Chief Executive Officer Mark Rose.

The Rees Hotel Queenstown has achieved three finalist nominations in the prestigious '2012 Hotel & Accommodation Management Magazine (HM) Awards For Hotel & Accommodation Excellence,' now in its tenth year and widely recognised throughout the industry internationally.

The luxury lakefront property is finalist in the 'Best Hotel New Zealand & South Pacific' category while two key personnel have also attracted individual recognition. Chief Executive Officer Mark Rose and Executive Chef Ben Batterbury have both reached the final cut for 'Best New Zealand General Manager' and 'Best Hotel Chef' respectively.

The HM Awards has attracted a record 2300 entries across 41 categories from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. All qualifying candidates were required to submit a comprehensive written entry and went through a rigorous selection process by an esteemed judging panel made up of over 50 industry leaders, travel writers, industry experts and key clients. The results are audited externally by Ernst & Young.

CEO Mark Rose believes outstanding team work is what sets The Rees Queenstown apart and he praises his staff for their consistent efforts. Mr Rose even puts his own 'Best NZ General Manager' nomination down to a "collective and outstanding effort" by those around him.

"It's very satisfying for the hotel to be recognised by its peers for the second year in a row. The Rees has been nominated for two out of the three years we've been open by HM and that's a true reflection of the commitment to excellence and professionalism that our team makes," says Rose.

The Rees Hotel's Executive Chef, Ben Batterbury says his nomination is a "proud reflection of my passion for using the freshest and finest local artisan produce and True South Dining Room's fantastically supportive network of suppliers, wineries and talented chefs who all make my job so easy."

The nomination caps off an outstanding year for Batterbury who is a '2012 NZ Beef & Lamb Ambassador Chef' while True South Dining Room has just been awarded the distinguished '2012 Award of Excellence' by highly respected US wine and hospitality bible, the Wine Spectator.

The HM Award winners will be announced at an exclusive gala dinner and awards ceremony in Sydney on September 7 with over 600 hotel industry professionals expected to attend.