Deer Park celebrates prestigious award win

The team at the utterly exquisite Deer Park Country House Hotel, near Honiton, were celebrating on Monday 29th September when they were named the ‘Best Small Independent Hotel Employer of the Year’ in Caterer.com’s Best Employers in Hospitality Awards 2014. The awards were presented by TV personality Sue Perkins at a prestigious ceremony which took place at Lancaster London.

The epitome of a quintessential English country house, inspired by the best of British, the Deer Park fought off hundreds of competitor employers to join the heady ranks of the ‘Top 60 Best Employers in Hospitality’ and was placed eighth in this high profile list. Later in the evening came the unexpected and seriously impressive news that this local boutique hotel had won this highly sought after award.

Commenting on this outstanding success, Mark Godfrey, managing director at the Deer Park Country House Hotel, says: “The Champagne was definitely flowing on Monday evening! We knew we were up against some of the leading hospitality establishments in the country and were surprised and delighted when it was announced that we had won.” Mark continues: “Our thoughts are here that happy staff equals happy guests. We are proud of every single one of our employees and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their commitment to making the hotel the success it is.”

Now in their fourth year, Caterer.com’s Best Employers in Hospitality Awards are the only established, recognised and free to enter employer awards in the hospitality industry. The awards are judged solely on employee responses to an online engagement survey, which gauges how well employers support, develop and reward their staff. Over 9,000 employees across the country completed the survey.

Recruitment specialists Part & Company sponsor the Independent Employer categories across all sectors of the awards. Simon Part, managing director, commented on their involvement: “This is our third year as sponsors at Caterer.com’s Best Employers in Hospitality Award. We predominantly work with independent businesses and know that, whilst they can offer the most fantastic careers, they are sometimes overlooked by candidates. For this reason, it’s really important to us to champion and recognise the Best Independent Employers in Hospitality and to acknowledge the great work they do through these prestigious awards. Congratulations to all the shortlisted and winning employers!”

Five hundred hospitality professionals, including teams from the shortlisted entries, attended the awards to celebrate the success of the best employers in the business.

Set in 80 acres of magnificent grounds, the 18th Century Georgian mansion hotel in East Devon boasts beautiful boutique hotel bedrooms and a stunning Italian and kitchen garden. With fabulous country views, manicured lawns and a glorious secret garden, The Deer Park Country House Hotel has quickly become one of the leading wedding venues in the South West. Licensed for civil ceremonies, the splendid country house can accommodate up to 100 wedding guests in the impressive dining room and up to 130 guests in their elegant marquee. Visit www.weddingvenueindevon.co.uk for further information on weddings at The Deer Park Country House Hotel.

This flamboyant hotel is also the perfect conference venue in Devon with a difference. Conveniently located just 17 miles from Exeter city centre, the Deer Park can accommodate up to 200 delegates and offers a fabulous range of country team building pursuits including fishing on the River Otter, clay pigeon shooting, archery and 4x4 off-roading as well as many others.
The recently refurbished restaurant, Loxton's, has an enviable reputation for both quality and ambiance. With its attentive service and award-winning dishes using locally sourced Devon produce, it’s definitely worth a visit, whether it’s for afternoon tea, a top notch dinner or for Sunday lunch.

For further information on the Deer Park Country House Hotel please visit www.deerparkcountryhotel.co.uk, email admin@deerparkcountryhotel.co.uk or call 01404 41266. To find out more about Caterer.com’s Best Employers in Hospitality Awards visit http://www.bestemployersinhospitality.com.