Staff at the Royal Duchy Hotel in Falmouth are celebrating after family-owned Brend Hotels was named Hotel Group of the Year at the prestigious AA Hospitality Awards 2015 in London.

One of 11 hotels in Devon and Cornwall, the Royal Duchy became part of the Brend group in 1977, achieving four star status in 1995. Seventy people are currently employed there and recent developments include the opening of a brand new restaurant last year.

“The Brend family continue to invest heavily in The Royal Duchy, as they do all the hotels in the group,” said area director John Allen, from Falmouth, who has worked with the company for more than 30years. “Winning this award is a tremendous accolade and a real tribute to the hard work and customer focus of the whole Royal Duchy team.”

The AA has long been a leading authority on the top hotels and restaurants in the country. Its awards are highly sought after and the Brend Hotel group, which was founded by Percy Brend in 1955, had to beat off stiff competition from other hotels across the UK.

“The AA is a very prestigious organisation so being honoured in this way means a very great deal,” said director Peter Brend Senior. “Traditional values and excellent customer service are what the Royal Duchy and other Brend hotels are all about and those gold standards have now been recognised at the highest level nationally which is wonderful – not just for our family, but for our excellent staff and, of course, our customers.”

The award was presented at a glittering ceremony at Grosvenor House in London, hosted by television presenter Fiona Bruce and with a special menu created by Cornwall-based chef Nathan Outlaw.