Staff at Huntlee Tavern are beyond excited to be named finalists in the Australian Hotel Association’s NSW awards in no less than 14 categories.Winners will be announced on October 31 at a gala event at the Royal Randwick Racecourse and while the owners and staff will be absolutely ecstatic to be named winners, the fact that Huntlee Tavern made the finalist list in 14 very different categories is cause for much celebration.They are finalists in: Best Burger, Best Steak Sandwich, Best Draft Beer Quality, Best Wine List, Best Live Music Venue, Best Family Friendly Venue, Best Regional Local, Best Regional Hotel, Best Sporting Entertainment Venue, Best Regional Gaming Venue, Best Wagering Venue, Best Cheap Eats for Meals Under $15, Regional Chef of the Year in Natalie Samaras, Best Regional Hotel of the Year. With so many finalist category nominations, they qualify for consideration for the coveted big one – Best regional hotel of the year.Australian Hotel and Event Management Group also own Bellbird Hotel that is currently under renovation to reopen in November. Between now and the awards night, judges will be popping into the hotel to secretly taste the food, check the menu and absorb the atmosphere so you can bet your bottom dollar, the already top rate service at Huntlee will be exceptional.All hotels that are members of the Australian Hotels Association can enter the awards but not all make the finalist list and the fact that they achieved 14 finalist nominations demonstrates the Tavern’s diversity according to the hotel’s owners, Australian Hotel and Event Management Group director, Jason Gavin.“It really does show Huntlee is a multi-faceted venue, there is the bistro and the bar, the live music, we always wanted it to be a destination venue and this shows that we have definitely become that,” Jason said.Huntlee Tavern opened at the end of 2019 and throughout the covid restrictions, managed to give the community the social outlet it so very much needed and the location is proving to be the right decision.The venue enjoys strong local support but there are plenty making the trip to enjoy everything Huntlee has to offer.“We are so close to Rutherford, Cessnock, Maitland and Singleton and we have people coming from the Central Coast and Sydney especially during holiday periods which is great,” Jason said.
“We are thrilled to make the finalist list in 14 categories and if we win you will hear the celebrations from Randwick but win or lose, we are very happy and excited with this finalist announcement, it is evidence that all the hard work from our staff to give the community a venue of excellence is paying off,” Jason said.
