The Roman Baths & Pump Room and Lucknam Park Hotel have each nabbed a hat-trick of accolades at the region’s top tourism industry awards.
And with fine dining restaurant Menu Gordon Jones, specialist travel firm Foot Trails and the American Museum in Britain also among the medal winners, it was a highly successful night for Bath at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
Pictured: Roman Baths and Pump Room commercial manager Penny Jenkins, visitor services manager Katie Smith, Roman Baths & Pump Room Manager Stephen Clews
The prestigious annual event, staged this year at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay, recognises the development of high-quality tourism businesses in the region by promoting and rewarding the top organisations in the industry.
Judging is carried out by an independent panel of past winners, industry leaders and experts. As well as taking into account written application forms, websites and social media, some finalists also receive a ‘mystery shopping’ visit.
Lucknam Park, the five-star, 42-bedroom hotel at Colerne, ended the evening with two Golds – for Hotel of the Year and for Spa and Wellbeing Experience of the Year – and a Silver for Restaurant of the Year.
Lucknam Park managing director Claire Randall and sales & marketing director Silmiya Hendricks were at the ceremony to collect the awards.
Claire said: “I am both pleased and delighted to have won these three awards. It was especially gratifying to win gold in hotel of the year for the third year running and it is a great reflection of the very hard work the team put in to deliver the best service across all areas of the business.”
The Roman Baths & Pump Room, owned by Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES), landed Gold in the Access & Inclusivity and International Visitor Experience categories along with a Bronze for Venue and Business Tourism.
Pictured: Lucknam Park sales & marketing director Silmiya Hendricks and managing director Claire Randall with their three awards
B&NES cabinet member for economic and community regeneration Cllr Paul Myers said: “We are delighted with these awards, which are testament to the hard work put in throughout the year by staff at the Roman Baths to ensure an outstanding experience for all of our visitors.
The Roman Baths attracts more than a million visitors every year, which in turn benefits the wider economy of Bath and the surrounding area.”
Improvements at the Roman Baths over the past year have made it more accessible with 90% now open to wheelchair users. Visitors with hearing or visual impairments can explore the site using British Sign Language guides and tactile displays, and visitors on the autism spectrum can find detailed guidance about what to expect on the Roman Baths website.
Also audioguides are available free of charge to visitors in 12 languages and printed information leaflets are also provided in more than 30 additional languages. Mandarin was the most popular non-English audioguide last year, with more than 108,000 visitors selecting it – a 7% increase on the previous year.
The Roman Baths and Pump Room play host to an increasing number of out-of-hours conferences, weddings and private parties. The council’s Heritage Services department works closely with contracted caterer Searcys to deliver events for a wide range of customers, with a strong focus on local sourcing and sustainability.
Foot Trails, which was founded in 2002 by farmer’s daughter Alison Howell, won Silver in the International Tourism Experience of the Year category.
The firm creates and organises custom-made walking trips from its Bath headquarters which attract visitors to Bath and the South West from around the world.
Menu Gordon Jones, based at Wellsway and described as a “stylish contemporary restaurant offering modern European multi-course tasting menus and global wines”, gained a Bronze in the Restaurant/Bistro of the Year category.
The American Museum, the only museum outside the United States to showcase the decorative arts of America, won a Bronze in the Small Attraction of the Year category.
Renowned for its unique collection of decorative arts, the museum takes visitors on a journey through the history of America, from its early settlers to the 20th century.
