A BUSTLING hotel was honoured for its focus on putting the customer first.

The Holiday Inn Bolton “checked in” at the ceremony and scooped the customer excellence award.

The town centre hotel, in Higher Bridge Street, prides itself on constantly monitoring customer feedback to deliver an excellent experience for guests.

Its 132 bedrooms and 10 function rooms are a hive of activity, with business people and other guests visiting the town using the hotel as a base.

It also offers competitively priced wedding packages, business packages which have attracted regular clients, and other events including boxing, proms, corporate dinners and parties.

The hotel is run by a large management team headed by managing director Peter Hales and general manager Dieter Koch, and employs a staff of 90.

Mr Koch said: “We were very honoured to win the award.

“It fits with what we are doing, customer service is the heart of what we do, and it is what brings people back.

“It is very appropriate to our business, and we are really chuffed to have won it.”

The hotel runs an awards scheme for customer recognition of good service, and holds staff surveys every six months with feedback being given to the employees that work there.

Staff are trained to interact with customers to resolve any issues immediately, and a customer feedback option on the hotel’s website allows management to receive detailed analysis and statistics of how well the hotel is performing.

The hotel was built on the grounds of the former St Mary’s School, and opened in 1992.

In 2006 it was rebranded to be part of the Holiday Inn franchise.