A "perfect" County Durham hotel has been crowned among the very best in the country at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024.

Rockliffe Hall in Darlington received the bronze award for ‘Large Hotel of the Year’ at the prestigious ceremony held at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool, which was hosted by Alex Polizzi from Channel 5’s The Hotel Inspector.

Additionally, in the respected category, the Grand Hotel in York claimed the gold award and Hope Street Hotel in Merseyside won the silver award.

In total, there were 14 other core category award winners including ‘Small Visitor Attraction of the Year’ and ‘B&B and Guest House of the Year’.

The gold, silver and bronze winners were selected from hundreds of tourism businesses across England including hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, glamping operators, attractions, restaurants, pubs and museums, forwarded to the national competition via 16 local and regional competitions across England.

There were also four special awards presented such as the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award,’ the ‘Travel Content Award’, the ‘Tourism Superstar Award’ and the ‘TXGB Trailblazer Award’.

You can see all the winners at the VisitEngland 2024 Awards here.

VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes said: “The VisitEngland Awards for Excellence highlight the unparalleled quality on offer across England and the event this year saw the crème de la crème in our industry come together to celebrate our world-class tourism businesses.

“Competition was fierce with customer service excellence evident across every category, thanks to the passion and dedication of individuals.

@lifeofsteph1312 Child free saturday nights ❤️🍷 #rockcliffehall #spanights #spaday #spa #northeast #fyp #foryou #relaxation @Rockliffe Hall ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE - Queens Road, Fabian Graetz

“From a wizard walk in York to a boutique hotel in East Sussex, a glamping site in Lancashire, a dinosaur adventure park in Norfolk, to a distillery in the Cotswolds, this year’s awards also showcased the wonderful range of quality tourism products available across the country.

“I congratulate all Gold, Silver and Bronze winners on their achievement cementing their place as standard-bearers for England’s tourism industry.”

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'This really is a five star hotel' - Guests praise Rockliffe Hall on Tripadvisor

Many guests have also complimented Rockcliffe Hall on Tripadvisor, giving it a 4.5/5 rating from 3,764 reviews.

One visitor commented: "My friends and I have just spent 2 wonderful days in Rockliffe Hall Our 2 bedroom apartment was immaculate offering lovely accommodation and was fully equipped with everything we needed throughout our stay. We made full use of the spa enjoying all the facilities from the pool, the infa- red saunaand the experience showers to name just a few.

Is this comfy bed at Rockliffe Hall calling your name?Is this comfy bed at Rockliffe Hall calling your name? (Image: Tripadvisor)

“Breakfast in the Orangery both mornings just cried out "Eat me and Drink me" with a selection to suit all needs . All staff from Hanah on reception to the breakfast team were customer focused ,helpfull and pleasant Special mention to Evie this morning who went above and beyond to allow all our party to have a scrumptious breakfast. Your staff Jason are clearly passionate about their work and are great ambassadors for your brand.”

Another added: “This really is a five star hotel, nothing was too much trouble and everything was perfect, I didn't have a problem with anything. I didn't eat in the restaurants, only had room service, but it was delicious! All the staff were friendly and helpful, but not over-bearing, as you find in some places. Alistair was particularly kind and helpful.”