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Guests wanting to stay in the best-managed hotel in New Zealand need look no further than St Moritz Queenstown - and that is official.
The European chalet-style resort won the coveted major category Visitor Accommodation prize for the fourth time and the subcategory Hotel and Resort prize at the Tourism Industry Awards last week.
St Moritz was a first-time entrant and winner in 2002, with subsequent wins in 2003 and 2004 securing its entry into the awards hall of fame with a Distinction Award.
The hotel observed a mandatory stand-down period to re-enter the competition this year.
The award for business excellence was judged on leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus, process management and business results.
"The criteria in the awards process are extremely robust and every aspect was judged," St Moritz general manager Lynne McVicar said.
Director of sales and marketing Jo Finnigan said: "It's not just based on guest feedback or aesthetics; it's everything from human resources to financials to the sustainability of the business long term."
Award contenders had to submit a pre-entry document to strict guidelines to be in the running, then another document that covered all aspects of the operation.
A judging panel of senior tourism industry figures reviewed all submissions and debated the pros and cons.
The three judges made site visits, interviewed staff and scrutinised materials before coming up with a consensus mark for candidates and selecting the winners.
"This year, we were up against some stiff competition from the Langham in Auckland and Holiday Inn in Wellington in our hotels and visitor accommodation category," Mrs Finnigan said.
Both top managers and a group of shareholders attended the awards ceremony in Christchurch and were "absolutely surprised and elated" when St Moritz was awarded twice, Mrs Finnigan said.
Mrs McVicar said the awards were a "tremendous vehicle to assess your own business and as a building block for the next 10 years."
Judges made particular reference to the hotel's unusually low turnover of staff, she said.
"People are our business and the guys in the team are an extension of our guests' holiday experience. We pride ourselves on a great team culture."
Reducing staff turnover was linked with the hotel's long-term profitability and sustainability.
Profit has increased 17% and revenue per available room has increased by 22% over the past four years.
Mrs McVicar has been in charge of St Moritz since its inception and oversaw the extensive refurbishment, which is virtually complete and coincided with its 10th birthday.
The lobby was revamped and a waiting room, cedar hot tub garden and designer gymnasium were all created.
All hotel rooms and suites were upgraded with new colours, textures, mirrors and tiles.
The Lombardi Bar and Restaurant, with its distinctive U-shaped bar, was decorated with copper, leather and a huge black crystal chandelier gantry.
The living and dining room known as the Library, which overlooks the Lake Wakatipu and the mountain range, was enhanced by black lacquer, crystal, mirrors, "tete-a-tete seating" and an upright piano.
"The makeover is to remain competitive and to cater for a more sophisticated market coming to Queenstown," Mrs McVicar said.
"The hotel was largely built for a free and independent traveller [FIT] market anyway but the renovation truly cements its sustainability within the upscale FIT and niche markets."
St Moritz Queenstown's Alpine Cervena Venison
Lombardi Bar and Restaurant, within St Moritz Queenstown, has become a popular dining destination for residents as well as guests, general manager Lynne McVicar says.
Executive chef Avi Yochay and food and beverage manager Trina Amberger revealed to the Queenstown Times their recipe for Alpine Cervena Venison, Lomabardi's signature dish over the past 10 years.
600g cervena (use denver leg or strip loin for this recipe)
4 rashes of honey-cured streaky bacon
2Tbsp of good pesto
A bunch of well-washed spinach
2 large boiled (but still firm) potatoes (skin on)
Third cup of frozen or fresh berries (avoid strawberry)
Half cup of meat jus
1Tbsp raspberry vinegar
3Tbsp red wine
1Tbsp olive oil
Seasoning
Cut cervena into four even medallion portions and rub sides generously with pesto.
Wrap streaky bacon around each piece and secure with string or skewer.
Cut large potatoes to rings about 1cm thick and place in a greased oven dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning.
Bake at 200degC until well browned.
Seal cervena portion well in a hot pan on top and bottom.
Place in the oven with the potatoes for five minutes or until medium rare. Rest well.
In a hot pan, saute spinach with a little garlic oil and seasoning.
Sauce: Reduce raspberry vinegar with red wine. Add meat jus and berries. Season to taste.
To serve: Arrange the potatoes in a circle pattern in the middle of the plate then layer spinach on top of the potatoes, then the cervena on top of that.
Spoon sauce around the sides of the plate.
Serves four.
