Visit England Awards – Green House is Highly Commended!

This week we trekked virtually the length of England to attend the Visit England Awards at the Sage Centre in Gateshead on Monday night. And we are delighted to say we didn’t go all that way for nothing!

To our growing collection of awards the Green House Hotel, Bournemouth’s most environmentally friendly luxury boutique hotel, can now proudly add one of Visit England’s prestigious Highly Commended accolades, in recognition of our contributions to Sustainable Tourism.

From Cumbria to the Isles of Scilly, all corners of the country were represented in Gateshead this week – though none more so than the South West, with 19 out of the 77 awards of the night going to businesses from this region.

Chairman of the South West judging panel, Alistair Handyside, said: “We are absolutely delighted that the South West has come out as the top region at the Visit England National Awards. Our nineteen finalists make up 25% of the total, once again showing that the South West continues to lead the field in offering the guest the best variety of quality tourism experience in England.”

Robin Barker, of awards organisers Services for Tourism, commented: “This has been an outstanding awards year, with more entries than ever and outstanding quality.  The winners are all worthy ambassadors for the region.  As one cycle ends another begins, and we are already receiving entries for the 2015/16 Awards, which launched 2 weeks ago. We look forward to seeing record entries and to take the region to new heights.”

The Visit England award marks the end of a long and rewarding year for us all here at The Green House. First it was the Dorset Tourism Awards last autumn, where we were one of the biggest winners of the night, taking two Gold Trophies (for Sustainable Tourism and Eating Out) and a Bronze (for Small Hotel). In October we received two AA rosettes for the quality of the food in our restaurant, Arbor, and in December Arbor was voted on to the OpenTable Diners’ Choice list. Then February we triumphed in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards, taking home a Silver in the Sustainable Tourism category of the toughest regional competition of them all. Days later, we were given the title of most environmentally friendly restaurant in the UK at the Sustainable Restaurant Association awards.

And now this. It makes us feel very proud of what we have achieved here at the Green House – a beautiful, luxurious boutique hotel and top-quality restaurant both of which eat, sleep, breathe sustainability.

One of the first hotels in the UK to be awarded a Platinum Green Leader rating on TripAdvisor, the Green House Hotel puts eco-principles at the heart of everything. They are in the fabric of the Victorian building, thanks to a painstaking 18-month eco-refurbishment; in the environmental ethos shared by every member of the team; and in the support for local suppliers, working with them to improve environmental performance where necessary.

The national awards is the end of the annual tourism awards cycle, and the whole thing has already restarted with the launch of the 2015/16 awards, for which entries are now being invited. Will we be going for it again? In the words of someone who has had a slightly less successful week than we have, “Hell Yes!”

To see how a national leader in sustainable tourism combines eco-principles with luxury and comfort, why not book a room at the Green House hotel  here  – or call us on 01202 498900.