The Kings Arms, Dorchester – Stay Original Company
Acquired by Stay Original in 2016, the Grade II-listed Kings Arms site underwent an extensive £5m revamp during the pandemic ahead of an official opening in September 2020.
The 300-year-old Dorset hotel, featured in Thomas Hardy's novel The Mayor of Casterbridge, boasts a renovated restaurant, bar and a range of stylish rooms.
Stay Original is also a finalist in this year’s Best Premium Food, Best Pub Employer and Best Accommodation categories.
Red Lion, Hellidon – Freespirit Pub Company
Found in the village of Hellidon in Northamptonshire, the Red Lion is the Freespirit Pub Company’s third site and touted as the group’s showpiece.
The recently renovated pub boasts six individually furnished bedrooms, a restaurant serving seasonal English Food and a bar with an extensive cocktail list.
The Ostrich, Bristol – Liberation Group
Historic harbourside Bristol pub the Ostrich has undergone extensive refurbishment in the past two years, with wholesale improvements made to its huge pub garden, cosy interiors over two floors and most recently to its revamped ‘top deck’.
Something of a flagship venue for the Channel Island-based Liberation Group, the Ostrich is a platform the operator’s premium food offer – for which it is also shortlisted at this year’s Publican Awards alongside a final berth in the Best Managed Pub Company category.
The Oarsman, Marlow – PS the Pub Company
Buckinghamshire pub the Oarsman has been recently refurbished small, independent pub operator PS the Pub Company and now boasts an old fashioned bar and restaurant in a convenient location according to its website.
The Meynell Ingram Arms, Burton-on-Trent - Berkeley Inns
Having been closed for around five years, Staffordshire pub the Meynell Ingram Arms reopened in May 2019 following a wholesale revamp both internally and externally.
The Meynell Ingram Arms’ shortlisting for the Best New Site gong marks one of three awards that Berkeley Inns is in the running for alongside berths in the Best Food and Best Drinks categories.
- Check out the full list of finalists at the 2021 Publican Awards here