Excellence award for Fischer's Baslow Hall - honoured with a four AA Red Star - where major investment is in the pipeline

FIscher’s Baslow Hall has been honoured with a four AA Red Star award, marking the family-owned business as one of the best hotels in the country.

Restaurateur Neil Fischer said: “The award could not have been delivered without the team we have in place. The team goes above and beyond with the energy and effort they put in.

”Four Red Stars are pretty much as good as you can get – we’re incredibly proud. It’s the second year we’ve won it consecutively. What’s fantastic is that it is the inspector’s choice; they just turn up anonymously, dine stay, pay and leave."

On the back of the award, Neil revealed exciting developments for Fischer’s Baslow Hall. He said: “We’re investing heavily next year; we will be expanding our accommodation offer, we’re putting in a champagne bar and we have a series of events next year that are sponsored by big brands like Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche.”

The hotel was opened by Neil’s parents Max and Susan 35 years ago and remains in his family’s ownership despite being put on the market earlier this year.

Neil said: “I felt there was an option open to us to allow us to take it off the market to secure the future of the business and to secure the future of the team. That option means that I personally invested in it.

"In the last 12 months, we’ve consolidated our business interests. During Covid we did pre-packed meals which grew at such a rate that we had to open a food factory which we bought out of liquidation. We ended up selling it off as it was too much for what we could do as a family and we wanted to focus our efforts. We had a butchery and deli that we sold off earlier this year. Our pub properties – the Prince of Wales at Baslow and the Bullls Head at Foolow – we’ve leased to Nick and Jemma Beagrie at Bakewell Bakery.

"Our focus is wholeheartedly on Fischer’s Baslow Hall. We’ve been there for 35 years and our intention is to continue. You will often see three generations of Fischers working in the property. My parents are still very much involved, father is in the kitchen a couple of days a week, mother is front of house on breakfast. We even have my 16-year-old nephew Alfie working in the kitchen when he’s not at college.”

The hotel and restaurant employ 41 members of staff. Neil said: "Our ethos is family driven; when you work for the family, you are part of the family.”

Neil, 42, believes that the hospitality industry has a bright future. He said: "I think the UK will see a rise in tourism and I think that’s in part because of climate change. We found a lot of people in mainland Europe were coming and visiting us because they found it too hot on the Continent this year. Us delivering excellence along with other people within hospitality within the region will pull more people into the UK.

"Hospitality will continue to be a major employer, particularly with the growth of AI which will lead to significant job losses by 2025. In the hospitality sector, you can’t introduce AI – it’s an interpersonal relationship building experence and it cannot be compromised.”