SoGlos is delighted to reveal the winners of the eighth annual Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards — the biggest celebration of the county's lifestyle sector, which took place at Pittville Pump Room on Thursday 8 May 2025.
This year's exciting awards event brought finalists, category partners and special guests together to unveil the winners across all 19 categories, as well as who had been crowned overall Lifestyle Business of the Year by headline partners, Pro Global and Made in Gloucestershire.
The competition was fierce, with over 220 businesses shortlisted; more than 28,000 votes cast by SoGlos readers and only the top contenders in each category being recognised as finalists; and the winners and highly commended businesses chosen by a panel of judges, made up of representatives from Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards category partners.
All finalists were invited to celebrate their success at Pittville Pump Room, with welcome drinks and food provided by the venue. With special thanks to event partner The Cheltenham Trust, compere Steve Knibbs and the SoGlos team for making the magic happen!
And the winners are...
Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards 2025 winners
Cultural Venue of the Year 2025
Category partner: 16i
Winner: Westonbirt, The National Arboretum
Home to a world-renowned collection of 15,000 trees, Westonbirt, The National Arboretum is the winner of this year's coveted Cultural Venue of the Year award.
Attracting half a million visitors every year, Westonbirt offers immersive cultural experiences for all ages, helping children to connect with nature through organised family events, as well as diverse cultural engagement for groups like refugees and young people at risk of exclusion through its Community Access scheme.
Highly commended: Gloucester Cathedral
Family Day Out of the Year 2025
Category partner: WSP Solicitors
Winner: Cotswold Farm Park
Bringing families closer to farming and rare breeds through hands-on experiences, Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park is awarded Family Day Out of the Year 2025.
Between bottle-feeding lambs, getting up close to native farm animals and blowing off steam on the adventure play areas, there's plenty to keep children entertained and engaged, with the farm park recently adding a new sensory play area to improve its offering for children with additional needs, too.
Highly commended: WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre
Independent School of the Year 2025
Category partner: Hewer
Winner: The King's School Gloucester
The prestigious King's School in Gloucester, which welcomes boys and girls aged three to 18, wins Independent School of the Year at this year's Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards.
Pairing rich history and tradition with a forward-thinking educational philosophy, King's delivers academic success within a nurturing environment, renowned for its outstanding pastoral care, broad curriculum and extra-curricular offering, and close links to Gloucester Cathedral.
Highly commended: Cheltenham College
Entertainment Venue of the Year 2025
Category partner: The Cheltenham Trust
Winner: Dunkertons Cider
So much more than a cidery, Dunkertons Cider snaps up the title of Entertainment Venue of the Year for its buzzy atmosphere and packed programme of live entertainment throughout the year.
Offering something for everyone, from stand-up comedy and DJ nights to family-focused and community events, Dunkertons blends local culture and craft with a commitment to quality food and drink, creating an entertainment hotspot on the edge of Cheltenham that welcomes all.
Highly commended: The Subscription Rooms
Sporting Venue of the Year 2025
Category partner: Rendcomb College
Winner: Cheltenham Lido
The recently renamed Cheltenham Lido snags the Sporting Venue of the Year award for 2025.
Drawing in around a quarter of a million visitors each year, the lido provides outdoor swimming opportunities for the community, whether they're training with a club or jumping in the pool for the first time, as well as sporting challenges throughout the year.
Highly commended: Gloucester Rugby
Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year 2025
Category partner: First Thought Care Services
Winner: The Beefy Boys
For the second year in a row, the winner of this year's Casual Dining Restaurant of the Year award is The Beefy Boys.
Known for its American-style dirty burgers, loaded fries and boozy shakes, The Beefy Boys is not only packing out its Cheltenham restaurant but growing by the year, having recently launched in Bath, expanded its fleet of food trucks and released a Sunday Times bestselling cookbook.
Highly commended: Trattoria Settebello, Gloucester
Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year 2025
Category partner: Inndecs
Winner: Prithvi
Last year's highly commended Fine Dining Restaurant, Prithvi, takes the top spot in 2025, scooping the Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards trophy for its reimagined Indian fare.
Offering a refined tasting menu that puts a contemporary twist on classic Indian cuisine, Prithvi continues to push culinary boundaries at its Cheltenham restaurant, under the leadership of Michelin-trained executive chef Thomas Law and founder Jay Rahman.
Highly commended: Henry’s Seafood Bar & Grill
Food & Drink Producer of the Year 2025
Category partner: Hazlewoods
Winner: DEYA Brewing Company
Cheers to this year's Food & Drink Producer of the Year, DEYA Brewing Company!
An independent brewery focusing on hoppy beers, lagers and mixed fermentation ales, DEYA supplies pubs and bars across the country, as well as showcasing its beer at its two Cheltenham venues. Its flagship Steady Rolling Man even topped We Are Beer’s Top 50 UK Beers list in 2024.
Highly commended: The Artisan Baker - Stroud
Pub / Bar of the Year 2025
Category partner: NFU Mutual
Winner: Flight Club Darts
It's a Champagne finish for Cheltenham's social darts bar, Flight Club, winning the title of Pub / Bar of the Year 2025.
Located in The Brewery Quarter, Flight Club not only offers technology-charged darts, with nine oches for fast-paced, multiplayer games, but a sociable place to drink and dine, combining the warmth of a traditional British pub with all the fun of a fairground.
Highly commended: DEYA Brewery Taproom
Chef of the Year 2025
Category partner: Laithwaites
Winner: Warwick Nicholson, Henry's Seafood Bar & Grill
Coming to the kitchen from the world of London finance, this year's Chef of the Year is Warwick Nicholson, head chef at Henry's Seafood Bar & Grill.
Warwick brings precision, discipline and a strategic mindset to the Cotswolds' leading seafood dining destination, balancing creativity with technical excellence on his mission to elevate seafood dining in the region.
Highly commended: Sam Idoine, Roots + Seeds Kitchen Garden
Cafe / Coffee Shop of the Year 2025
Category partner: The Brewery Quarter
Winner: KNEAD Bakery Elkstone
KNEAD's Elkstone Studios-based bakery wins the hotly contested Cafe / Coffee Shop of the Year award for 2025.
Beyond its menu of award-winning bakes, brunch and coffee, KNEAD has created a welcoming space for the community through its passion for great food and exceptional service.
Highly commended: The Artisan Baker - Cheltenham
Hotel of the Year 2025
Category partner: The Cotswold Bed Company
Winner: The Greenway Hotel & Spa
The gorgeous Greenway Hotel & Spa on the outskirts of Cheltenham scoops Hotel of the Year for 2025
Set in a 16th-century Elizabethan manor, the hotel holds an impressive 3 AA Rosettes for its restaurant and 4 AA Red Stars, which recognise its distinguished comfort, service and hospitality and set it apart from other hotels in the region.
Highly commended: Cowley Manor Experimental
Wedding Business of the Year 2025
Category partner: Tewkesbury Park
Winner: The Barn at Berkeley
Beating off tough competition in this popular new category, The Barn at Berkeley is crowned Wedding Business of the Year 2025.
Catering for weddings between 60 and 200 guests, this charming, family-owned wedding and event venue is renowned for its restaurant-quality food and breathtaking rural location. Run by third-generation farmers, it's passionate about farm-to-fork and uses local and seasonal produce to shape its menus, as well as meat directly from its own farm.
Highly commended: Elmore Court
Independent Retailer of the Year 2025
Category partner: Warners
Winner: The Cotswold Veg Box Co
Previously winning in 2023, The Cotswold Veg Box Co reclaims the title of Independent Retailer of the Year at the 2025 Gloucestershire Lifestyle Awards.
Making local produce available to all with its fresh fruit and vegetable boxes, the company began in response to a shortage of supermarket delivery slots in the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, it operates on a national scale, delivering over 300 boxes every week and stocking lots of Gloucestershire-based suppliers, too.
Highly commended: Vinotopia Wine Merchants
Property & Interiors Business of the Year 2025
Category partner: Severnside Security
Winner: Rachael Harding Interiors
Cheltenham-based interior design firm, Rachael Harding Interiors, takes the trophy for Property & Interiors Business of the Year in 2025
Run by Rachael, a solo entrepreneur, the business has grown from strength-to-strength since opening its studio on Prestbury Road, with a loyal client base that spans the Cotswolds to Cornwall. Not swayed by trends, Rachael helps her clients find their unique style with a key focus on sustainability, encouraging them to buy better and less often.
Highly commended: Olive & Barr
Health & Wellbeing Business of the Year 2025
Category partner: Young Gloucestershire
Winner: Cheltenham Lido
Hot off the back of its Sporting Venue of the Year win, Cheltenham Lido bags another Gloucestershire Lifestyle Award, taking home Health & Wellbeing Business of the Year 2025.
Originally built to improve the community's health between the first and second world wars, Cheltenham's outdoor swimming spot is still doing wonders for people's wellbeing 90 years later, with cold water swimming sessions in the winter, mindful yoga and meditation classes and social spaces providing an antidote to loneliness.
Highly commended: Jim’s Gym
Children's Business of the Year 2025
Category partner: Early Life Ultrasound
Winner: The Wild Things Events
Another new category for 2025, the first ever Children's Business of the Year award goes to The Wild Thing Events.
Encouraging kids to be curious and creative, The Wild Things Events hosts accessible, affordable imaginative play sessions and natural crafting activities across Gloucestershire, with regular pop-up play opportunities at Elkstone Studios and Saxon Barn.
Highly commended: Mini Mudders
Event of the Year 2025
Category partner: Gloucestershire County Council
Winner: Avalon, Giffords Circus
A real Gloucestershire institution, Giffords Circus wins the award for Event of the Year for last year's spellbinding circus show, Avalon.
Touring the county — and country! — every year from April to September, Giffords combines the charm and glamour of a vintage village-green circus with West End-worthy performances in its iconic 600-capacity big top tent.
Highly commended: Christmas at the Farm, Cotswold Farm Park
Charity of the Year 2025
Category partner: The Roses Theatre
Winner: Hollie Gazzard Trust
A huge round of applause for this year's incredibly deserving Charity of the Year, the Hollie Gazzard Trust!
Founded after the murder of Hollie Gazzard by her ex-partner in 2014, the trust works tirelessly to raise awareness of domestic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour and stalking, educating young people and the wider community to prevent the issues Hollie faced from happening to others.
Highly commended: Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice
Lifestyle Business of the Year 2025
Category partner: Pro Global and Made in Gloucestershire
Winner: Westonbirt, The National Arboretum
Handpicked by headline co-partners Pro Global and Made in Gloucestershire from all the winners on the night, Westonbirt is crowned this year's 'winner of winners', taking the title of Lifestyle Business of the Year for 2025.
Helen Chick, press and marketing officer at Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, said: ‘Thank you to everyone who voted for us, we’re completely stunned to be named overall ‘winners’ winner’ tonight!
‘We’re absolutely delighted, on behalf of Forestry England, Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum charity and all our staff and visitors — together, we make Westonbirt what it is.
‘Westonbirt really sells itself — it’s a hidden gem, a wonderful place in the heart of Gloucestershire; and what this award shows is that people really love Westonbirt.’
