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The delicate balance between uniformity and individuality is an accomplishment few hotel groups achieve. City Inn Westminster surprised judges last year by finding this middle ground while simultaneously breaking the mould.

"Unique" is a word that regularly crops up among last year's judges' comments. City Inn Westminster was just the fourth hotel in the group to open, and yet it took huge risks with design. From the striking glass front to the contemporary-style bar, a modern and stylish approach dominated the design.

"City Inn has got guts to it. I admire it enormously. I think it has the wow factor," said one of the judges. Opening in September 2003, with 460 rooms, City Inn Westminster was the biggest new-build hotel in London for more than 30 years.

Yet it wasn't just looks which swung the judges, who were particularly impressed by the bar and restaurant, which brought "quality food back into hotels in the three- and four-star market". The hotel's 200-seat City Café restaurant and Millbank Lounge quickly became destinations in their own right, with non-residents accounting for nearly half (46%) of the covers at lunch and dinner. Judge Simon Johnson, analyst at UBS investment bank, noted that these figures demonstrated that the hotel was "not just a room factory".

Yet another element to this hotel's success story was its 82.2% occupancy rates and £81 achieved room rate recorded in its first full year of trading. While other group hotels relied on discounted rates to boast occupancy, City Inn Westminster was able to keep rates reasonable and rooms full.

Judge Andrew McKenzie, managing director of the Vineyard at Stockcross, said: "It has almost created its own genre, somewhere between budget and full-service, and it takes business from both." The hotel group started out with the aim of providing an upmarket budget offering, yet its focus on the customer's experience successfully attracted both five-star and budget customers.

With group hotels tending to fall into the trap of being starchy and impersonal, a unique approach stands out in this field. City Inn's bold design and a popular bar and restaurant has earned it much acclaim, including a RIBA award as well as the prestigious Catey.

To catch the eye of this year's judging panel, contenders for the Hotel of the Year - Group award will have to demonstrate consistency of product and service, as well as achievements in the past year.

Judges' criteria

The Hotel of the Year - Group category is open to any group of hotel of any size and at any market level that demonstrates:

• Excellence in its chosen market.
• Consistency of product and service.
• Success as a business.
• Particular achievements in the past year.