The inns are among 15 winners across five categories that have been recognised in Sawday’s Special Places to Stay: British Hotels guide.
The Felin Fach Griffin, in Brecon, Powys, Wales was one of three venues to win Hotel of the Year. Judges praised the pub’s bedrooms which have “style and substance” and “a smattering of books”, adding that the low-ceilinged bar “resembles the sitting room of a small hip country house”.
The pub, owned by Charles and Edmund Inkin’s Eatdrinksleep company and run by Julie Bell, was also recently named Dining Pub of the Year for Wales in the 2015 Good Pub Guide for the fifth year running.
'Art of hospitality practiced with flair'
Alastair Sawday, founder of Sawday’s, said: “We love small, intimate hotels and inns where the art of hospitality is practiced with flair. Our three Hotel of the Year winners have mastered that art in spades.”
The Packhorse Inn in Newmarket, Suffolk, a finalist in the Best Food Pub category at the Great British Pub Awards, picked up a Sawday’s award for Favourite Newcomer for its “striking chic interiors” and being “a village local that welcomes all”, while The Inn at Whitewell in Clitheroe, Lancashire, was given an Old Favourite accolade for its “exemplary” bedrooms, with “beautiful fabrics, top linen and gadgets galore”.
The Kings Head Inn in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire and the Pheasant Inn in Hexham, Northumberland were both recognised in the Nicely Priced category.
The full list of winners is:
Hotel of the Year
- Killiecrankie House Hotel, Pitlochry, Perth and Kinross
- Langar Hall, Langar, Nottingham
- The Felin Fach Griffin, Brecon, Powys, Wales
Favourite Newcomers
- Ffin Y Parc, Llanrwst, Conwy
- Mhor 84, Lochearnhead, Perth and Kinross
- The Packhorse Inn, Newmarket, Suffolk
Old Favourites
- The Inn at Whitewell, Clitheroe, Lancashire
- Jeake’s House, Rye, Sussex
- Combe House Devon, Honiton, Devon
Nicely Priced
- The Kings Head Inn, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
- Cnapan Restaurant & Hotel, Newport, Pembrokeshire
- The Pheasant Inn, Hexham, Northumberland
Fabulous Food
- The Great House, Lavenham, Suffolk
- Linthwaite House Hotel & Restaurant, Windermere, Cumbria
- Little Barwick House, Yeovil, Somerset