Owner of West Kempsey Hotel, Tim Smith, said the nomination was a shock. 

“We hoped we would make the finals in some categories that we nominated for, but to get in Country Hotel of the Year was a complete surprise,” he said. 

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“I was that surprised I even made a call to the AHA to find out how our nomination came about. It turns out that while mystery shoppers are in your venue, you are judged on a number of other criteria that sits outside of why they are there.”

The additional criteria included judging customer service, atmosphere, popularity and general presentation of the venue.

West Kempsey Hotel is also nominated for Best Burger, Best Steak Sandwhich and Best Cheap Meal under $15. 

“For the food categories, we nominated ourselves. Our business model has always been built around a great value meal offering, we would rather see our customers in our business a few times a week or month versus a few times a year,” Mr Smith said. 

Mr Smith said the focus of the hotel has always been about the customer experience and said the support of the community is what makes it worth it. 

“Community support underpins everything we do, without the level of support we wouldn't be able to buy in the volume we do to keep pricing down and the turnover helps ensure the freshness is maintained in the product we serve,” he said. 

“The relationship can't be under estimated, when done right the venue becomes our patrons 'third place', that place that sits between home and work, their home away from home. When this happens amazing things occur because you can get a feel for what we as a business can do to make the customers life easier.”