To be at the helm of a world-class destination one must travel the world to compete with the best in the world.

This is the mindset of Jonathan Slater, the managing director of the city’s five star Chester Grosvenor Hotel and Spa.

Mr Slater is chairman of the board of directors for Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

This week he is staying at The Four Seasons hotel, in Mexico City, as part of a global travel symposium and he will mingle with his contemporaries and tell them about a small Roman city in Britain, called Chester.

Mr Slater said: “It is easy whenever I am asked where Chester is I show them the map of Britain, I point to London, Manchester, Liverpool and North Wales and point to the centre of the triangle.”

He explained: “You are always learning, looking at trends, the art of travel and I go along to these meetings and absorb new information like a sponge.”

Chester’s most distinguished tourism ambassador and globetrotter, who proudly talks up his adopted city wherever he travels, was last week honoured for his enduring devotion to a city in which he has worked for 27 years.

Picking up an Outstanding Achievement Award at The Chronicle--sponsored Chester Food Drink and Lifestyle Gala Dinner Awards, Mr Slater said he was ‘moved’ by the accolade.

“When something is given to you by your industry peers it always has that extra special meaning. I was humbled by it. It means a lot to me particularly as Chester is where I have worked, where my children have grown up and where I have spent half my life.”

The hotel is among the crown jewels of the Grosvenor family’s business portfolio and revered as one of the North West’s tourism flagships.

Jonathan Slater is equally proud of Chester and tirelessly campaigns to get the hospitality/leisure industry to raise its game.

He argues that Grosvenor guests are Chester guests. They spend their money in the city’s shops, restaurants and bars.

He said: “We have a very strong increase in the quantity and quality of delis, restaurants and hotels in Chester and that has to be a win win. We always have to strive to be best in class at what we do. We have to be proud and I do my best to champion that.

At a culture meeting with the then cabinet minister Margaret Hodge in 2009, when national headlines spoke of “cultural deserts”, Mr Slater defiantly declared that he was an eternal optimist – “a glass half full kind of guy”.

He continues to herald the city’s enviable market position, saying: “Chester sits very comfortably in its own skin. We don’t compete with Manchester and Liverpool. We offer something different and we have a superb transport network for people to arrive here.”

The Chester Grosvenor and Spa is the city’s very own lap of luxury and is frequented by celebrities, businessmen and worldwide holidaymakers. It attracts high spending visitors from the Far East, Europe and America and many short-stay UK visitors.

The preservation of ‘timeless elegance’ that is the benchmark of the Chester Grosvenor requires constant revolution and upheaval.

During his tenure Jonathan Slater has overseen refurbishment of the hotel rooms, the creation of a business conference facility The Westminster Suite, the building of a spa and lately the creation of a Michelin-starred restaurant brand Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor.

Mr Slater plans to install a 50ins flat screen TV in La Brasserie – a discrete TV lounge area in keeping with the characteristics of the bar and restaurant.

Mr Slater explained he has no intention of standing still, saying: “I look back to when I arrived in August 1983 and I think that there is still so much to do, so much to achieve, we are only just starting!”

Chris Brown, chief executive of Visit Chester and Cheshire, this week paid tribute to Mr Slater saying: “Despite the continuous success of his business Jonathan, as its leader, has constantly remained ambitious and focused with a commitment to always seeking the best from his team, in order that his customers receive an exceptional experience.”