The best country pub, as nominated by Aussies, has been revealed and it's in our backyard.
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The Beechwood Hotel has been named the best country pub in the Wotif 2021 Uniquely Aussie Awards.
The hotel edged out nine other national finalists including Daly Waters Pub in the Northern Territory, Bathurst's Victoria Hotel, Uki's Mount Warning Hotel and Nindigully Pub in Queensland.
The awards, celebrating quintessential Aussie travel experiences across six categories, highlight the unique joys synonymous with travel.
Beechwood Hotel owner Alistair Flower said the best country pub award was a recognition of the amazing staff and the community.
Mr Flower said it was very humbling for the pub to win the people's choice award.
"It is a massive feather in the cap of the great staff we have out there, as ultimately to have the best pub, you need good staff, but you clearly need great locals and a great community, and Beechwood has that in spades," he said.
The Flower Hotel Group has owned the Beechwood Hotel for 12 months.
Mr Flower said the pub concentrated on doing the small things well from ensuring staff members were engaging and smiling to remembering people's beer of choice and sponsoring sporting and community groups.
"It's like a community headquarters, as such," he said about the traditional country pub.
"It is an extension of your loungeroom. You feel like you can go to the Beechwood and you know everyone there."
The pub, located about 12 kilometres from Wauchope in the hinterland town of Beechwood, features memorabilia and old photographs on the wall as a nod to the pub's history spanning more than 100 years.
The Beechwood Hotel's uniqueness, such as some customers arriving at the pub on horseback, also makes it stand out from the pack.
Travel website Wotif.com announced the Uniquely Aussie Award national winners in the categories of best jaffle (Miss Jaffles, Cronulla), best vanilla slice (Bridgewater Bakehouse), best country pub (Beechwood Hotel), best hot chips (Chicken Chef), best national park (Kakadu National Park) and best hotel pool (JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa).
The honours aim to encourage Aussies to explore their own backyard and support their favourite businesses.
The 2021 awards also set out to profile the many local legends, businesses and attractions that make communities tick and represent what travelling in Australia is all about.
The awards are based on public nominations on the Wotif travel website from September 13 to 24.
Wotif managing director Daniel Finch said country charm, cheesy jaffles and creamy vanilla slices - no one did them quite like Australia and the thousands of nominations showed Aussies were a passionate bunch.
"There's so much to love and discover about Australia, and with a really exciting summer period ahead, we hope to inspire and encourage Aussies to plan their next adventure and support local businesses," he said.
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