Howard Hastings, Managing Director of Hastings Hotels joined Stephen Meldrum, General Manager of the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa and Deputy General Manager Ciaran Murtagh to celebrate the hotel being crowned the supreme winner of the Irish hospitality industry at the 25th Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal awards in Dublin this week.

NORTHERN Ireland’s Slieve Donard Resort & Spa in Newcastle is celebrating after receiving a top award.

The Co Down hotel was crowned the supreme winner of Irish hospitality at the glittering Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards ceremony in Dublin this week.

The stunning 4-star resort, part of Hastings Hotels, took the top honour at the prestigious 25th Annual Gold Medal Awards. Judged by industry experts, the independent awards recognise and reward excellence in hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, spas, clubs and catering operations across the island of Ireland.

The Slieve Donard Resort & Spa won the Gold Medal Award for Four Star Hotels sponsored by Bunzl McLaughlin and was then awarded the overall supreme winner with the Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Award for Excellence 2013.

Howard Hastings, Managing Director of Hastings Hotels said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won two prestigious awards including the Gold Medal Award for Excellence which is the highest honour in Ireland’s hospitality industry.

“We are the first hotel in Northern Ireland to have been bestowed this honour, which is not only a fantastic testament to the hard work and dedication of all the staff at the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa, but a tribute to the shining star that is the Northern Ireland tourism industry which has had an incredible time, especially over the last couple of years.”

Stephen Meldrum, General Manager of the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa added: “This is a fantastic achievement for the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa and I would like to thank the whole team for ensuring we provide visitors from around the world with a first class service and an enjoyable stay which has helped us win these awards tonight.”

Janice Gault, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation said: “It is great to see local hotels winning such prestigious awards. The Hastings Hotels group has invested heavily in their properties over the years and it is good to see the company get recognition for their commitment to the Slieve Donard. The hotel has been transformed in recent years with the addition of a superb spa and new bedroom stock. To win the overall award for excellence and the four star category is a great accolade.”

Now in its 25th year, The Hotel & Catering Review Gold Medal Awards are intensively competitive drawing entries from hundreds of hotels, restaurants, guesthouses, spas, clubs and catering businesses from across Ireland. Each entrant is rigorously assessed by members of the Gold Medal Awards jury who travelled over 20,000 kilometres across the island this summer to search for Ireland greatest purveyors of hospitality.