Press release -
Romantic getaway has the golden touch
A Perthshire getaway named Scotland’s most romantic hotel has received a four-star gold grading from VisitScotland.
Knockendarroch, a 19th-century house in the heart of Pitlochry, was upgraded from four stars by the national tourism organisation’s Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme in recognition of its outstanding customer service. The Gold Star award was introduced to highlight establishments within the QA Scheme that strive to exceed customer expectations on an on-going basis, while taking an innovative and proactive approach to customer care.
Owned and run by Struan and Louise Lothian, the small hotel adds the award to a host of recent accolades, including winning the titles of most romantic, best service and best hotel in Scotland at TripAdvisor’s 2017 Travellers’ Choice Awards. The restaurant also has two red rosettes from the AA.
Moving to Pitlochry six years ago, Struan and Louise always had their eye on Knockendarroch and were delighted when the previous owners sold it to them two-and-a-half years ago. Following a number of changes, including the addition of two new suites, and a focus on customer service, the couple have added a touch of gold to this Highland Perthshire accommodation as well as giving it a contemporary edge.
Now offering 14 bedrooms, the country house provides a relaxed atmosphere in a beautiful setting. Guests are encouraged to take the dinner package where they can enjoy a drink by one of the log fires in the luxurious lounge before dining in the acclaimed restaurant.
Its four-acre gardens once being home to the ‘Theatre in the Hills’, Knockendarroch still has close ties with the Pitlochry Theatre and many guests take advantage of the pre-theatre dining offer and complimentary theatre transport available.
Struan Lothian said: “Louise and I are absolutely delighted to receive this award. It reflects the hard work of the team and our focus on detail. At Knockendarroch we consider the individual needs of guests to ensure they have the best stay possible. It is a great honour to get this recognition from VisitScotland.”
Neil Christison, Regional Partnerships Executive at VisitScotland, said: “Congratulations to Struan and Louise, as well as their team, on achieving this four-star gold award. Knockendarroch offers guests an exceptional standard of accommodation and welcome in one of Scotland’s most picturesque towns – their gold award is well deserved.
“Our Quality Assurance Scheme is world-leading and provides a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. It is about much more than just a star rating – it is about the entire visitor experience and investing in the business to make it as economically sustainable, and profitable, as it can be.”
VisitScotland’s QA Schemes can open the door to new customers. It is a powerful marketing tool and works well with online review sites in using an independent perspective to measure visitor experience against tried and tested criteria, so visitors know exactly what to expect.
For more information on Knockendarroch hotel and restaurant, go to www.knockendarroch.co.uk
For more information on VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance scheme, go to www.visitscotland.org
Topics
- Tourism
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation’s core objective is to contribute to the Tourism 2020 Strategy ambition of growing tourism revenues by £1 billion by 2020.
- This will be supported by seven overarching strategies:
- Marketing: we will market Scotland and its outstanding assets to visitors from all parts of the world, including the promotion of Scotland to people living in Scotland to visit different parts of the country
- Events: we will support the national events strategy and its delivery, and sustain, develop and promote Scotland’s international profile as one of the world’s foremost events destinations
- Internationalisation and International Engagement: we will utilise all our platforms to enable Scottish-based tourism businesses to better understand international opportunities and market to a global audience and we will work within One Scotland Partnerships to optimise the potential of Scotland’s Diaspora and our strategic partners at regional, European and global levels
- Customer Experience: we will provide information and inspiration to visitors both locally and globally via their preferred medium of choice
- Quality and Sustainability: we will provide support and advice to businesses, with the goal of improving the quality and sustainability of the tourism sector in Scotland. We will provide quality assurance to visitors through our Quality Schemes
- Inclusive Tourism: we will strive to make tourism in Scotland inclusive and available to all
- Working in Partnership: we will listen to and work with the industry, partners and communities to shape our offering and support
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- Spending by tourists in Scotland generates around £12 billion of economic activity in the wider Scottish supply chain and contributes around £6 billion to Scottish GDP (in basic prices). This represents about 5% of total Scottish GDP.
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- 2017 Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology
- 2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland’s fascinating stories through a wide-ranging variety of new and existing activity to drive the nation’s tourism and events sector, boosting tourism across Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology begins on 1 January 2017 and will end on 31 December 2017. It will build on the momentum generated by previous themed years in Scotland including the 2015 Year of Food and Drink, Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, and supported by a variety of partners including Creative Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Built Environment Forum Scotland, Heritage Lottery Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology is supported by £570,000 of Scottish Government funding.
- The Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology events fund is managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
- For more information visit visitscotland.com/HHA2017 or join the conversation at #HHA2017
