"This magnificent night celebrates the Scottish hotel industry and hotel people at their best." JOHN SWINNEY MSP Cabinet Secretary
	"In the 5th year of these awards we have done our level best to recognise dedication, imagination and excellence. Many of the winners are truly inspirational." GARY McLEAN Awards Chairman The venue for the 2008 Awards Night Party, described as a “retort to minimalism”, was the 5 red star Prestonfield in Edinburgh.

Scotland’s very own national hotel awards were presented at the glittering 5th annual Awards Night Party on Sunday February 24th at the 5-star Prestonfield in Edinburgh. This magnificent event was attended by more than 450 of Scotland’s top hoteliers and the Scottish Government was represented by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Sustainable Growth, Rt Hon John Swinney MSP, who presented the night’s most prestigious honours.

The Scottish Hotels of the Year Awards uniquely single out excellence over a wide array of specific achievements in many categories. These in-depth awards are designed to be as precise and useful as possible for both the public and the industry. Rather than simply being a few ‘top’ awards, these distinctions are “passionately comprehensive and look deeply into all key aspects of the hospitality business”, to quote Gary McLean, chairman of the judges.

The “Scottish hotel Oscars”, to quote The Herald, are the culmination of nominations, expert judging visits, voting and a year’s feedback by consumers, plus voting by the Awards Panel and Judges. Much lengthy input is contributed on a voluntary basis. This year a remarkable 24,069 votes were cast by HotelReviewScotland.com’s readers, each one checked before being accepted. The 2008 process started in October 2007 with a call for nominations. Nominations can be received at any time during the voting process.

HotelReviewScotland.com as organisers and hosts warmly thank all sponsors, both previous and current for 2008, and Awards Panel members for their invaluable input. We would also like to express our thanks to Prestonfield’s management and staff whose expertise were essential to the smooth running of such a big event. We appreciated the generosity of owner James Thomson. We look forward greatly to the 2009 awards to be held in Glasgow on March 1 st as the opening event of ScotHot 2009.

For any further information, please e-mail Info@HotelReviewScotland.com

The Awards Panel & Judges of
The Scottish Hotels of the Year 2008

Judges

• Gary McLean, Chairman (Editor, HotelReviewScotland.com)
• Vivien Devlin, Deputy Chairman (Editor, HotelReviewEdinburgh.com)
• Louise Farquhar (Editor, HotelReviewGlasgow.com)
• Wendy Barrie (Director, ScottishFoodGuide.com)

Awards Panel

• Robert Gilmour (Managing Director, CaliNet Ltd)
• Graham Isdale (TrimediaHC International PR)
• Sally Toms (Editor, Scotland Magazine)
• Lorna Leckie (Executive Editor, Scottish Wedding Directory)
• Tony Fasson (Restaurant Relations Scotland, TopTable.co.uk)
• Dominic Roscrow (Contributor / former Editor, Whisky Magazine)
• David Young (former AA Chief Hotels Inspector)
• Brian Smith (Reviewer, HotelReviewScotland.com)
• Lynda Paton (Reviewer, HotelReviewScotland.com)
• Bryan Dougan (BusinessContinuityScotland.com)
• Johanna & Gilbert Summers (ExtraMileScotland.com)
• Arthur McGough (Reviewer, HotelReviewScotland.com)
• Sara McMillan (Reviewer, HotelReviewScotland.com)
• Katie Gould (Reviewer, HotelReviewScotland.com)
• Name withheld (VisitScotland QA inspector)
• Ron Mackenna (Food Reviewer, The Herald)
• Alex Buchanan (Editor, Catering in Scotland)
• Marie-Claire James (Manager, ScotHot 2009)
• Paul Wilson (Xpress Recruitment, HIT Scotland)
• Colin Donald (Business Correspondent, The Scotsman)

Previous years' awards!