QHotels dominates golf resort rankings

Aldwark Manor in York and Oulton Hall in Leeds were among those listed in the Golf World magazine’s inaugural Top 100 Resorts in UK and Ireland.

Q Hotel’s ten rankings constitute the largest number of entries in the list by any one brand.

The other resorts are Belton Woods in Grantham, Lincolnshire; Dunston Hall in Norwich; Forest Pines Hotel and Golf Resort in North Lincolnshire; Hellidon Lakes Golf and Spa Hotel in Northamptonshire; Mottram Hall in Macclesfield, Cheshire; Slaley Hall in Hexham, Northumberland; Telford Hotel and Golf Resort in Shropshire and the Westerwood Hotel and Golf Resort near Glasgow.

Andrew Cameron, the brand’s golf operations manager, believes the group can be justifiably proud of its performance in the new classification.

He said: “This ranking was eagerly anticipated, as nothing of this magnitude had ever been attempted before.

“There’s a lot more to a resort than just its golf course or its accommodation alone. Everything has to come together – golf, food, hotel, relaxation – to make it somewhere a golfer wants to visit and stay for a couple of days.

“And for each of our ten resorts to feature in the top 100 in the UK and Ireland is a real feather in our cap – a tremendous feat. No other group can match that level of performance and everybody who works at our resorts can be rightly proud of the part they’ve played in this unique success.”

The resorts are managed by Redefine BDL Hotels, the largest golf resort operator in the UK.

Leeds-based QHotels was founded in 2003 and now has 26 four-star hotels in the UK.

The hotels range from city centre locations to contemporary hotels, and countryside golf and spa hotels.

In the year to December 31, 2016, the group enjoyed revenues of £144.3m, compared with £141.3m for the previous accounting period on a pro-rata basis. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation increased by three per cent to £38.4m while pre-tax losses remained static at £3.4m.