The Australian Hotels Association of New South Wales (AHA NSW) has announced the short-list of the state’s best pubs and hospitality venues ahead of the Awards for Excellence on 31 October at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
The list includes 529 finalists across a record-breaking 46 categories, including the new Disability Inclusion and Access Award category.
The hotly contested title of Metropolitan Hotel of the Year will be chosen from 19 finalists, including The Light Brigade, The Riley and Coogee Bay Hotel from Sydney’s Inner and Eastern Suburbs, along with North-West favourites The Fiddler and The Duke of Dural (last year’s winner). Newcomer Willowdale Hotel from Denham Court, which opened in May, also made the list.
Regional Hotel of the Year will be chosen from 18 finalists from across the state, including Port Macquarie pubs Settlers Inn and Tacking Point Tavern, Hunter pubs Nags Head Hotel, The Prince of Merewether, Huntlee Tavern and The George Tavern, and further south, Central Hotel Shellharbour and The Warilla Hotel.
John Whelan, CEO of AHA NSW, said the calibre of finalists across all categories this year is some of the best seen by the awards judges. “The AHA NSW Awards for Excellence is an opportunity to recognise excellence and innovation in the NSW hotel industry,” he said.
This year’s awards will see a return of the People’s Choice Award, with voting open to the public via www.ahaawardsnsw.com.au/peoples-choice.
“The introduction of this category last year proved incredibly popular because people are extremely passionate about their local pub. With this award the public decides the winner, so I encourage everyone who loves their local to vote and play a role in letting all of NSW know their pub is the best in the state,” said Whelan.
A full list of finalists for this year’s AHA NSW Awards for Excellence can be found at www.ahaawardsnsw.com.au
Stay up-to-date with the latest industry news with the Drinks Trade e-newsletter.
Share the content
