Eight Welsh hotels and restaurants triumph at major hospitality awards

Nation.Cymru staff

Eight Welsh hotels, restaurants and hospitality businesses have picked up honours at one of the industry’s biggest annual awards ceremonies.

The Celtic Collection secured the UK-wide AA Group of the Year title, while The Walnut Tree Inn near Abergavenny was named AA Restaurant of the Year for Wales and Porth Tocyn Hotel in Abersoch took the country’s Hotel of the Year award.

Welsh businesses also picked up honours for wine and hospitality training, while restaurants in Cardiff and Caernarfon were awarded three AA Rosettes for the first time.

Nearly 1,000 guests attended the AA Hospitality Awards 2026 at JW Marriott Grosvenor House in London, with winners from across the UK recognised for achievements spanning hotels, restaurants and the wider hospitality industry.

Talent

There was also recognition for the next generation of the Welsh hospitality industry, with The Classroom at Cardiff & Vale College named AA College Restaurant of the Year.

The Cardiff restaurant took the UK-wide title ahead of finalists from York College, Milton Keynes College and Truro & Penwith College.

The restaurant provides a professional environment in which hospitality and catering students can develop their skills while serving members of the public.

The Jackdaw in Conwy was another winner, receiving the AA Wine Award for Wales.

Two other Welsh restaurants gained three AA Rosettes for the first time.

The Gunroom Restaurant in Caernarfon and Lofft in Cardiff both received the accolade, recognising their standards of cuisine.

Penmaenuchaf Dolgellau in Gwynedd was meanwhile awarded four AA Red Stars.

Winners

The eight Welsh successes were:

AA Restaurant of the Year – Wales: The Walnut Tree Inn, Abergavenny
AA Group of the Year: The Celtic Collection, Newport
AA Hotel of the Year – Wales: Porth Tocyn Hotel, Abersoch
AA Wine Award – Wales: The Jackdaw, Conwy
AA College Restaurant of the Year: The Classroom, Cardiff & Vale College
New 3 AA Rosettes: The Gunroom Restaurant, Caernarfon
New 3 AA Rosettes: Lofft, Cardiff
New 4 Red Stars: Penmaenuchaf Dolgellau, Gwynedd.

The ceremony also marked the 70th anniversary of the AA Rosette, one of the hospitality industry’s longest-established measures of culinary standards.

The AA introduced its hotel star rating system in 1908 and has inspected restaurants for its Rosette awards since 1956.

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