This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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AA Awards celebrate the best of Scotland
08/10/2002
Providing top quality products and ensuring visitors
experience the best service possible will help ensure
Scotland becomes a must visit tourist destination.
That was the message from Tourism Minister, Mike Watson,
as he attended the AA Hotel and Restaurant Awards for
Scotland.
Mike Watson stressed that quality of experience, warm
welcomes and fond memories are what would secure Scotland's
reputation as a popular tourism destination.
The Minister said:
"The hospitality industry is a central part of the
tourism experience in Scotland and vital to the success of
an industry employing almost 200,000 people and
contributing £4 billion per year to the economy.
"We have some excellent accommodation and food providers
- some of whom are represented at this award ceremony
today. But we must keep driving forward improvements in
standards.
"Quality grading schemes are crucial in helping us to do
this. The AA scheme, a well-recognised initiative covering
the whole of the UK, is one of several which encompass the
whole range of tourism product and encourage providers to
strive for quality.
"Scotland must put itself in the position of the
visitor, to give them what they want and to ensure positive
experiences. Everyone in the industry has a role in
providing a high quality visit for tourists."
The AA scheme assesses participants on standards that
have been agreed between the AA, the English Tourism
Council and the RAC. Four categories are offered:
- Hotels
- Bed & Breakfast
- Travel Accommodation
- Restaurants with rooms
For hotels a 1-5 star grading is used and for Bed and
Breakfast accommodation a 1 - 5 diamond grading is used.
Hotel Restaurants can also be assessed and these receive
gradings of 1 - 5 in the form of rosettes.
Those receiving awards were:
- The Scotsman Hotel, Edinburgh - Hotel of the Year
and New Top 200
- Nether Underwood Country House, Symington - Guest
Accommodation of the Year
- Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Gleneagles -
Restaurant of the Year and New 3 Rosettes
- The Old Inn, Gairloch - Pub of the Year
- Tower Restaurant, Edinburgh - Wine Award
- The Seafood Restaurant, St Monans, Fife - Best
Seafish Restaurant for Scotland
- Kinfauns Castle, Perth - New Top 200
- Inver Lodge Hotel, Lochinver - New Top 200
- Ballathie House Hotel, Kinclaven, Stanley - New Top
200
- Highland Cottage, Tobermory, Mull - New Top
200
- The Bonham Townhouse, Edinburgh - New Top 200
- St Andrews Golf Hotel, St Andrews - New Top
200
- Roman Camp Country House Hotel, Callander - New Top
200 and Existing 3 Rosettes
- Kilcamb Lodge Hotel, Strontian, Perthshire - New
Top 200
- Holyrood Hotel, Edinburgh - New Top 200
- Darroch Learg Hotel, Ballater, Aberdeenshire - New
Top 200 and Existing 3 Rosettes
- Amaryllis, Glasgow - New 3 Rosette