Success for Lime Wood and Bath Priory in Relais & Chateaux awards
Two of the 11 accolades in the Relais & Chateaux Trophies 2013 have been presented to UK hotels - Lime Wood and the Bath Priory.
Lime Wood, near Lyndhurst, Hampshire, won the Spa Trophy for its Herb House Spa, while the Bath Priory, owned by Brownsword Hotels, was presented with the Garden Trophy.
Kenneth Speirs, Lime Wood's general manager said: "To receive this award is recognition not only of the world class facilities we offer but also, and most importantly, the exceptional level of service delivered, plus the dedication and care shown by everyone."
Herb House, which has 10 treatment rooms over three storeys, a roof-top gym and 16m ozone treated indoor pool, offers a roof garden where many of the herbs - used in the spa treatments and for the menu at the spa's Raw & Cured restaurant - are grown.
The Bath Priory won the Garden Trophy for what Relais & Chateaux described as "four acres of horticultural paradise".
Head gardener Jane Moore and her assistant have cultivated a rare plants collection and kitchen garden alongside a 150-year old Lebanese cedar tree.
Other winners at the annual Relais & Chateaux awards ceremony, held this year in Turin, included hotels in Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Estonia, the United States, Peru,S outh Africa, New Zealand and Japan.
Relais & Chateaux has also launched its 2013 guide, which includes five new destinations - Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Guatemala and the Fiji Islands.
There are 35 entries from UK and Ireland among the total of 520 hotels and restaurants across 60 countries. Claude Bosi's two-Michelin-star Hibiscus restaurant in London is the only new Uk and Ireland entry, while the Fat Duck has left the guide.
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By Janet Harmer
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