Gong for ever: it's goodbye to awards

The RAC's last hotel and industry awards were announced last week.

Two of the motoring organisation's most prestigious gongs went north of the border. Debbie Taylor, at Edinburgh's Balmoral hotel, was named Hotelier of the Year for her dedication to customer care, team building and personnel management skills. Taylor said: "I'm thrilled to receive this prestigious award, but would like to attribute it to my world-class team. I'm very honoured to work with such professional and dedicated people."

The other major award to go to Scotland was the Hotel Chef of the Year, which went to 19-year-old Craig Munro at the Culloden House hotel in Inverness.

Only two new RAC Gold Ribbons were awarded - one to London's Soho hotel, which celebrates its first birthday this month, and the other to Whatley Manor in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Whatley Manor's general manager Peter Egli said: "We're delighted to receive such an accolade from the RAC, even though they're not continuing with the awards."

The RAC guides have been operating for just over a century. A spokesman said: "We could have carried on by cutting costs and lowering standards, but we didn't want to do that. We'd prefer to go out on a high."

The last RAC Hotels and Bed & Breakfast guide will be in the shops in January.

By Emily Manson