We all know the Hunter is blessed with some of the best pubs and hotels around.
The proof is in the pudding (bubble in the beer?). The Australian Hotels Association NSW has released its list of state finalists for the industry's 2024 awards.
There are 19 Hunter venues with a combined 83 nominations across a record 48 categories.
There are so many in fact, that Hunter Means Business must bashfully admit not all will be named in this story.
But the nominations will give punters a guide for their next pub feed or pub crawl.
There are five local venues up for Regional Hotel of the Year; Bellbird Hotel (Bellbird), Bradford Hotel (Rutherford), Harrigan's Cameron Park, Lakeside Village Tavern (Raymond Terrace) and The Beach Hotel (Merewether).
The five hotels have been collectively nominated almost 50 times across a dozen categories.
For a unique bar experience, check out The Underground at the Grand Hotel in Newcastle, while The Beach Hotel is up for best late night venue.
Want some live music? The Bellbird, Bradford and Huntlee Tavern are all state finalists for best live music venue.
If you're looking for somewhere to take the kids, the Bradford Hotel, Huntlee Tavern (Branxton), Lakeside Village Tavern and NINETEEN (Pokolbin) are in the running for best family-friendly hotel.
The Lucky Hotel (Newcastle), NINETEEN and The Beach Hotel are all in contention for best outdoor experience, while the Moonan Flat Pub is a hot favourite for best bush pub.
When it comes to food, Hunter punters are spoilt for choice judging from the award nominations.
For the best parmi (it's definitely not parma), try the Bellbird Hotel. For the best steak, you can also try the Bellbird, along with the Bradford and The Prince. For the best local steak sandwich, try the Shortland Hotel. The Prince, Moonan Flat Pub, Hotel Jesmond, Lakeside Village Tavern are all up for best burger.
In total, there are 10 hotels vying for the hotly contested title of best regional casual dining (northern); the Nags Head Hotel (Adamstown) the Bellbird, Huntlee Tavern, Harrigan's Cameron Park, Hotel Jesmond, Bull & Bush Medowie, The Beach Hotel, Lakeside Village Tavern, The Shortland Hotel and The Great Northern Hotel (Teralba).
Wine connoisseurs should try the Bellbird, Huntlee Tavern or The Beach Hotel for their wine list. For a cocktail, head to the Warners Bay Hotel, The Grand Hotel, The Beach Hotel or The Nags Head Hotel.
If you're looking for a unique craft beer, the bottle shops at The Prince and Warners at the Bay are both up for best retail liquor outlet.
AHA NSW Newcastle and Hunter president Mick Starkey said pubs played a special role in regional NSW and it was great to see so many finalists from the Hunter region.
The winners will be named at a gala ceremony tonight at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.
International hotel nod
Pivoting to the other kind of hotels, the architects behind the Crystalbrook Kingsley have won international recognition for transforming the former Newcastle council administration building into the city's first five-star hotel.
EJE won the 2024 HICAP Sustainable Hotel Awards for 'Building Renovation and Adaptive Reuse'.
Firm director and conservation architect Barney Collins said the modern brutalist building was first erected in the 70s and had an interesting history.
"People used to hate it when it was first built, but then it got more than 30 years old and then people loved it," Mr Collins said.
"People now hold the building in high esteem and we wanted to respect that. When the council was getting out of it, we had the benefit of adapting it into a hotel."
The award recognised EJE's clever design allowed the building to be meaningfully used beyond its intended life cycle.
