Adrian Ellis and Tom Aikens win top honours at AA Hospitality Awards 2024

Hotelier Adrian Ellis and chef Tom Aikens led the list of winners at the AA Hospitality Awards 2024.

Around 900 guests from across the UK hospitality sector gathered for the awards ceremony at JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Monday night.

Ellis was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his 40-year career running hotels in the UK and abroad, as well as launching the Hotels and Schools project to educate young people about hospitality.

Tom Aikens was named Chefs’ Chef of the Year, an award voted for by industry peers whose restaurants hold AA Rosettes, while hotelier and sustainability expert Sue Williams was given the Outstanding Contribution Award.

The ceremony also saw three new restaurants awarded the maximum five-AA-rosette rating: Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park in Berkshire, the Glenturret Lalique restaurant in Perth and Kinross, and the Angel at Hetton in North Yorkshire.

No new hotels were awarded the maximum five AA red stars, but four venues were given four red stars and there was one new three star.

Simon Numphud, managing director at AA Media, said “This incredible celebration is a true testament to the strength and innovation within our industry. The dedication and excellence demonstrated by all the hospitality teams have been nothing short of inspiring.

“Congratulations to all the winners, nominees, and new rosette holders for their remarkable contributions.”

The full list of AA Awards winners 2025

Chefs’ Chef of the Year

Tom Aikens, Muse, London

Lifetime Achievement Award

Adrian Ellis MI FIH, former General Manager of The Lowry Hotel, Manchester

Outstanding Contribution Award

Sue Williams, Positive Hospitality Ltd, Director and formerly general manager of Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa

Restaurants of the Year 

England – The Greyhound, Buckinghamshire

London – The Silver Birch, London

Wales – Thomas by Tom Simmons, Cardiff

Scotland – Loch Bay Restaurant, Isle of Skye

Hotels of the Year

England – Down Hall Hotel & Spa, Hertfordshire 

London – The Dorchester

Wales – The Parkgate Hotel, Cardiff 

Scotland – Cromlix, Stirling 

Northern Ireland – The Ebrington Hotel, Londonderry

Group of the Year 

Red Carnation Hotel Group

Small Hotel Group of the Year 

Eden Hotel Collection, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Wine Award 

England – Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms, Lancashire

Wales – Plas Dinas Country House, Gwynedd

Scotland – The Balmoral, Edinburgh 

Shortlisted categories (excluding Chefs Chef):

Housekeeper of the Year 

Paula Seddon – Crow Wood Hotel and Spa Resort, Lancashire
 
Sustainable Award 

1 Hotel Mayfair, London

Inn of the Year

The Cartford Inn, Lancashire  
 
B&B of the Year

Mallard Grange, North Yorkshire 
 
Restaurant with Rooms of the Year

Mingary Castle, Highlands

Spa Hotel of the Year

Carden Park Hotel, Cheshire

Food Service Award

The Seafood Restaurant, Cornwall

College Restaurant of the Year

Senara – Truro & Penwith College

New five rosettes

Woven by Adam Smith (Coworth Park), Berkshire 

The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, Perth & Kinross 

Angel at Hetton, North Yorkshire 
 
New four rosettes

Restaurant 1890 by Gordon Ramsay (Savoy Hotel), London

Olive Tree at the Queensberry Hotel, Somerset

Bybrook at The Manor House Hotel, Wiltshire

Lumiere, Gloucestershire 

Atrium (Lords of the Manor), Gloucestershire

New three rosettes

The Flintlock at Cheddleton, Staffordshire

The Old Deanery, North Yorkshire 

HUMO London, London 

Pignut, North Yorkshire

The Vines Restaurant, Cheshire 

Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa, Cheshire 

The Three Horseshoes, Essex

The Cottage in the Wood, Cumbria

Chartwell at Aldwark Manor, North Yorkshire

Mallory Court Country House Hotel & Spa, Warwickshire

Skosh, North Yorkshire

MUSU, Greater Manchester

The Fanny Talbot, Gwynedd

New four red stars

Farlam Hall Hotel & Restaurant, Cumbria

Douneside House, Aberdeenshire

The Angel Hotel, Suffolk

Lygon Arms Hotel, Worcestershire

Nutfield Priory Hotel & Spa, Surrey

New three red stars

Penally Abbey, Pembrokeshire