GIDLEIGH Park Hotel has achieved national honours, after it was named Hotel of the Year in the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, 2009.

The hotel near Chagford was previously a gold award winner in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in 2008 and 2009 and is now celebrating success in the national awards.

Owners of Gidleigh Park Hotel, Andrew and Christina Brownsword, said: 'We were extremely pleased to win small hotel of the year in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards, so it's a real achievement to win the national gold award.

'The team has worked hard to maintain a high standard throughout the hotel, so this award is a thank you for all their hard work.'

The awards' judges said Gidleigh Park displayed 'an overall faultless wow experience on par with the best of England.'

The Enjoy England Awards celebrate and aim to promote and reward the very best in English tourism.

The awards were presented at The National Railway Museum in York last week, where the gold and silver winners were announced.

Visit England chairman Hugh Taylor said: 'On our 20th Anniversary, we are delighted that there is such a broad range of exciting, high quality holiday experiences on offer in England.

'Each year the judging proves more and more difficult and the finalists have been chosen for leading the way in terms of innovation, through continued investment, while also maintaining consistently high quality and standards in their field.'

Chief executive of South West Water and sponsor of the regional South West Tourism Excellence Awards, Chris Loughlin, said: 'Congratulations to all our winners for proving again the excellence of the South West tourism sector on a national stage.

'We look forward to even more entries for this year's regional awards which we are proud to sponsor.'

Gidleigh Park Hotel offers beautiful views of the hotel grounds, which encompass 54 acres of grounds and parkland for guests to enjoy.

This year, executive chef for the hotel, Michael Caines MBE, is celebrating 15 years at Gidleigh Park, where he has retained two Michelin stars since 1999.