Three fantastic Tyne & Wear venues recognised at prestigious Visit England Awards for Excellence

Seaham Hall Hotel and Spa took the silver award in the small hotel category. The five star County Durham hotel offers luxury accommodation, dining, and spa beauty and wellbeing treatments.

The Escape Key in Newcastle won the silver unsung hero award. The popular attraction offers groups the chance to solve an array of puzzles to find the keys and escape a range of rooms.

Meanwhile, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead won the bronze award for the Business Events Venue of the Year.

The prestigious Visit England Awards for Excellence have been running for more than 30 years.

This year’s winners were selected from hundreds of tourism businesses across England including hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, glamping operators, attractions, restaurants, pubs and museums, forwarded to the national competition via local and regional competitions across England.

Visit England Director Andrew Stokes said: “These annual awards are an opportunity to applaud and showcase the businesses and individuals who provide outstanding customer service and continuously improve their products and offer for visitors.

“From a captivating science museum in Merseyside to a fully accessible hotel in Bournemouth, from cow cuddling on a farm in Yorkshire to fine dining in Lancashire, this year’s winners show just how varied and diverse our industry is and what makes it great.

“Competition this year was fierce, reflecting the excellence evident across each category and I congratulate all the 2025 winners, and especially those who won Gold, an achievement cementing their place as the standard bearers of our world-class tourism industry.”