As you may remember from last week, we had a look into the 2020 Dorset Tourism Awards. The results were announced on 4th February and we take a look at the winners from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole…
The 2020 Dorset Tourism Awards were hosted online. Forming a welcome distraction from the difficulties the hospitality industry has faced this past year.
Awards organiser Robin Barker said: “It would have been very easy to cancel the awards this year. We did think long and hard about it, but the level of early entries we received in spite of everything, and the creativity and determination shown by entrants inspired us to find a way to make this happen – and your responses and feedback ever since have completely blown us away.”
With 22 categories and 61 awards to hand out, there was plenty on show during the prestigious awards show. One notable winner was Bournemouth’s Marsham Court Hotel, who walked away with three golds and the Winner of Winners award.
See the list of all the winners from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole below:
ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE TOURISM AWARD
sponsored by Yellow Buses
For this award, none of the finalists were based in Bournemouth, Poole, or Christchurch. However, we are delighted to announce that Pause Cat Café in Bournemouth received Commended status.
B&B AND GUESTHOUSE OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Goadsby
Mory House Bed & Breakfast in Southbourne won the bronze award in this category after losing out to B&Bs in Weymouth and Lyme Regis.
BUSINESS EVENTS & WEDDING VENUE OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Saffery Champness
The gold award went to no other than the Marsham Court Hotel in Bournemouth, closely followed by Poole’s Upton Country Park.
CAFÉ / TEAROOM OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Clipper
The winner of the gold award this year is Picnic Park Deli in Bournemouth. Meanwhile, Pause Cat Café took bronze, and Upton Country Park Tea Rooms received Commended status.
CASUAL DINING AWARD
sponsored by Dorset Food & Drink
Whilst the gold went to Weymouth’s Fish ‘n’ Fritz, Poole’s Oriel on the Quay were close behind, winning the silver medal.
DOG-FRIENDLY BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Forthglade
The Marsham Court Hotel has come up trumps again and won the gold award for the Dog Friendly Business of the Year. Upton Country Park were awarded the silver award whilst Polygon Pets Ltd were given Commended status.
ETHICAL, RESPONSIBLE & SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AWARD
sponsored by Bournemouth Water
Pause Cat Café struck gold in this category. By extension, they were the only BCP-based business to make the finals. However, English Oak Vineyard in Poole got Commended status as part of this award.
EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR (ACTIVE OR LEARNING)
sponsored by Dorset Tourism Association
Shore Campers Campervan Hire just missed out on the gold. They won the silver award, coming in behind Jurassic Coast Guides of Milborne St Andrew.
HOTEL OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Saffery Champness
The Marsham Court Hotel landed yet another gold award with the Hotel of the Year. The RNLI College in Poole were awarded the bronze award, coming behind establishments in Bridport and Sherborne.
LARGE VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Pear Communications
Bovington Tank Museum won the gold on this one but that takes nothing away from Smugglers Cove Adventure Golf in Bournemouth, who earned a respectable silver award.
NEW TOURISM BUSINESS AWARD
sponsored by Visit Dorset
With some real stiff competition in this category from the likes of Hammoon Manor in Sturminster and The Cross Keys in Sherborne, Shore Campers have won the silver award. Not bad going at all!
RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Dorset Food & Drink
Moose Kitchen in Charminster were close behind Weymouth’s Al Molo, winning the silver award for the Restaurant of the Year category. Zim Braai of Poole, who specialise in African cuisine, took bronze.
SMALL VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR
sponsored by Resort Dorset
English Oak Vineyard in Poole won the bronze award in this closely contested category which featured four other nominees.
UNSUNG HERO AWARD
sponsored by Clockwork Marketing
Heather Brown from the Dorset Foodie Feed is the proud recipient of the gold award for the Unsung Hero category. A commendable source at the start of the first lockdown for finding out which restaurants, bars and hotels were offering takeaway and collection services.
Yessica Falcon from the Bournemouth Tourist Information Centre received the bronze award.
WINNER OF WINNERS AWARD
Finally, the Winner of Winners Award, which went to the Marsham Court Hotel. Their fourth overall win at this year’s Dorset Tourism Awards.
Everyone at HQB News would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners, runners-up and nominees for this year’s awards.
For a full list of the winners of the 2020 Dorset Tourism Awards, click here. For more local Tourism stories, click here. Also, don’t forget to follow HQB News on our social channels. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.
