The owners of luxury guest house Carradales have received national recognition for their inclusive hospitality, and the quality of food and drinks offered to guests.
Owners Maurice Whelan and Steve Reid opened the boutique accommodation in 2018 in the heart of East Kintyre’s main settlement after refurbishing a former manse, built in 1880.
Since then, the pair have won many awards and accolades, including Kintyre’s only VisitScotland 5-Star Quality Assurance Gold Award in August this year.
They can now add another two prizes to their awards shelf after collecting a Food and Drink Gold Medal and being crowned a national winner of the Inclusive Hospitality Award at the Hotels of the Year Scotland Awards 2023/24.
Now in its 20th year, the awards honour outstanding success, achievement and distinction across Scotland’s hotel and hospitality industry, and are judged by an independent panel of travel writers, industry experts and peers.
This year’s winners were revealed at an awards ceremony on Sunday, which was opened by Scotland’s tourism minister, Richard Lochhead MSP, at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow.
The guests of honour who presented the awards included Marc Crothall MBE, chief executive officer of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, and Phil MacHugh, television presenter, journalist and Gaelic speaker, who was also one of the judges.
Maurice and Steve received their awards following an interview and an incognito visit from a judge with specific expertise, who stayed and experienced their hospitality and food offering.
Chef Steve is very passionate about food and wants everyone to have a fantastic dining experience, engaging with guests when presenting the food, which helped earn Carradales’ gold award.
And in order to win their Inclusive Hospitality Award, Carradales had to demonstrate a clear understanding of the inclusive tourism market.
Maurice and Steve pride themselves on making holidays in Scotland accessible and enjoyable for all and have already won Scotland’s Federation of Small Business award 2023 for Diversity and Inclusion.
On their website, they write: “We believe that we have developed an awareness and understanding of the inclusive tourism market and are striving to develop our offering so that it can be enjoyed by all customers, whether that be disabled people, their family and friends, the LGBT community, senior travellers or families.”
Speaking to the Courier this week, Maurice said: “We are absolutely delighted to have achieved these awards from the Hotels of the Year Scotland Awards and would like to thank all our guests and business partners.
“These awards are of paramount importance for us, but are also important to beautiful Kintyre in attracting visitors from all over the UK, but also from all over the world in what continues to be challenging times for the hospitality industry.”