Mayo guesthouse wins Georgina Campbell 'Host of the Year' accolade

John and Elizabeth Barrett of The Bervie Guesthouse, Keel, Achill, has won the prestigious title of 'Host of the Year' in the Georgina Campbell Irish Food & Hospitality Awards 2023.

Celebrating 25 years in their current incarnation, the independent Georgina Campbell Awards represent the four corners of Ireland and are the country’s longest running food and hospitality awards.

They recognise and honour the standard-bearers in food and hospitality with particular focus, this year, on genuine hospitality, consistency, innovation and good value.

They also pay special tributes to some of the giants of Irish food and hospitality – and the brave newcomers who, against the odds, continue to delight with inspiring new businesses.

The citation in respect of the The Bervie reads as follows: "The Barrett family’s magical beachside house is a low, tucked-in kind of a place with a little wicket gate giving direct access to Keel beach, and an other-worldliness which is very rare these days.

"Since 1932, the Bervie has been the ultimate escape for the many guests who have stayed here.

"Elizabeth was born here and, aside from the location and the charm of the house itself - which has style without being at all ‘decorated’ - it is the sense of continuity that makes it special. And, of course, she has the ‘hotelier’s gene’.

"Hospitality comes naturally to her and her husband John, and to all of their delightful staff - which, together with comfortable, compact rooms, a cosy fire, great food (at both dinner and breakfast) - adds tremendously to the charm of this very special place.

"As Elizabeth says: “Hospitality is what we do, what Ireland is all about, and we must treasure it. Without it, what is the point?'