A crowd of more than 600 industry representatives gathered at the Four Points by Sheraton for the industry’s “night of nights”, the 2016 Tourism Accommodation Australia (NSW) Awards for Excellence.

NSW’s top accommodation hotels were honoured, with the Park Hyatt Sydney and Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley recognised as the deluxe hotels of the year (Sydney and Regional).

Newly appointed Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Keith Pitt MP was in attendance.

A record 300 plus nominations were received this year from 71 hotels across 34 categories showcasing the best in the accommodation sector.

The Park Hyatt Sydney won Sydney Deluxe Hotel of the Year whilst Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley took out the Regional Deluxe Hotel of the Year title.

PARKROYAL Darling Harbour took out the win for Sydney Superior Hotel of the Year, while Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains won Regional Superior Hotel of the Year.

The Mid-range Hotel of the Year award went to Atura Blacktown which also won Brasserie/Café of the Year for its Roadhouse Bar and Grill.

For the business events hotels, the award for Function Venue of the Year went to InterContinental Sydney Double Bay; Conference Hotel of the Year Metropolitan Hotels went to Sheraton on the Park; and Château Élan at The Vintage Hunter Valley was named Conference Hotel of the Year Regional Hotels.

The award for Redeveloped Hotel of the Year went to The Old Clare Hotel while Apartment/Suite Hotel of the Year was won by Fraser Suites Sydney.

The Blue Mountains and Hunter Valley were the most successful regional areas, with The Hydro Majestic Hotel taking the award for Hotel Chef of the Year (Mate Herceg) and Lilianfels’ Darley’s Restaurant named Regional Restaurant of the Year. Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley took out two awards for individual excellence.

Staff from the Hilton Sydney had a good night with Morgan Meredith grabbing the gong for Hotel Industry Rising Star and Hayden Gibson winning the award for Employee Excellence in Service.

Recognising three consecutive years of excellence in the category, were The Sydney Boulevard Hotel for Outstanding Community Service and Achievement and the InterContinental Sydney for Workplace Health and Safety Hotel of the Year, who also entered the TAA NSW Hall of Fame.

TAA NSW Chair, Peter Tudehope, said the excellent quality of all nominees and winners showed the very high standards of the tourism accommodation industry in NSW.

“NSW truly is setting a high benchmark for the rest of Australia, and indeed internationally, when it comes to accommodation hotels,” Tudehope said.

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres congratulated the individuals and businesses on their outstanding accomplishments.

Speaking at the awards night, Ayres added “to support the Government’s goal of doubling overnight visitor expenditure in NSW by 2020, we must have the highest standards of service and experiences to offer visitors and I am delighted that our accommodation sector continues to strive for excellence.”

The NSW tourism industry contributes in excess of $30 billion to the NSW economy each year, directly supporting 159,000 jobs and 91,000 businesses.

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said NSW is the national leader for tourism and each year the competition grows as operators around the State continue to set a higher benchmark.

“I commend Tourism Accommodation Australia NSW for providing an opportunity for us to recognise the creativity, professionalism and innovation generated from this important industry and we look forward to welcoming many more visitors to NSW to experience these fantastic accommodation offerings,” Chipchase said.

2016 TAA (NSW) Award for Excellence winners also include:

• Health Club and Spa Facilities of the Year: Emirates One&Only Spa, Wolgan Valley (Regional winner) and The Darling Spa, The Star (Metropolitan winner)
• Metropolitan Restaurant of the Year (Deluxe): Bentley Restaurant + Bar, Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney and Momofuku Seiobo, The Star (joint winners)
• Metropolitan Restaurant of the Year (Mid-Range/Superior hotels): Steeds Club Grill & Bar, Rydges Parramatta
• Workplace Health and Safety Hotel of the Year: Crowne Plaza, Terrigal
• Outstanding Achievement in Training: Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney
• Outstanding Community Service and Achievement: The Westin Sydney
• Best Environmental Practices (Metropolitan): InterContinental Sydney
• Best Environmental Practices (Regional): Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley