Boston-based hospitality business collects national honour at awards ceremony hosted by Strictly star

The Coaching Inn Group has been named Hotel Group of the Year for 2023-24 in the latest AA Hospitality Awards.

The awards are held annually to recognise the best hotels, restaurants, pubs, B&Bs and campsites across the country.

This year’s event was held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, in London, on Monday, September 25, and was hosted by Strictly Come Dancing star Claudia Winkleman.

Of the Hotel Group of the Year gong, a spokesman for the awards said: “This prestigious award is bestowed upon a prominent accommodation group with a well-established history of dedicated efforts in maintaining the highest standards of service, culinary excellence, and accommodation quality throughout its diverse range of properties. Meticulous attention to detail is paramount, and a steadfast, methodical approach to future development is fundamental to their success. This year Sky Business have sponsored the award.”

The Coaching Inn Group runs 32 hotels and inns in market towns across the country, including Boston's White Hart Hotel and Horncastle’s The Admiral Rodney Hotel.

Chief executive officer Kevin Charity said the award win was ‘a tribute to the enthusiastic support, hard work, and commitment’ shown by all those employed in the group’s hotels and inns.

He added: “We have expanded steadily over recent years and established an enviable reputation for the role our properties play at the very heart of the communities they serve.

“Our hospitality-from-the-heart ethos has been taken very much to heart by our front of house teams, supported by their colleagues in all other departments.

“We’ve become a very people-focussed business over the past four years, just constantly maintaining that culture, keeping on improving and looking at what we can do better, and how we as a management team, can serve our people – that’s been the key.”

An AA Inspector said: “The Coaching Inn Group is an independent operator with a passion for transforming historic coaching inns back to their former glory, with a few modern-day twists. They've made significant investments to breathe life back into many iconic buildings providing some of the UK’s most famous market towns with a freshly rejuvenated and welcoming central point for locals and visitors to enjoy. Congratulations to Kevin Charity and the team."