St Michael’s takes Tourism Awards hat-trick

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The newly four-star St Michael’s Hotel & Spa proved its quality status last night when it scooped no less than three coveted titles in the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2009.

St Michael’s Hotel & Spa which is located in a prime position on Falmouth’s seafront, proudly accepted the Winner of Winners title (sponsored by Cornwall Catering Excellence – comprising of Doble Quality Foods, Abbotts, Chaffins and Cornwall College) having earlier in the evening been awarded gold for Large Hotel of the Year (sponsored by Jobline Staffing) as well as for Tourism Website of the Year (sponsored by Newquay Cornwall Airport). The hotel’s impressive trophy list demonstrated a broad range of honours, highlighting excellence across the business.

Joining St Michael’s Hotel & Spa on the winners roll were tourism businesses from across the county of varying sizes – from Boskerris Hotel in Carbis Bay which took the title of Small Hotel of the Year (sponsored by Nixon) to the Eden Project which was awarded Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (sponsored by Martin Luck Group).

Although now in their 8th year, the awards have never before been so pertinent, as Teresa Timms of the Award organisers VisitCornwall explained: “The tourism industry has certainly been tested this year and we can credit Cornwall’s ability to overcome market challenges and hold its own to the quality of the tourism product that the county offers. This is testament to the hard work of the Cornish tourism industry and the awards are a fantastic way to congratulate local businesses and to recognise their commitment to excellence.”

As well as the deserving winners, the glittering awards ceremony which was held at the Headland Hotel in Newquay, welcomed a mix of hoteliers, publicans and restaurateurs who rubbed shoulders with tourism officers and associations from around the county to congratulate the great and the good of the industry. The nail-biting evening was given light-hearted relief by Kirstie Allsopp of ‘Location, Location, Location’ fame. As well as being a keen visitor to Cornwall she is the owner of rental holiday cottage and inspired guests with her experience of how to run a successful tourism business.

The spotlight also shone on Gary Zammit, the resident wildlife expert at the five-star luxury resort of Gwel an Mor in Portreath, who was presented with the Outstanding Customer Service Award (sponsored by Newquay for Excellence Training). This produced a double celebration for Gwel an Mor who also took home gold for Self-Catering Establishment of the Year (sponsored by Exhibitions South West Ltd) which was jointly awarded to Boscrowan Farm in Heamoor.

Special recognition also went to John Hick for his Outstanding Services to Tourism (presented by the Cornwall Development Company).

For further information and a full list of winners and sponsors please visit cornwalltourismawards.com.

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