BEST REGIONAL HOTEL IN AUSTRALIA
Prince Alfred Hotel owners Clive and Maryanne Johnson are no stranger to receiving awards, but this time they feel like “they’ve won a logie” after winning the title of the Overall Best Hotel in Australia (Regional).
“You can’t get any better than this award, and to be the second or third hotel in Queensland to ever win this.. it’s a really wonderful win,” Ms Johnson said.
Awarded by the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) at the Royal Pines Resort last month, the PA Hotel were against seven other hotels who provided some immense competition.
However, Clive believes the PA’s winning ingredient is their hardworking staff who both him and Maryanne refer to as “family.”
“Because the competition is fairly even and there’s so many beautiful hotels we’re up against, often it comes down to staff and how good they are,” Mr Johnson said.
“I believe that’s what happened here, our staff were exceptionally good.
“The staff is the whole soul of the building.”
AHA representatives send undercover employees to determine the winning hotel, assessing areas like cleanliness, food, customer service and general layout.
General Manager Peter Coultas also puts the win down to Clive and Maryanne’s constant forward thinking, noting that they regularly travel interstate (and sometimes, overseas) to garner inspiration from other leading hotels.
“We here at the PA Hotel prefer to be the leaders rather than the followers,” Mr Coultas said.
“We like to keep things fresh and innovative, a prime example of this is our Tap’d Bar which is modelled from a similar bar in San Diego.”
If this accolade wasn’t enough, the hotel is also nominated for four awards with the Queensland Hotel Association (QHA), including best themed bar (Tap’d), best draught beer, best gaming venue and best hotel restaurant (Char’d).
QHA Chief Executive Bernie Hogan took to social media to congratulate Clive and Maryanne.
“National accolades from hotel industry peers don’t come without a lot of dedication and hard work,” Mr Hogan said.
“I’d like to congratulate the Prince Alfred Hotel owners.
“Clive and Maryanne Johnson’s incredible efforts to transform their venue into a world-class establishment are unparalleled and deservedly recognised by our industry’s national judges.”
