Joy for the Royal Maritime Hotel & Club in Portsmouth as the only hotel in the south east to win prestigious national award

The Royal Maritime Hotel & Club in Portsea was presented with a Visit England Rose award for service excellence, at an awards ceremony in Luton earlier this month.

It was one of only 10 hotels across England – and the only one in the south east region – to win the accolade.

John Alderson, general manager of the Royal Maritime, attended the ceremony to accept the award.

He said: ‘We are extremely pleased to receive this Rose award in recognition of our excellent customer service and the team here should feel very proud’.

The Rose award recognises accommodation providers across England who provide visitors with the warmest of welcomes.

They celebrate the establishments where the owners, management and employees, irrespective of their star rating, style or type of accommodation, provide outstanding experiences for their customers.

Winners were nominated by Visit England’s quality scheme assessors and selected from assessor comments and online feedback from overseas and domestic visitors.

Recipients of the awards include all types of accommodation from bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, self-catering and hotels to parks, campsites, glamping sites and hostels and cover a range of ratings from three to five stars, as well as accredited properties.

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Among winners in the south east were A Room with a View in Brighton (guest accommodation) and the Walnut Barn in Horsham (self-catering).

The Royal Maritime Hotel & Club, which boasts 90 rooms, is one of the oldest hotels in Portsmouth, gaining royal patronage in 1855, with HRH Prince Charles as the current patron.

It received charitable status in 1883 and membership is open to all serving and retired members of the armed forces and their families as well as those of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and merchant navy, for whom it was founded.

The hotel also has a restaurant, café, bars and a number of leisure facilities, including a swimming pool, spa pool, sauna, skittles alley and snooker room. Events such as conferences, celebrations and wedding ceremonies are also hosted there.