The Budock Vean Hotel which lies on the banks of the Helford River, was named Best Hotel in the West Country at the glitzy Best Loved Hotels Awards ceremony last week.

This much-loved country house hotel has been owned by the Barlow family almost 30 years, and stood out among contenders for the awards, which are designed to celebrate and showcase excellence across Best Loved’s properties throughout Britain and Ireland.

“We are really pleased to win this prestigious award which sets us among some truly top-class hotels,” said the Budock Vean’s Martin Barlow. “We have an amazing team and we strive for excellence in everything we do - so this is a real boost for us all and an acknowledgement that we’re offering our guests an exceptional all-round experience.”

The Best Loved award comes just as the Budock Vean celebrates crossing the half way mark of a major five year renovation and refurbishment programme at this historic country house estate.

The hotel is set in 65 acres of sub-tropical gardens, ancient woodland and its own nine hole parkland golf course all running down to a private foreshore on the Helford, near Falmouth. It has a large indoor pool, outside hot-tub, tennis courts and a spa specialising in Elemis and Cornish organic brand Spiezia treatments– as well as an AA Rosette restaurant specialising in modern British cuisine and local seafood.

Best Loved Hotels has been the trusted go-to source for superior quality independent accommodation in the UK and Ireland for more than 20 years. Nominations for Best Loved Awards opened in June this year with Best Loved customers invited to nominate hotels where they had stayed and experienced ‘best in class’ stays.

“The overall customer experience is paramount in any hotel stay and we feel our awards celebrate the eclectic nature of our hotel portfolio,” said Julian Ebbutt, managing director of Best Loved Hotels.

“We are celebrating excellence in many different areas and this is why we have asked our Best Loved customers to feed back on their personal experiences that they have had throughout the year staying at Best Loved properties and to nominate hotels accordingly.

“We appreciate that hotels work very hard 24-7, 365 days a year. For hotels to achieve these exceptional standards and to constantly innovate and improve must be both recognized and celebrated.”