A DARWEN hotel has been ranked among the best in the country after winning a national tourism award.

The Whitehall Hotel was named best independent hotel with a turnover of less than a million pounds, during an awards ceremony at the London Hilton.

Owners Neil and Tracy Bullows, who took over the hotel in August 2003, are thrilled. Neil, 36, said: "It was fantastic. We were sitting with representatives from all the big posh hotels like The Dorchester and The Balmoral.

"All I remember is them saying the "winner is the Whitehall Hotel" and I don't remember much after that. Tracy went up to collect the award which we plan to put in our cabinet at the hotel where we have our other awards.

"This one is great with it being a national award. Everyone knows about us now. Hopefully this means more people coming along spending their money so we can improve the hotel even further. We are not going to sit on our laurels because there's still much to do."

Neil and Tracy are to oversee work to transform the former swimming pool into a restaurant, which they hope will be open by Christmas.

The hotel, in Ross Street, underwent rigorous inspections and visits from representatives of the Best Practice Forum. The awards recognise UK businesses for their willingness to adopt or adapt best practice in all aspects of their operation.

The Whitehall will now feature in a special supplement of winners produced by the awards' co-sponsor, The Observer newspaper.