College of the Ozarks, The Keeter Center earn 2024 TripAdvisor® Travelers’ Choice Awards

The Keeter Center named “Best of the Best” for Dobyns Dining restaurant

POINT LOOKOUT, MO. — The Keeter Center at College of the Ozarks has received the 2024 TripAdvisor^®️ Travelers’ Choice™ Award, Best of the Best, for its renowned Dobyns Dining restaurant. College of the Ozarks also received a 2024 TripAdvisor^®️ Travelers’ Choice Award.

The Travelers’ Choice Awards “Best of the Best” title celebrates the highest level of excellence in travel. It is awarded to those who receive a high volume of above-and-beyond reviews and opinions from the TripAdvisor^® community over a 12-month period. Out of 8 million listings, fewer than one percent achieved this milestone. The Keeter Center also received recognition in the top 10 nationwide as a winner of the best "Hidden Gems" in the United States.

TripAdvisor^®️ has highlighted the world’s top properties based on the millions of reviews and opinions collected in a single year from travelers around the globe. Winners were identified in the categories of Top Hotels, Luxury, Bargain, Small, Service, B&Bs and Inns, Romance, and Family. The hallmarks of Travelers’ Choice hotel winners are remarkable service, value, and quality.

"We are humbled and delighted to represent College of the Ozarks and the scenic Ozark Mountain Region with this national recognition,” said Mollie Crawford, director of sales and marketing for The Keeter Center. “TripAdvisor^® is well known throughout the world for its esteemed reputation of providing travelers with authentic reviews and helping them find the best experiences. To be recognized alongside other leaders in the restaurant industry across our great nation is truly an honor.”

In 1973, The Wall Street Journal dubbed the College of the Ozarks Hard Work U., and the moniker stuck. College of the Ozarks is a nationally recognized Work College. It aims to develop character and instill in students the hard work ethic for which it has become known. All students work 15 hours per week, and two 40-hour work weeks per year, to offset their cost of tuition as part of the Work Education Program. The remaining portion of the students’ expenses is covered through scholarships provided by gifts and contributions from donors who believe in and support the programs of the College.

“We value the ability to showcase the efforts of our students as they work to graduate debt free,” Crawford said. “We also are grateful to our guests, whose loyalty and support of our students have not only gained us this recognition but have allowed us to develop long-lasting relationships as they visit us year after year."

College of the Ozarks continues to receive high praise from the plethora of positive reviews on TripAdvisor^®️. The College is lauded on the TripAdvisor^®️ website as being more than a college. It is a destination with many family-friendly activities, including two museums, an old-fashioned grist mill, greenhouses, and a stained-glass studio.

Award winners are known for consistently receiving great traveler/diner feedback over the last year, placing them in the top 10 percent of TripAdvisor^®️ listings around the globe.

To make reservations for dining at The Keeter Center, please visit: https://www.keetercenter.edu/Dine/Dining

To view the Hidden Gems article, visit Best Hidden Gem Restaurants in the United States - Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards

To see TripAdvisor^®️ traveler reviews and opinions, go to https://www.tripadvisor.com/ and search for College of the Ozarks, Keeter Center Dobyns Dining Hall, and Keeter Center Lodge.

Travelers can also follow the conversation on X at #travelerschoice. 

More about TripAdvisor^®

With more than 1 billion reviews and opinions of nearly 8 million businesses, travelers turn to TripAdvisor^® to find deals on accommodations, book experiences, reserve tables at delicious restaurants, and discover great places nearby. As a travel guidance company available in 43 markets and 22 languages, TripAdvisor^® makes planning easy no matter the trip type. The subsidiaries of Tripadvisor, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIP), own and operate a portfolio of travel media brands and businesses, operating under various websites and apps.

For additional information, contact Public Relations Director Valorie Coleman at (417) 690-2212.

About College of the Ozarks

College of the Ozarks is a private, Christian, liberal arts college, located in Point Lookout, Missouri, on a 1,000-acre campus. Christian values, hard work, and fiscal responsibility comprise the fundamental building blocks of the “Hard Work U.” experience. The College earns numerous accolades yearly, including No. 2 Best Performers on Social Mobility-Regional Colleges in the Midwest and No. 4 Best Regional College in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for 2024-2025 and No. 3 Best Bang for the Buck by Washington Monthly, 2024. To achieve its vision, the College pursues academic, vocational, Christian, patriotic, and cultural goals. These goals are mirrored in School of the Ozarks, a laboratory school that completes the K-college model.

The Keeter Center — the College’s award-winning lodge, restaurant, and conference facility — earns awards consistently, including the TripAdvisor Best of the Best Award 2024 and the Readers’ Choice Awards 2023 from ConventionSouth magazine. The Keeter Center features historic lodging, fine dining, and meeting rooms. With more than 350 student workers, it is the largest workstation on campus.