The Rees Hotel Queenstown was recognised in each of the five prestigious categories for which it was nominated at the 20th anniversary of the prestigious 2022 HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence held in Sydney at the Star Casino on Friday night. Each of the 49 awards was keenly contested by a massive cohort of excellent Australasian properties and impressive talent, making The Rees’ haul (the most for any hotel at these awards) even more spectacular.
The Rees, in conjunction with partner The Helicopter Line, was the winner of the inaugural category ‘Innovative Collaboration’ for their Ultimate Heli-Crayfish Dining Experience.
Mark Rose & Corey Hume
The hotel was highly commended in the ‘NZ Hotel of the Year’ category (and won this award four times previously in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020). In the ‘People Awards’, our team was recognised in three categories, winning two of these:
- Superstar new team member, Ruby Trafford, was highly commended in the ‘Rising Star’ category.
- Executive chef Corey Hume won the ‘Hotel Chef (NZ)’ for an awesome 3rd year.
- Mark Rose was the winner of the ‘New Zealand General Manager of the Year NZ’ category (an award he also won in 2015 and was highly commended for 2019, 2020 and 2021).
This outstanding performance continues to reinforce the property’s reputation as a consistently world-class hotel after three of the most challenging years the industry has ever seen. Contributing to this were innovative hotel initiatives, including strong community and eco support programs, new cultural and experienced-based packages, other international awards and successful exclusive culinary events.
The HM Awards are in their 20th year and are the leading Awards for the accommodation industry in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region. The Awards were held at the Star Event Centre in Sydney and celebrate the best properties, departments, people, chains and brands. Nearly fifty categories saw over fifty nominees, with finalists and winners decided by a judging panel of industry professionals and travel media.
General Manager/CEO Mark Rose and Hotel Manager Roman Lee-Lo, supported by a loyal and talented team, have been responsible for The Rees Hotel’s continued success and impressive growth since its opening in 2009.
The Rees’ support for the environment and community and its sustainable business practices are a cornerstone of the Hotel’s ethos. This mindset, along with the delivery of a consistent and exceptional level of service and hospitality at The Rees, consistently makes it one of the top luxury Queenstown accommodation providers.
Mark Rose spoke of the Hotel’s impressive achievement at this year’s awards, “We are honoured and delighted to be recognised across all five nominated categories in such illustrious company and congratulate all the other winners. Winning three such major awards is testament to the incredible work done by our team, and I cannot tell you how proud we were to be representing them at the HM Awards”.
“I am humbled to again win the NZ General Manager award and congratulate co-winner Jeremy Samuels and I am excited and encouraged to see the talent of the new generation of hospitality professionals coming to the fore and being recognised for their hard work and commitment, such as our own Ruby Trafford, a new team member, who was highly commended in the Rising Star category.”
“These Awards recognise the hard work our team puts in daily to make sure our guests have an exceptional time when they stay with us and our commitment to the wider community and environment, ” Rose continued, “We are truly lucky to have such dedicated, professional and friendly staff who make each facet of the hotel experience one guests will remember and enjoy.”
