, who provide consistent, warm hospitality. Sustainability is also a passion, and the group has achieved much already, with more being done to become carbon neutral across all hotels.
College Restaurant of the Year
Senara, Penzance, Cornwall
Finalists
The Classroom, Cardiff
Spires, Penzance, Cornwall
Lifetime Achievement Award
Adrian Ellis MI FIH
Adrian has spent his life in hospitality with a career spanning over 40 years and many countries. His contribution has been not only to the hotel community but also to wider initiatives, including the improvement of links between schools and industry through the Hotelier’s Charter. After stints at hotels in Singapore, Budapest, Azerbaijan and Bali, he returned to Manchester in 2015, to lead the Lowry, ensuring it remains the best in the city.
Along with several charity roles he is Chair of the Manchester Hoteliers Association. The schools programme he pioneered links hotels with schools to promote hospitality as a career of choice. Its success has led to the creation of Hospitality Connect, which will form a big part of Adrian’s new chapter following his retirement from the Lowry in June 2024.
Outstanding Contribution Award
Sue Williams MI
A well respected hotelier, Sue Williams has run some truly iconic UK hotels including Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Bath Priory, Sydney House, Gidleigh Park and Cliveden House. At the same time she has been a leading pioneer for sustainability in hotels, setting benchmarks and generally being an inspiration. Her passion for sustainability led Sue to give up her most recent GM role, at Whatley Manor, to pursue a consultancy role.
Sue was named Hotelier of the Year in 2018 and in 2021 Whatley got a Catey for sustainability. Sue is an outstanding hotelier and a pioneer for sustainable hospitality. She is a respected voice and role model for sustainable best practice.
Housekeeper of the Year
Paula Seddon, Crow Wood Hotel and Spa Resort, Burnley, Lancashire
Paula has worked in the housekeeping department for some 40 years, the latest five as Head Housekeeper at Crow Wood. During this time her commitment has driven high standards through training and team development. The well-being of her team is at the core of operations, from promoting flexible working patterns and creating personal development plans, to organising social events.
Sustainability is also a key driver at Crow Wood, where Paula and her team have implemented many initiatives over recent years. On top of her duties Paula is also a volunteer at North West and Manchester UK Housekeepers Association where she actively promotes membership.
New 4 Red Star hotels
Farlam Hall Hotel & Restaurant, Brampton, Cumbria
Douneside House, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire
The Angel Hotel, Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk
Lygon Arms Hotel, Broadway, Worcestershire
Nutfield Priory Hotel & Spa, Redhill, Surrey
New 3 Red Star hotels
New AA Rosette awards
Congratulations to all the new 3, 4 and 5 AA Rosette restaurants.
New 5 AA Rosettes
The Angel at Hetton, Skipton, North Yorkshire
Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park, Ascot, Berkshire
New 3 AA Rosettes
The Flintlock at Cheddleton, Cheddleton, Staffordshire
The Old Deanery, Ripon, North Yorkshire
Pignut, Helmsley, North Yorkshire
The Vines Restaurant, Chester, Cheshire
Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa, Nantwich, Cheshire
The Three Horseshoes, Fordham, Essex
The Cottage in the Wood, Braithwaite, Cumbria
Chartwell Restaurant, Aldwark, North Yorkshire
Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
MUSU, Manchester, Greater Manchester
