Pictured above: Alan Dann
A new Shropshire hotel which opened its doors to the public less
than three months ago has wowed AA inspectors and scooped three
stars and two rosettes after their first visit.
The AA assesses establishments that offer accommodation to a set
of common quality standards. These standards are agreed by the AA
and the UK tourist authorities: VisitBritain, VisitScotland and
Visit Wales.
They also assess restaurants and reward rosettes to those
deserving of recognition.
The new Lion + Pheasant Hotel in Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury, opened
its doors in November 2010 and welcomed the AA inspectors earlier
this month. The venue was awarded three stars and two rosettes for
the restaurant - the highest possible on a first inspection.
Jim Littler, manager of the Lion + Pheasant, said: "We were very
pleased to welcome the AA inspectors to the Lion + Pheasant and
were very happy to receive the awards we did.
"Our staff work very hard to ensure customers both in the hotel
and restaurant receive the best service possible and we look
forward to impressing the AA inspectors further in the
future."
The AA Rosette scheme has long been established and successfully
recognises cooking at different levels nationwide. The success or
failure in achieving Rosettes is based on a single (sometimes
multiple) visit to a hotel or restaurant. Essentially it's a
snapshot; whereby the entire meal including ancillary items (when
served) are assessed.
Of all the restaurants across the UK, approximately 10 per cent
are of a standard which is worthy of one Rosette and above. This is
a huge achievement and something not to be underestimated.
One and two Rosettes are awarded at the time of inspection,
three and four Rosette awards are announced twice during the year,
but never at the time of inspection, and five Rosettes are awarded
just the once during a year and never at the time of
inspection.
Two rosettes are given to "excellent restaurants, which aim for
and achieve higher standards, better consistency and where a
greater precision is apparent in the cooking. There will be obvious
attention to the selection of quality ingredients."
Around 40 per cent of establishments within the AA Restaurant
Guide will have Two Rosettes.