Safeway Excellence in England Awards 2002

Shortlisted entrants

BED AND BREAKFAST OF THE YEAR

Clow Beck House
Monkend Farm, Croft-on-Tees, Darlington DL22 2SW

This B&B, run by Heather and David Armstrong, has 13 luxurious en-suite rooms. Service is excellent, the breakfast menu is extensive with home-grown ingredients including home made bread and preserves and free-range eggs. Disabled guests are also well catered for.

Lakeshore House
Ecclerigg, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 1LJ

This B&B is set on the edge of Windermere and has exquisitely furnished rooms with fresh flowers, a welcoming decanter of sherry and oversized towels. Breakfast is home-cooked using local ingredients and is served in the conservatory, which has an indoor pool and sauna.

The Old Lock-Up
North End, Wirksworth, Derbyshire DE4 4FG

Built in 1842, this B&B first served as a magistrate’s house and then a police station. Today only one of the cells remains in its original state with its steel-lined door. The rest of the rooms have been transformed into luxurious bedrooms with interesting curios. The owners go to great lengths to provide excellent service to guests.

CARAVAN HOLIDAY PARK OF THE YEAR

Holgates Caravan Park
Middlebarrow Plain, Silverdale, Nr Carnforth, Lancashire LA5 OSH

Holgates Caravan Park overlooks the sweeping vista of Morecambe Bay and is a perfect place from which to walk and explore the area. The park has a range of luxurious holiday homes as well as a variety of caravan pitches. The facilities are extensive and include a supermarket, games area, adventure playgrounds and a restaurant. A lot of effort has gone into creating a natural environment, which will attract and sustain wildlife.

Kelling Heath Holiday Park
Weyborne, Holt, Norfolk NR25 7HW

Set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this caravan park offers a luxury experience. Visitors can either stay in well-equipped holiday homes with central heating and shower room or bring their own caravan or tent and use the high quality on-site facilities. The park also has a leisure club with a pool and gym. Guests can also enjoy walking along nature trails and go on night walks to see the bats and the stars.

Ord House Country Park
East Ord, Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland TD15 2NS

Ord House Country Park is located in North Northumberland‘s ‘Secret Kingdom’. Guests can stay in luxury caravans or in lodges with superb views over the park and onto Halidon Hill. There are also pitches for touring caravans and tents. Facilities include a bar and family room and award-winning toilet and shower facilities. Visitors can also enjoy crazy golf and giant draughts.

HOTEL OF THE YEAR (OVER 50 BEDROOMS)

Ashdown Park Hotel
Wych Cross, Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5JR

This country house hotel is set in the middle of the Ashdown Forest within 186 acres containing secret gardens, lakes and woodland trails. It is a converted convent offering bedrooms with stunning views over the gardens and Ashdown Forest. Guests can relax in front of roaring log fires, be pampered in the beauty salon or savour gourmet dining. Customer care is excellent.
Island Hotel
Tresco, Isles of Scilly, Cornwall TR24 OPU

This hotel is set on the island of Tresco and guests, who arrive either by boat or helicopter, are met by a tractor-drawn open bus and greeted personally by the general manager. The hotel is situated right on the beach and has magnificent sea views across the Atlantic. Each of the bedrooms is beautifully decorated and service at the hotel is outstanding.

Percy’s Country Hotel and Restaurant
Coombeshead Estate, Virginstow, Devon EX21 5EA

Set within the 130 acre Coombeshead Estate in West Devon, this hotel combines spacious suites with fine food. Contemporary country cuisine best describes the food that is served in each of the two dining rooms, where the emphasis is firmly on local produce. Guests can feast on locally caught fish and home-reared lamb all served with home-grown vegetables and salad. There is also a stylish zinc bar.

HOTEL OF THE YEAR (UNDER 60 BEDROOMS)

Castle House
Castle Street, Hereford, Herefordshire HR1 2NW

Castle House is a country house hotel set in the heart of Hereford. It is a Georgian mansion, once home to the Bishop of Hereford and provides superb accommodation. Each of the 15 rooms is individually designed with king-size beds. There is a specially-adapted suite for guests with disabilities. There is also an award-winning restaurant with menus designed by internationally renowned chef Stuart McLeod.

The Landmark London
222 Marylebone Road, London NW1 6JQ

Originally opened as The Great Central Hotel in 1899, the Landmark London was the last of the great Victorian railway hotels. Today the focal point of the hotel is an eight storey glass-roofed atrium where guests can drink or dine amongst palm trees. Each of the spacious guestrooms is equipped with the very latest technology, which includes Internet access and voicemail. There is a 2-Michelin starred restaurant offering haute cuisine.

Matfen Hall Hotel
Matfen, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland NE20 ORH

Matfen Hall is a country house hotel set in the heart of some of Northumberland’s most picturesque countryside. This mansion has been sympathetically restored by Sir Hugh and Lady Blackett and most of its original features remain intact. Each of the 30 bedrooms combine the most up-to-date facilities with traditional elegance. Guests can dine in the fine Library Restaurant, which serves contemporary English cuisine using local produce.

MARKETING IN TOURISM AWARD

Beaulieu National Motor Museum
John Montague Building, Beaulieu, Brockenhurst, Hampshire SO42 7ZN

Beaulieu National Motor Museum wanted to update its image and revitalise visitor numbers. It staged a major new exhibition featuring James Bond cars, linking the Beaulieu brand to the modern image and power of the Bond brand. Through a combination of existing and new media channels including TV and the internet, visitor numbers jumped nearly 15 per cent to over 344,000 during 2001. The campaign has resulted in a turn-around in the fortunes of Beaulieu.

Leisure Pass Group
58-60 Berners Street, London W1P 3AE

In June 2001, the Leisure Pass Group launched a new ‘smart’ city visitor pass in Bath and York after successfully introducing it in London in 1998. A strong distribution network was set up with travel agents appointed in more than 30 countries, a call centre and network of retailers established and websites set up offering on-line sales. The Group’s websites attract 120,000 unique visitors per month and people from 68 countries have bought products on-line.

Monkhouse Hill Cottages
Sebergham, Nr Caldbeck, Cumbria CA5 7HW

Monkhouse Hill Cottages is a converted 17th Century farm in the North Lakeland Fells. Owners, Jennifer and Andrew Collard saw a gap in the market and built a luxury property catering for several families holidaying together. They embarked on a rigorous marketing campaign via email shots, a new brochure and a website promotion. The website attracts 1500 unique visitors per month and despite foot and mouth, occupancy reached 87 per cent in 2001.

MOST IMPROVED RESORT OF THE YEAR

Hastings, East Sussex

Hastings is a seaside town that is undergoing a revival. Water quality has been greatly improved as a result of major investment by Southern Water, the beaches have been cleaned up by local volunteers, a lifeguard service launched and a lighting strategy for the seafront drawn up. Last year the council launched a campaign to tackle the problem of derelict and rundown buildings in the town centre. The newly refurbished pier was also re-opened in 2001.

Scarborough, North Yorkshire

Over the last few years Scarborough has undergone something of a renaissance as a seaside resort thanks to a huge range of new initiatives. These include improving the quality of bathing waters and beaches and raising the quality of accommodation by introducing an Inspected Only policy for all hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation in the town. The seafront has also been greatly improved.

Weymouth and Portland, Dorset

Weymouth became established as England’s first health and pleasure coastal resort through the patronage of King George III who started the tradition of sea bathing. Today the Georgian seafront creates an impressive backdrop to the long sandy beaches. The local council has made huge efforts to capitalise on its heritage coast status by improving the quality of accommodation in the town, opening a new Tourist Information Centre at Portland Bill and developing the Resort Weymouth Initiative, which has improved accessibility to the beach.

THE PEOPLE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE

Mrs Jeanette King
Walsingham Shirehall Museum and Tourist Information, Common Place, Little Walsingham, Norfolk NR22 6BP

Nominated By Mrs Janet Clarke, Worthing, West Sussex:

“She is a truly outstanding ambassador of personal customer service… Unaware of my health problems, Mrs King responded to my request for information in a quite remarkable way… She listed everything I might need for my trip namely bus and train times, alternative routes, location of shops, platforms, duration of journeys, choice of taxi firms, telephone numbers, approximate costs and even how to find my hotel on arrival! Nothing was too much trouble for her. ”

Stephen Hallam
Managing Director Dickinson & Morris ‘Ye Olde Pork Pie Shoppe & The Sausage Shop’ 10 Nottingham Street, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE13 1NW

Nominated by David Friesner, Loughborough, Leicestershire:

“Stephen works strategically at county and regional level to further tourism’s interests…His capability is outstanding, customer awareness and service exemplary… He works alongside his team encouraging their very best efforts. He is an excellent role model – a superb ambassador for the industry.”

SELF-CATERING HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR

Goldhill Mill Cottages
Golden Green, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 0BA

Goldhill Mill is an old millhouse located in 20 acres of gardens and pasture beside the River Bourne. Across the courtyard from the main building are three cottages, converted from the Mill’s former outbuildings. The accommodation offers exceptional attention to detail and is very accessible for people with disabilities. Organic food is also grown on site.

Keeper’s Lodge
c/o Spring House Farm, Castleton, Hope, Hope Valley, Derbyshire S33 8WB

Built in 1875, Keeper’s Lodge is a Victorian cottage standing in the grounds of Birchfield Hall in the heart of the Peak District National Park. A previous Silver Award winner in 1999, the lodge offers accommodation of a very high quality. It has been especially-adapted to cater for people with disabilities and offers outstanding attention to detail and excellent customer care.

Underscar
Fisherbeck Mill, Old Lake Road, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 0DH

Underscar offers luxury self-catering holiday homes situated on the picturesque slopes of Skiddaw, just outside Keswick. Opened in 2000, there are 25 stylish and modern self-catering and leisure properties in total. Each property boasts lake and mountain views. Underscar also has excellent conservation and energy-saving policies in place.

TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE OF THE YEAR

Beverley Tourist Information Centre
34 Butcher Row, Beverley HU17 0AB

Beverley Tourist Information Centre, funded by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, is very welcoming and accessible with Braille maps, clear signage and chairs for the elderly. The TIC has an excellent environmental policy recycling paper, using renewable resources where possible and supplying doggy bags and poop-scoops for a cleaner environment.

Liverpool Tourist Information Centre
Queen Square Centre, Roe Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 1RG
Albert Dock Tourist Information Centre, Atlantic Pavilion, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AE

Liverpool Queen Square and Albert Dock Tourist Information Centres serve more than 700,000 visitors a year. Funded by Mersey Tourism and other local organisations, they are an excellent example of a public-private partnership. They invest heavily in staff training and use new technology such as text messaging and e-mail to boost business to the city.

Salisbury Tourist Information Centre
Fish Row, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 1EJ

Salisbury Tourist Information Centre welcomes over 230,000 visitors a year. Funded by Salisbury District Council, the TIC is excellent at embracing new technology. It is piloting a new computer system for a