Published November 13th, 2015
The Olde House and Padstow Christmas Festival have been awarded Gold at the 2015/16 Cornwall Tourism Awards.
At a ceremony in Newquay on Thursday 12 November, The Olde House won Gold in the category of Holiday Resort & Large Self Catering of the Year. Padstow Christmas Festival took home Gold for Tourism Event of the Year.
Now in its 14th year, the Cornwall Tourism Awards are part of the larger South West Tourism Awards, which celebrate excellence in tourism across the region. This year’s awards broke previous entry records with 172 entries from hotels, restaurants and attractions, an 18% increase on last year.
The Olde House has been run by the Hawkey family for four generations and offers three-to-five star farm self-catering holidays in 30 cottages in north Cornwall.
Jaime Hawkey says: “Our goal is for our guests to have an amazing farm holiday and to want to return every year. We’re constantly working to improve our 30 cottages, develop more facilities and offer unique experiences like archery, falconry and pond-dipping.”
Husband Shaun adds: “To have this work recognised with such a prestigious award is great and we’re very happy, especially when we were up against some really excellent Cornish businesses. These awards are such a fantastic thing for the county. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
Speaking about the achievement for Padstow Christmas Festival, organiser Tina Evans said: “I am thrilled and excited that Padstow Christmas Festival has won Tourism Event of the Year at this year’s Cornwall Tourism Awards. It is a great team effort, and my thanks go to the countless volunteers who give their time to make it so successful.”
She adds: “I am also extremely proud that Padstow won so many awards, as it confirms what we already know: commitment to quality and customer experience is paramount to our businesses.”
Entrants were judged by an independent panel of industry experts and past winners. Assessment took place over a six month period and took into account entry forms, the experience of mystery shoppers and online visitor reviews. Compared to previous years, judges looked more closely for a digital presence which inspired and informed visitors, as well as use of social media.
The Olde House and Padstow Christmas Festival were pitched against a strong line-up of nominees within their respective categories. Whalesborough Cottages and Piran Meadows were awarded Silver and Bronze in the Holiday Resort & Large Self Catering category; The Great Cornish Food Festival and Looe Music Festival took away Silver and Bronze in the Tourism Event category.
Following this event, The Olde House and Padstow Christmas Festival are eligible to represent Cornwall in the South West Tourism Awards in February of next year. Successful businesses then go through to the national VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in May 2016.
To find out more about the awards, visit www.cornwalltourismawards.org.uk. The full list of winners can be found here.
