Stocks Hotel in Sark is starting 2019 on an all-time high, having attracted multiple accolades, including three AA rosettes.
It is the only hotel in the Bailiwick of Guernsey to achieve this level of recognition from the AA for the quality of its food and service, following two anonymous inspections last year, and the first hotel or restaurant in Sark to do so.
And the award from the AA is just one of the plaudits Stocks has gained in recent months. It has also been given four AA silver stars, it is one of 25 small hotels in the UK to receive a 2019 Travellers’ Choice award from Trip Advisor and it has the highest Booking.Com aggregated score for any hotel in the Bailiwick.
Paul Armorgie, Stocks Hotel’s General Manager said: “We appreciate the positive comments about Stocks that we regularly receive from our guests but these awards endorse the consistency and quality of our reputation. This level of recognition from internationally-renowned organisations is a huge boost for the hotel, its staff and for Sark as a whole.”
The AA inspector made special mention of the hotel décor and its “traditional dishes showcasing local produce”.
“With its opulent drapes and white tablecloths, the oak panelled dining room provides a traditional and formal setting for technically adept cooking that pays its dues to modern ideas and is also – thanks to a kitchen that has close links with local fishermen and farmers – solidly ingredient-driven,” the inspector reported.
“Citrus-cured monkfish with gin-infused cucumber, garden borage and yoghurt is a fresh and vivid starter and the bar stays high for a dish of Guernsey turbot with braised chicken wings, baby gem, Jerusalem artichoke and chicken jus. A perfectly risen coconut soufflé partnered with coconut sorbet and a zippy pineapple and chilli salsa is proof that desserts are a major strength too.”
Silver stars are awarded to establishments that demonstrate high standards of hotel keeping and food within their star rating.
Stocks’ Trip Advisor award, based on feedback from guests over the past year, places it in the top 1 per cent of small hotels across the whole of the UK. Similar recognition was given to the Braye Beach Hotel in Alderney.
Hayley Coleman of Trip Advisor said: “Small, family owned, luxury hotels have long held their status as a British institution and it’s great to see two properties in the Channel Islands recognised worldwide for being the very best in their class”,
The Booking.Com scoring of 9.5 out of 10, based on guests’ evaluation of six criteria, puts Stocks in top place in the Bailiwick, 0.1 ahead of the OGH Hotel.
Mr Armorgie said: “Sark continues to face a number of well-publicised challenges but it remains a very popular tourist destination and our morale is high, particularly after receiving so much positive acknowledgement of our efforts. It bodes very well for the 2019 season.”
Stocks Hotel’s received further recognition in the Guernsey Britain in Bloom awards when judges praised “the dedication and significant hard work in establishing and maintaining the outstanding permaculture garden at Stocks Hotel”.
Among other awards, Stocks’ head gardener James Harrison was presented with The Johnson Cup for Horticultural Excellence, Sark won gold in the community section of the competition and will be representing the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the national Britain in Bloom competition for the second time in 2019.
Stocks Hotel will reopen next month for the 2019 season.
