The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport has won Independent Hotel of the Year from a panel of industry judges.

The accolade came from the Catey's - Caterer and Hotelkeeper magazine's awards - for being 'the kind of place all hoteliers should go and check out before planning their next venture'.

The luxury hotel has been developed by Sir Terence Matthews after he acquired the property in 1982. With a vision of creating a major golfing, business and leisure resort, Matthews completed the £100m development of the resort in 1999 - increasing the property from 17 to 400-beds.

John Jarvis, chair of Jarvis Hotels and one of the Catey's judges, praised the Celtic Manor Resort for setting the benchmark for resort hotels all over the UK.

Resort director, Robert Church, said: This Catey award from such leading hoteliers is a wonderful tribute to our visionary owner and a highly prized endorsement of the team that has worked so hard to match service delivery with a truly outstanding product.

The Celtic Manor Resort will host the 2009 Ryder Cup competition.