We have a winner! The Pig in the Forest scoops prestigious César award

The hotel industry’s equivalent of the Oscars has just taken place and we’re pleased to report that The Pig in the Forest has been awarded ‘Best Hotel South’.

The just-published 46th edition of the Good Hotel Guide 2023 (GHG) describes the Brockenhurst hotel as “having reinvented the English country hotel with a hip not hooray atmosphere.”

Chairman of The Pig Hotels, Robert Hutson, said: “We are all completely thrilled to be given the prestigious César Award for Best Hotel in the South. This is a real lift for our loyal team who have worked so tirelessly and with good humour during these turbulent past few years. The hotel and restaurant business has always been more akin to a ‘marathon’ than a ‘sprint’, so to still be winning an award like this after 11 years since we opened this first Pig is especially gratifying. Thank you Good Hotel Guide.”

The guide’s 12 César winners (named after revered hotelier César Ritz) are those that have been consistently excellent, and they showcase the best of the UK’s hotels. GHG insists it is the UK’s only truly independent guide; the editorial team make their awards based on readers reports and anonymous inspections, with no money or free hospitality exchanging hands for inclusion in the print guide.

Originally a Georgian hunting lodge, The Pig in the Forest was the original of what is now a litter of eight pigs of all shapes and sizes across the south. The guide approved of Judy Hutson’s unpretentious shabby chic interiors and cited the amazing food, sourced from the hotel’s kitchen garden or from within a 25-mile radius.

Other Pig Hotels near Poole are the much-loved The Pig on the Beach in Studland, with stunning sea views, and The Pig in the Wall in Southampton, the smallest of The Pigs tucked away in Southampton’s old medieval walls. Find out more at www.thepighotel.com 

There are 650 hotels, inns, guesthouses and B&Bs listed in the current GHG so if you need a break, you know where to look! www.goodhotelguide.com 

Emily McGregor, Local News and Lifestyle Reporter