The Celtic Manor Resort has been voted Cateys 2001 Independent Hotel of the Year for the UK. Thejudges of the award, given annually by Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, described the resort as’the kind of place all hoteliers should go and check out before planning their next venture’.
The Welsh telecommunications entrepreneur Sir Terence Matthews, who acquired and then opened the original 17 bedroom Celtic Manor hotel in 1982 with a vision of developing a major international golf, convention and leisure resort, has made the largest ever private investment in the British hospitality industry. The Celtic Manor Resort is an official candidate venue for the Ryder Cup 2009.
Set in 1,400 acres of panoramic parkland at the gateway to Wales, just 5 minutes from the Severn Bridge, the resort offers a 400 room, 32 suite luxury hotel, 1,500 delegate convention centre, 40 function rooms, 4 restaurants, 3 championship golf courses and 2 health clubs and spa.
“There was something about it that was brave and inspiring. Celtic Manor sets a benchmark for resort hotels all over the UK,” said one of the judges, John Jarvis, chairman and chief executive of Jarvis Hotels.
Caterer & Hotelkeeper says in an article announcing this latest achievement that particularly gratifying for the judges had been’the contribution that Celtic Manor had made to its native Wales, both in terms of employment and the economy’.
Another judge, Ian Burke chief executive of Thistle Hotels, said, “Terry Matthews has shown faith in an area that a lot of people would have rejected because it’s done badly in the past. I think this is one place from which we will continue to see innovation.”
Robert Church, resort director, said: “This Catey Award from such leading hoteliers is wonderful tribute to our visionary owner and a highly prized endorsement of the team that has worked so hard to match service delivery with a truly outstanding product.”
Celtic Manor Resort www.celtic-manor.com