AA HOTEL OF THE YEAR 2023-2024
The Forest Side restaurant and rooms in Grasmere, in the Lake District, has been made the AA’s
‘Hotel of the Year England’ in the 2023 awards.
The highly prestigious award, one of the biggest in the hospitality industry, was handed to General
Manager Alasdair Elwick, Head Chef Paul Leonard and Owner Andrew Wildsmith at a ceremony held
on Monday (25th September) at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, London.
Simon Numphud, Managing Director at AA Media said: “Every year we present awards to the very
best AA-rated hotels, restaurants, spas and their teams across the UK. We introduced the renowned
star rating scheme for quality in 1908 and are honoured to shine a well-deserved spotlight on
individuals and establishments who consistently deliver excellence to their guests.”
Alasdair Elwick of Forest Side said: “I’m not going to lie – we’re absolutely buzzing to win the AA
Hotel of the Year for England, it’s an absolutely mega-achievement for us all at The Forest Side. We
work so hard doing our thing, in our way and how we want to do it, our guests love it, and our
honest and genuine approach clearly has been recognised. We’re going to have one awesome
party!”