AN award-winning Hampshire hotel has been awarded a coveted Michelin Star for the eighth year running.

The Montagu Arms in Beaulieu includes the Terrace, which continues to be the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the New Forest National Park.

It is also one of only three Michelin-starred restaurants in Hampshire.

Head chef Matthew Tomkinson and restaurant manager Pierre Rizet-Mosser have also been shortlisted in two separate categories in the prestigious Hotel Cateys Awards.

Matthew, who won the Roux Scholarship 2005 and went on to work with some of the UK’s top chefs, has been shortlisted for Hotel Chef of the Year.

Pierre is in the running for Restaurant Manager of the Year.

Matthew said: “The whole team is extremely proud.

“Retaining our Michelin Star is a huge honour and a testament to the hard work and dedication of each and every member of staff at the Terrace Restaurant.”

The hotel’s location is thought to have played a key role in its success.

Matthew added: “Being situated in one of the most rich and diverse landscapes in the country means we are incredibly lucky to be able to select such fresh and seasonable vegetables, meat and fish from just a few miles of our door.”

The Montagu Arms was awarded a Michelin Star in 2009 and has retained it each year since.

Awarded after an anonymous visit from an inspector, the prestigious accolade is given only to establishments that can demonstrate a continued and highly-esteemed standard of culinary excellence.

The hotel has previously been voted Hampshire Restaurant of the Year by the Which? Good Food Guide.

It also earned an acclaimed spot in the Daily Telegraph’s Top 50 Restaurants in Britain, written by leading critic Jasper Gerard.

It was also rated 57 in the Sunday Times’ Top 100 Restaurants.

The Michelin Guide 2016 is now available in all leading bookshops and also also be downloaded online.