The Holiday Inn Winchester have been named as a finalist in the 2021/22 Beautiful South Tourism Awards.

A judging panel has selected the hotel as one of the three best entrants in the ‘Resilience and Innovation Award’ category.

The Holiday Inn Winchester’s entry was based on the work the hotel did during the Coronavirus pandemic with the NHS. Not only did the hotel open its doors as a rehabilitation centre during the lockdown, it also went on to become a vaccination centre helping the NHS deliver thousands of jabs to local residents.

Initial judging was based on information provided by the hotel and then they looked at online presence in how the hotel encouraged and inspired visitors as well as feedback from reviews and across social media.

Louis Rigney, General Manager of the Holiday Inn Winchester said: “When we saw the award categories, the Resilience and Innovation Award really stood out as we felt that’s exactly what we’ve had to be for the last two years – resilient and innovative.

“We all know how tough the pandemic has been for so many – none more so than those in the hospitality industry – and we had some really hard decisions to take. But we always tried to be positive and find practical solutions to the problems we faced.

“By doing what we did in opening our doors to the NHS, we helped so many people – from those needing care and then jabs from the NHS to those we were able to keep in jobs within our own business.”

The Beautiful South Tourism Awards are part of the Visit England Awards and the winner of the ‘Resilience and Innovation Award’ category, which will be announced at an award ceremony in April, will automatically be selected to represent the area in the Visit England Tourism Excellence Awards.