The Chester Residence in Edinburgh’s West End was named Hotel of the Year 2012 at the Scottish Hotel Awards at the end of May. It is the first time an aparthotel has picked up the title.

Co-owners Graham and Gillian Wood were presented with the award for their luxurious collection of five-star townhouses at a ceremony in Glasgow. Since opening in 2009, the aparthotel has grown a loyal following of repeat visitors who value its combination of chic designer suites, attention to detail and high level of personalised service.

Graham said: “As a small, family-run business winning this coveted award in such a competitive category is just fantastic. Since we first opened in 2009, our whole team has worked extremely hard to continuously improve on every aspect of the service we provide.”

Other awards went to Alt na Craig in Oban (Guest House of the Year); Apex Hotels (Hotel Group); Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow (Hotel Team); Laurie Nicol of Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow (Hotel Manager); Steven McLeod of the Aurora group. (Scottish Hotelier). The Fellowship was awarded to Norbert Lieder of Inverlochy Castle Management International.