The best hotel service in the world can be yours for just £35 a night. And, for British holidaymakers, is closer than you may think. Or so say TripAdvisor users who voted Lauriston Court Hotel in Llandudno, Wales, number one for service worldwide in the travel website's 2013 Travellers' Choice Hotel Awards, announced today. The only UK hotel out of a total of 25 in the best service category, and one of the smallest, it was placed ahead of hotels in cities and resorts around the globe, from California to Cambodia.
The four-star 11-bedroom seaside hotel also bagged sixth place in the bargain hotel category. The award is perhaps further proof of the growing reputation of the humble British seaside hotel, a category which, it's fair to say, has not always been famed for exemplary service.
More than 400 guests voted the hotel excellent, praising the "warm welcome", "spotlessly clean" rooms, excellent breakfasts "cooked to order" and the proprietors, Carol-Lynn and Ian Robbins, who are thanked by name in many of the reviews for their service. The husband-and-wife team respond to most reviews personally on the site.
"It is obvious their aim is to give their residents the best possible experience," writes Marion C. Vicki L says: "An extra thank you to Carol-Lynn for her help, which went above and beyond the call of duty."
Carol-Lynn and Ian told the Press Association: "Providing our guests with the best service possible is so important to us, and so it's heart-warming to be recognised by our guests for the work we do to make their stay special."
The top UK hotel was Rudding Park in Harrogate, North Yorkshire; it also came fourth in the Top 25 Hotels in the World, while the UK's best small hotel was The Chester Residence in Edinburgh.
Top UK B&B was won by Athole Guest House in Bath, which was also voted second in the Top B&Bs and Inns in the World.
TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Shaw said: "Yet again, Britain's B&Bs continue to be celebrated as some of the very best in the world, and for a British hotel to beat over 650,000 others to be named number one in the world for service really is something to be proud of."
The annual awards, now in their 11th year, are based on the reviews of more than 650,000 hotels, submitted over the past year by the site's millions of users. More than 6,000 properties from 82 countries were honoured in the awards, which included categories for luxury, bargain, service, small hotels, and B&Bs and inns. Read the full list of winners here.
