Businesses from across Dorset have picked up the top gongs for being the best at what they do.
Now in their 11th year, the hotly contested 2024 Muddy Stilettos regional awards have been announced with eight independent Dorset businesses winning the coveted lifestyle crowns in the Dorset, Somerset and Bristol regional awards.
Readers of the award-winning lifestyle website Muddy Stilettos have been nominating and voting in their hundreds of thousands for their favourite independent businesses across 21 different lifestyle categories.
Poundbury’s very own Dorset Wine Company picked up the award for the ‘Best Wine and Beer Specialist’.
Jonathan Charles, owner of the wine merchant, said: “We were really flattered to have been nominated in the first place and still don’t know who put us forward for the award.
“When we heard that we had won we were over the moon. Unlike other industry awards the Muddy Stilettos is voted for by for by your customers so it’s especially satisfying to win, especially as the competition was fierce.
“The Dorset, Somerset and Bristol catchment is rather large and there are plenty of very good wine merchants in this area.
"The award is testament to the hard work of all the team here and I’m pleased for them to get the recognition they deserve.”
Moonfleet Manor near Weymouth picked up the award for the ‘Best Hotel’ at this year’s awards.
The Georgian manor house boasts great views over Chesil beach is in the village of Fleet, which was immortalised in J Meade Falkner’s smugglers’ tale Moonfleet.
Michelle Chilton, general manager of Moonfleet Manor said: "We are absolutely delighted to be awarded the Best Hotel in Dorset, Somerset and Bristol region in the Muddy Stilettos 2024 Awards.
"I'm very proud of our impressive Luxury Family Hotels team here at Moonfleet Manor who are all passionate about offering the very best hospitality for each and everyone of our guests.
"We can't wait to welcome our regular and new guests to the hotel during the popular summer season ahead."
Further north there were two winners from Sherborne.
Salon Fish picked up the award for ‘Best Hair Salon’ which prompted the salon manager to thank their customers for nominating them.
He said: “It’s an honour to win it pretty chuffed as a salon we are quite touched a client would nominate us in the first place and to go on and win an award it is nice.
Another Sherborne business to have picked up one of the coveted awards is the Blackmarsh Farm Café, for ‘Best Café’’.
The café’s manager, Jenny Elwick, said: "It was lovely we were so thrilled to have been nominated by one of our customers.
“It is more than we could have hoped for and we want to thank everyone who voted for us.
“It would be phenomenal to win a national award but I guess we will be up against some big competition but we have a chance."
Elsewhere in the county there were wins for Jurassic Properties in Lyme Regis for ‘Best Boutique Stay’ for their holiday lets, the indoor soft play Seal’s Cove in Bridport won the ‘Best Family Attraction’, in Beaminster Brassica Mercantile picked the ‘Best Lifestyle Store’ award and Station Kitchen won the ‘Best Restaurant’ award.
Regional winners along with winners from the other counties, will automatically go through to the 2024 National Awards, and five businesses in each category will be picked by the Muddy Stilettos Editors to go through to the finals, with the ‘Best of the Best’ winners crowned in July.
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