Winners of Visit York Tourism Awards 2023

On Thursday 23rd March, the winners of the Visit York Tourism Awards were revealed at a prestigious awards ceremony at York Racecourse. The Visit York Tourism Awards, headline sponsored by LNER, celebrates the best of York’s businesses across tourism, hospitality and culture to win one of 16 trophies.

Hosted by previous Visit York Tourism Award winner Alicia Stabler, also known as Mad Alice from The Bloody Tour of York, and BBC’s Elly Fiorentini, the ‘Tourism Oscars of the North’ sees eligible winners across a number of categories automatically put forward to the nationalVisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2023. This year’s winners include Middletons Hotel, who take Large Hotel of the Year, with judges commenting on the ‘high-quality’ hotel and food, as well as praise for ‘team members who deliver great service’. The hotel’s General Manager, Adam Wardale, went on to win the nationalVisitEngland Award for Excellence in 2022 following his award win for Unsung Hero at last year’s Visit York Tourism Awards.   

Small Hotel of the Year and Taste of England Award goes to Grays Court Hotel and The Bow Room Restaurant, with judges commenting that they were “hard to beat” offering a “unique stay” and “excellent” standard of food. 

Elsewhere in accommodation, The Bishop & The Bison took the award for B&B and Guest House of the Year, with judges praising their “friendly and warm atmosphere” and “luxury”. The Dovecote Barns were awarded Self Catering Accommodation of the Year, judgescommented that their “attention to detail shines through” and that “the personal touches were brilliant”. 

Camping, Glamping and Holiday Park of the Year was awarded to Wigwam Holidays Ball Hall Farm, with judges commenting that it was a location they’d “come back to again and again”. 

No.1 by GuestHouse, York was awarded New Tourism Business of the Year. Judges praised the “positive attitude of this hotel” and that the “standards of service were excellent”.  

This year’s awards introduced two new categories, including the Ethical, Responsible & Sustainable Tourism Award which was presented to Stillingfleet Lodge Gardens who were praised by judges for their “really outstanding application” and “a peaceful and tranquil environment”.  

The second new award for 2023 was Cultural Venue of the Year, which was won by York Theatre Royal. Judges said they show “an excellent approach and passion for the future potential of theatre”. 

York Theatre Royal also picked up a second award for Event or Festival of the Year with ‘An Evening with Kyiv City Ballet’. Judges commented that the “key here is the event sold out, the money raised for charity, but the biggest result was that the event was held in the first place”. The event raised over £25,000 for UNICEF’s Ukraine Appeal in June 2022. Kyiv City Ballet will be returning to York Theatre Royal on Thursday 30th March for another very special fundraising gala performance. 

Next Door But One CIC took the Resilience and Innovation Award, with judges commenting that “the team should be commended for the adjustments made during the pandemic” and that they deliver “important and valued work”. 

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year was awarded to Mother Shipton’s Cave, with judges commenting that “there was a large focus on cultural and historical aspects of the experience” and that they were “very well communicated”. 

Castle Howard was awarded Large Visitor Attraction of the Year, with judges remarking on the “well-trained and enthusiastic” team members who focused on “providing a positive experience”. 

Experience of the Year was awarded to The Cookery School at The Grand, York, with judges commenting on the “excellent” quality of food and that the experience was “interesting, engaging and interactive”. 

York Gin took Retailer of the Year, with judges praising their “excellent initiatives” across the business supporting “staff, local producers, partners, sustainability and the community”.

Pub of the Year was awarded to The Drovers Arms Restaurant & Country Pub, with judges commenting on the “hard-working and pleasant” team and “good food”.  
Sarah Loftus, Managing Director at Make It York, said: “A huge congratulations to our thoroughly deserving winners and finalists at this year’s Visit York Tourism Awards. Every single business and organisation nominated tonight is one of the reasons why York has been recognised as such a welcoming place to visit. The Visit York Tourism Awards celebrate the very best in tourism, hospitality and culture; many of our winners tonight will automatically be put forward to represent York at the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence – we wish them the very best of luck!” 

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “York has a huge amount to offer visitors and continues to be one of the most popular destinations on the LNER route. We’re therefore very proud to continue to support the Visit York Tourism Awards which shine a spotlight on the individuals and businesses that work tirelessly to make York a brilliant place to visit. On behalf of everyone at LNER, congratulations to everyone involved in this year’s awards.” 

Darryl Smalley, Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Communities said: “Congratulations to all finalists and winners who have demonstrated excellence in their sectors across tourism, hospitality and culture. They have all been rightly recognised as providing the very best experiences for residents and visitors to the city. Throughout York there are so many businesses that work hard to make our beautiful city so welcoming and vibrant. A huge well done to all the finalists, and congratulations to the winners for their impressive achievements.”