Balmoral Hotel

Michelin-starred number one restaurant is celebrating continued culinary success after winning 'The Scottish Hotel Restaurant of the Year' at an award ceremony held by HotelReviewScotland.com last night.

Thousands of visitors to the HotelReviewScotland.com website voted for their favourite Scottish hotel restaurant, recognising overall excellence in the whole dining experience. Gary McLean, Chairman of the Awards Panel of the Scottish Hotels of the Year Awards, commented, 'The judges came to a unanimous verdict that this was the year to recognise and celebrate the achievements of this outstanding dining operation, as fine dining and big city hotels don't always go together. Evidently the thousands of voters agreed.'

This news follows closely on the heels of the 'Icons of Scotland' accolade, awarded earlier this month. The Scottish Food and Drink category, won by The Balmoral, recognises any person, product or business which best reflects Scottish food and drink. Jeff Bland, The Balmoral's Executive Chef, appeared as Guest Chef at the 'Icons' dinner, held on Tartan Day in New York.

This has been a sterling year so far for The Balmoral. Debbie Taylor, General Manager, launched the 'New Balmoral' in March following its £7 million refurbishment programme, as well as six creative new packages and 'wow' initiatives. In addition, The Balmoral has demonstrated remarkable culinary success and has scooped the following prestigious awards within the last four months:

• April 2004 - 'Icons of Scotland' award within the Scottish Food and Drink category
• January 2004 - The Rocco Forte Collection' 'Award for Innovation' awarded to Jeff Bland
• January 2004 - 'James Sankey Award for Excellence', recognising quality of service, awarded to James O'Donnell in number one
• January 2004 - Jeff Bland and number one retain their Michelin star

Debbie Taylor added, 'To receive this award marks our continued culinary excellence. I am delighted to be at the helm of Edinburgh's most dynamic hotel, with such a professional and talented team. We wish to thank our guests and visitors for all their support and we look forward to welcoming them back to number one and The Balmoral.'

Please refer to www.HotelReviewScotland.com for online photography of the award ceremony.

For further information, please contact The Balmoral's Press Office:

Emma Offord, PR Manager, Mobile: 07966 628607; eofford@thebalmoralhotel.com Jessica Trotter, PR Assistant, Tel: 0131 622 8825; jtrotter@thebalmoralhotel.com.

For further HotelReviewScotland information, contact Fiona Duff, PR for HotelReviewScotland.com:
Direct Tel: +44 131 558 1199
E-mail: fiona@duffpublicity.com