By Thom Kennedy

Last updated at 15:59, Thursday, 06 May 2010

A Cumbrian hotel has been named the best in Britain by a rail tour operator after receiving glowing reports from visitors.

The Crown, Wetheral

Rail tour booking website Great Rail Journeys picked out the Crown Hotel in Wetheral for its gold award for Britain, marking it out as the best in the UK.

The hotel, which is located beside the Carlisle to Newcastle line, beat of competition from other hotels around the country to land the top spot.

The Crown’s sales co-ordinator Lynne Carruthers said: “It’s a big thing to have been selected. It will increase the business coming to us, and it will increase the number of people coming to the area.

“It’s recognition of the standards we offer here at the Crown. It’s not just the food or service, it’s the ambience and the location and everything that the visitors like about the hotel.

“When people come to us from Great Rail they stay for two or three days and always visit Carlisle, so it brings tourists into the area.”

Customers who used the Great Rail website were given the chance to cast their votes for one hotel to receive the Gold Award. Others picked up silver and bronze awards. Other gold awards were given out in other countries where the rail services run.

The Crown was given the Gold Award on a public vote, ahead of other hotels around the UK and Ireland. Silver award winners included premises in Edinburgh and Inverness.

The award was handed over to the hotel general manager Paul Hicks by John Gordon, tour manager from Great Rail Journeys.

“We won the contract about 12 months ago, and all their tours that come to the region come to us,” Mrs Carruther said.

“We are now on their website and in their brochure as the most popular hotel in the country, so people will look at that and say, ‘That’s a good hotel, we will go there’.

“Obviously we won the contract for the Carlisle area as we have the station at Wetheral, and visitors on tours will always go into Carlisle.”

First published at 11:31, Thursday, 06 May 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk