THE Arundell Arms Hotel in Lifton has been named winner in the Business Tourism category of the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2013.

As a finalist, the Arundell Arms now goes forward to the glittering awards ceremony being held on May 20 at Old Trafford, Manchester.

The hotel will have to wait until then to find out which award they will receive. All finalists are guaranteed to receive either a gold, silver, bronze or highly commended Award.

Adam Fox-Edwards, managing director of the Arundell Arms, said: 'I am delighted that we won an award at national level.

'It reflects so well on the whole team here at the hotel. It also shows that a family-owned business can compete with, and beat the national chains of hotels.

'Our great service from our local staff has really been recognised, which is wonderful. We are known for our leisure tourism in the west country but this shows we are up with the best in the UK when it comes to serving the needs of business too.'

James Berreford, VisitEngland's chief executive, said: 'I would like to congratulate all those nominated as VisitEngland Awards for Excellence finalists this year.

'We received 320 applications and the quality of submissions was higher than ever. It is therefore a major achievement for the Arundell Arms to become a finalist and justifiably take credit and pride in earning a coveted place in the top five in their category in England.'