EAST Lancashire-based Shire Hotels has been named the AA's Hotel Group of the Year for 2003-2004.

The hotel chain is owned by Blackburn brewers Daniel Thwaites and includes the Oaks Hotel on the outskirts of Burnley and The Millstone in Mellor.

The AA said the award reflected the group's outstanding commitment to improving its hotels and its high levels of customer service.

"Shire Hotels has demonstrated a clear commitment to improving its portfolio of hotels over the last year," said Albert Hampson, Hotel Services Business Manager at the AA.

"This has included substantial investment in bedroom, restaurant and spa refurbishment projects and also its impressive new hotel, Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa in Leeds."

The past 18 months have seen Shire Hotels, based in Reedley, invest over £6million in upgrading its eight existing properties while 2002 saw the opening of the £18million Thorpe Park Hotel, the latest addition to the chain and a template for future developments.

According to managing director, Ian Harkness, the difference is in the detail: "At Shire Hotels, we are always willing to go above and beyond what is expected of us, both in terms of the service we provide and the facilities we offer.

"A notable example of this is our approach to recruitment, where staff are chosen equally as much for their personality and desire to help customers, as they are for their technical ability. It is this commitment to old-fashioned personal service that adds to the overall experience of our customers and ensures that they come back to us again and again."

For the Millstone in Mellor this is the second accolade to be received from the AA, having held a Rosette for Culinary Excellence for seven years in a row.