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South Island ski resort Mt Hutt has been voted New Zealand’s best ski resort, for a third consecutive year, at the World Ski Awards.

Presented on Saturday night (18th November) at the 2017 World Ski Awards gala event in Kitzbühel, Austria, the Award was received by Deidra O'Shea and her husband Carl ‘Fish’ McHugh, who are Mt Hutt’s Administration and Maintenance Heads of Department.

Mt Hutt Ski Area Manager James McKenzie could not be more proud of the accolade, stating “being voted New Zealand’s best ski resort for the third year in a row is a phenomenal achievement and a fantastic endorsement of our amazing staff.

“It also reflects the affinity our guests have for our mountain and the awesome experiences they are able to share with friends and family up here during the winter.

“Knowing that they are behind us every step of the way - during the good times and on the more challenging days - makes a big difference to how we operate and how we strive for continuous improvement.”

McKenzie was also delighted to have O'Shea and McHugh Deidra and Fish receive the award, commenting “Fish has worked with us for 24 seasons, while Deidra been with us 13 years.

“They are a big part of what makes us so successful and both genuinely passionate about the quality of our product and truly care about service we offer our guests.”

Reviews of Mt Hutt are consistently positive. Remarks such as “tireless in the pursuit of client happiness”, “You're all battlers and all of us appreciate your hard work to give us all the best experience”, “Thanks for the memories”, and “I’ll be back” paint the picture.

McKenzie says the attraction to Mt Hutt is the friendly vibe, great customer service and big mountain experience.

He added “the 2017 winter season was massive for us with a record snow base and arguably the best skiing Mt Hutt has ever had to offer.

“In terms of terrain, Mt Hutt provides the complete offering in Canterbury.

“Put simply - it’s a one big snowy playground with wide groomed slopes, top to bottom terrain parks and, when the mountain is really on, the most mind-blowing off-trail skiing and riding around.”

Other New Zealand awards presented last night were:

• New Zealand's Best Ski Hotel 2017 - The Rees Hotel
• New Zealand's Best Ski Boutique Hotel 2017 - Eichardt's Private Hotel
• New Zealand's Best Ski Chalet 2017 - Whare Kea Lodge & Chalet

Ski Dubai was also named World's Best Indoor Ski Resort 2017.

Launched in 2013, the World Ski Awards aim to drive up standards within the ski tourism industry by rewarding the organisations that are leaders in their field.

Votes are cast by professionals working within the ski industry – senior executives, travel buyers, tour operators, agents and media - and by the public (ski tourism consumers).

Images show Mt Hutt during the 2017 snow season and (below) World Ski Awards Host Steve Ryder with Mt Hutt’s Carl McHugh and Deidra O’Shea with award hostess accept the award for New Zealand's Best Ski Resort at the 2017 World Ski Awards in Kitzbühel. 

29th September 2017 - MT HUTT LOOKS TO EXTEND SEASON WITH NEW SPRING CAMP FOR FREESTYLERS

7th September 2017 - MT HUTT SKI FIELD TO REMAIN OPEN UNTIL MID-OCTOBER

9th June 2017 - MT HUTT OPENING MARKS BEGINNING OF THE SOUTH ISLAND SKI SEASON 

3rd November 2016 - NZSKI RETAINS 2016 SEASON PASS PRICES FOR 2017 

7th September 2016 - WINTERY BLAST DUMPS SNOW ON QUEENSTOWN SKI AREAS

18th January 2014 - SKI DUBAI LAUNCHES ‘SNOW BULLET’ ZIP LINE ATTRACTION

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