Grovedale Hotel wins again as top regional hotel

THE Grovedale Hotel is the talk of the town after taking home its second Ian Larkin Overall Hotel of the Year (Regional) at the 2023 Australian Hotels Association Victoria State Awards for Excellence.

Victoria’s top pubs, hotels and venue staff were all celebrated across 39 award categories at a gala dinner on Monday this week at the Palladium at Crown in Melbourne.

The Grovedale establishment also took home Best Sports Bar (Regional), Best PubTAB (Regional) and Best Gaming Venue (Regional), making it a huge night for the Taylor Group, who have run the hotel for more than 15 years.

After first taking out the prestigious Overall Hotel of the Year (Regional) award in 2019, Grovedale Hotel general manager Joel Taylor said management were absolutely over the moon to win it again.

“Obviously it’s an amazing honour to be given this award again… to be recognised a second time is just brilliant.

 

“Having a strong and positive work environment that people want to be around has been a huge emphasis for our staff and our customers and we continue to see a huge buy-in across the board.

“Hospitality is all about people and we continue to be blown away by the response from locals and how well it has gone over the years.

“When I look at the people that are helping us to run the venue in each department, it makes perfect sense.”

Boosting multiple bar areas, a TAB, casual dining and restaurant spaces and a gaming room, the venue prides itself on being well-rounded and appealing to locals of all ages, according to Mr Taylor.

“I guess just to be a finalist is something that we would have been super-proud of, but to win it not for the first but second time is something else,” he said.

“We are incredibly stoked with it.”

 

Other winners from the Geelong region comprised the Torquay Hotel for Best Live Entertainment Venue; and the Portarlington Grand Hotel for Best Hotel Accommodation and Best Redeveloped Food and Beverage Hotel.

Several venues from across the Geelong region were also finalists:

Jamie Francis Collins from the Beach Hotel in Jan Juc in Local Legends

Sawyers Arms Tavern in Newtown in Best Pub Restaurant (Regional)

Grovedale Hotel, Torquay Hotel and Telegraph Hotel in Geelong West in Best Casual Dining (Regional)

Grovedale Hotel and Portarlington Grand Hotel in Best Pub Bar (Regional)

Sawyers Arms Hotel in Parma of the Year

Great Ocean Road Brewhouse in Apollo Bay in Best Retail Liquor Outlet

Barwon Heads Hotel, Great Ocean Road Brewhouse, Portarlington Grand Hotel and Torquay Hotel in Best Outdoor Experience (Regional)

Telegraph Hotel in Best Rooftop Experience

Barwon Heads Hotel and Torquay Hotel in Best PubTAB (Regional), and

Torquay Hotel in Best Gaming Venue (Regional).