Gold and bronze for Highbullen Hotel in SW Tourism Awards

Highbullen Hotel, Golf and Country Club were honoured to be named the winner of two coveted categories at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2015-2016, held in Exeter on 4th February.

Facing competition from over 100 finalists across the region, Highbullen were awarded Gold for Venue and Business Tourism and Bronze for Large Hotel of the Year.

Ronnie Orr, Resort Director, said, “It is a great honour to be presented with the Gold award for Venue and Business Tourism and the Bronze award for Large Hotel of the Year. It has been an incredible year since we first opened the Palazzo. Our reputation has continued to grow, both with local businesses as well as national companies looking for a destination venue.”

Over 400 guests attended the stunning ceremony in Exeter Cathedral to celebrate the best of the South West’s tourism businesses. 95 different trophies were awarded throughout the evening following a rigorous judging process in which a record-breaking 490 submissions were considered.

The spectacular awards ceremony was hosted by ITV news presenters Kylie Pentelow and Ian Axton, with an inspiring opening address by travel journalist and Chair of Family Holiday Association Alison Rice.

“These high-calibre awards reflect the quality and breadth of the treasures that visitors to the south west can enjoy.  The judging panel of tourism professionals did not have an easy time! That’s why in some categories they simply had to award more than one gold winner”, said Rice.

Highbullen’s success follows a double award win at the Devon Tourism Awards in November 2015. They are also nominated as one of five finalists in the coveted Business Tourism category at the National Visit England Tourism Awards, to be held in March 2016.

“This continued recognition from within the tourism industry is reflective of the investment in both the Highbullen Estate as a whole and our team”, commented Ronnie Orr.

Robin Barker of Services for Tourism, who manages the awards programme, added: “This year’s awards have set new standards in both numbers and quality standards. It never ceases to amaze me how our top businesses continue to reinvent themselves to stay at the top in one of the world’s most fast-moving and competitive industries.”