The HotelClub Hotel Awards accents and underlines hospitality excellence wherever it may shine. Not content to doff caps for the usual, telltale milestones of comfort and luxury, such as sheet thread counts, pillow menus, lobby décor, rooftop bar scene and room service, the laurels often come with a twist. The 2011 United Kingdom and Ireland edition is no exception.

To wit, the list of triumphant hotels rose to prominence because of such outside the box, intangible features as:

Best Place for Celeb Spotting
Best Place for Afternoon Tea
Best for Country Comfort
Best for Shopaholics
Best Views Over London
Astonishing Architecture
Top Places to be Pampered
Best Place for a Romantic Rendezvous
Best Place for London Dry Gin
Best for Romantic Rendezvous
Best for “Weekend with the Girls/Guys” Getaway
Best for Test Cricket
Best Place for a Haggis Breakfast
Best Place for a Wee Dram
Best Place to Stay for the Auld Firm Game
Best Tee Off and 19th Hole
Best for Family-Friendly Fun
Best Place to Enjoy a Guinness
Best Place to Stay for the Gaelic Games
Best for Rugby

Check out a sampler of a few United Kingdom and Ireland hotels that made enough of a valiant impression to qualify for the 2011 HotelClub Hotel Awards:

The Langham – Best Hotel for Celebrity Spotting in London

With persistent whispers that the likes of Cheryl Cole and Pippa Middleton prefer the swank luxury of The Langham, the Regent Street property was a shoo-in.

The Landmark – Outstanding for Afternoon Tea in London

Marylebone is no stranger to the upscale afternoon tea scene but few digs compare with the plush Winter Garden at The Landmark.

Town Hall Hotel & Apartments – Astonishing Architecture in London

It never hurts to stay in a hotel with a manifest “design philosophy”. Even better if the property is a Grade II landmark with inimitable Edwardian and Art Deco flourishes, as is the case with the Town Hall Hotel & Apartments in Patriot Square.

The Regency – Best Place to Stay for the Gaelic Games in Ireland

The Regency in Whitehall, Dublin is just the place to hurl – and bat and kick and serve – when the Gaelic Games come to town. Whether a fan of rounders, Gaelic football or handball, the conference and leisure centre is tops for spectators and participants alike.

Macdonald Aviemore Highlands Resort Golf & Spa – Best Place for a Wee Dram in United Kingdom

For some strange reason, wee drams taste that much sweeter in the Highlands of Scotland. Enter the exquisite Macdonald Aviemore Highlands Resort Golf & Spa, a premier property in the heart of Cairngorms National Park.

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