Balmoral Hotel

Edinburgh’s leading luxury hotel, Rocco Forte’s The Balmoral, is celebrating an outstanding year of success with a record number of awards and scholarships received by hotel employees in 2007.

Members of The Balmoral team have amassed a record breaking 18 accolades this year. 2007 got off to a winning start when Sommelier James O'Donnell and Sous Chef Kevin Sutherland were awarded first prize in the International Copa Jerez back in January. This was closely followed in February with eight employees being awarded prestigious training scholarships by The Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland (HIT). Other highlights of the year include number one Sommelier, Sam Aitken’s Vintner's Bursary awarded by the WSET (Wine, Spirits and Education Trust), which is the top prize at the Advanced Level and in November Christian Dolenc, Front Office Manager was awarded a St Julian Scholarship by The Worshipful Company of Master Innholders to attend the Summer Executive Programme at L’ Ecole Hotelier de Lausanne.
The success of the individuals and The Balmoral team as a whole is attributed to the hotel’s cutting-edge staff development strategy. The hotel’s training policy aims to empower each member of staff by giving them the knowledge and confidence to succeed in their job and excel in providing the greatest levels of customer service. The Balmoral has a dedicated training department, which provides resources such as supervisory and management development programmes, tailored personal training plans and IT facilities to support the training policy. This investment in people has secured an exceptional 90 per cent staff retention rate, 68 per cent staff retention rate and 14 internal promotions this year.

The winning employees and their colleagues will be recognised for their hard work by General Manager Ivan Artolli at The Annual Balmoral Staff Ball in January. What’s more, 2008 already looks to be getting off to a great start as The Balmoral’s Revenue Manager, Justine Sanderson has been personally chosen by Sir Rocco Forte to receive a Shining Example Award at The Rocco Forte Collection Annual Conference in Munich in January.

Ivan Artolli, has expressed his delight at the fantastic achievements of his staff: “It is tremendous that members of my staff have been acknowledged individually for their outstanding contribution to the hospitality industry. I am very proud of my entire team who work tirelessly to deliver an exceptional customer experience for all of our guests. I look forward to another successful year of accolades and awards in 2008.”

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THE BALMORAL’S AWARDS AND ACCOLADES (2007)

• December 2007- Guest Service Agent, Katie McDowell awarded second place at the AICR Receptionist of The Year Awards
• November 2007 – Front Office Manager , Christian Dolenc awarded a St Julian Scholarship by The Worshipful Company of Master Innholders
• November 2007 – Tracy Clark, Special Events Planner is named “Wedding Venue Planner of The Year” at the 2007 VOWS Awards
• October 2007 - Kuntal Murkherjee awarded second place at The Scottish Heat of The Young Chef, Young Waiter Awards
• October 2007- The Balmoral took the prize for Scotland's Leading Hotel at the 14th Annual World Travel Awards
• October 2007 – The Balmoral named “Scotland’s Hotel of The Year” at the annual AA Hospitality Awards for Scotland and Northern Ireland
• October 2007 – number one restaurant’s Sous Chef, Kevin Sutherland awarded second place in The Craft Guild of Chefs’ Norwegian Seafood Recipe Challenge
• July 2007 – Debbie Taylor, General Manager of Rocco Forte's The Balmoral awarded Manager of The Year at The Caterer and Hotelkeeper Awards
• June 2007 – The Balmoral voted “Best Hotel in Scotland” at the HotelClub Hotel Awards
• June 2007 - Debbie Taylor, General Manager of Rocco Forte's The Balmoral awarded membership of the prestigious Master Innholders by The Worshipful Company of Innholders
• May 2007 -The Balmoral was voted seventh best hotel in Europe and top hotel in Scotland in "Celebrated Living" - American Airlines passenger magazine's Readers' Choice Platinum List
• February 2007 – number one restaurant’s Pastry Chef, Ross Sneddon awarded three bronze medals at ScotHot for petit fours, bread and shellfish
• February 2007 – Sam Aitken, number one’s Sommelier, awarded the Vintner's Bursary at the WSET (Wine, Spirits and Education Trust) Awards of Excellence, which is the top prize at the Advanced Level
• February 2007 – The Balmoral picks up six awards and commendations at The Scottish Hotels of the Year Awards 2007 in the following categories: The Scottish Hotel Banqueting Award; The Scottish Hotel Concierge Team Award; Scottish Luxury Hotel Special Commendation; The Scottish Hotel Restaurant Special Commendation (number one); The Scottish Hotel Executive Chef Special Commendation; and The National Scottish Hotel of the Year (Runner-up)
• February 2007 – Eight employees are awarded a prestigious training scholarship by the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland (HIT)
• February 2007 - The Balmoral Spa voted Scotland's top Urban Day Spa (UK category) in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Spa Awards 2007
• January 2007 - Jeff Bland and number one retain their Michelin star
• January 2007 - James O’ Donnell and Kevin Sutherland awarded first prize in the International Copa Jerez
  

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jessica Trotter
PR and Marketing Executive
Direct line: 0131 622 8825    
Email: jtrotter@roccofortecollection.com  

NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Rocco Forte Collection was established in 1996 to create a group of luxury hotels in Europe. The hotels have individual styles, with each hotel reflecting its nationality and location. The properties are linked together under The Rocco Forte Collection, which guarantees attention to detail, quality and service delivery.

The company is celebrating its ten year anniversary this year.  The Rocco Forte Collection took control of The Balmoral in Edinburgh on March 1 1997. 

 The Rocco Forte Collection includes:
- Hotel de Russie, Rome
- Hotel Savoy, Florence
- The Balmoral, Edinburgh
- The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
- Hotel Astoria, St Petersburg
- Hotel Amigo, Brussels
- Brown’s Hotel, London
- Villa Kennedy, Frankfurt
- Hotel de Rome, Berlin
- Le Richemond, Geneva
- The Charles Hotel, Munich

Future openings: 
- Prague - 2008
- Verdura Golf & Spa Resort, Sicily – 2009
- Marrakech - 2009

For further information and online reservations, please visit The Rocco Forte Collection website: www.roccofortecollection.com.

Angleterre Hotel, St Petersburg, is a deluxe four-star sister to Hotel Astoria.  For information and reservations, please visit www.angleterrehotel.com.