Press release -
Scone’s Star Story
The Balvaird Apartment, within Scone Palace has secured VisitScotland’s highest Quality Assurance (QA) accolade in recognition of their excellent standards.
The stunning self-catering apartment, which can accommodate up to six guests, achieved an impressive five star rating from the national tourism organisation at their latest grading visit.
Found within Scone Palace and overlooking over 200 acres of beautiful grounds in the heart of Perthshire, the apartment is an ideal get-away for golfing breaks, country sporting holidays, wedding parties and short breaks.
The Balvaird Apartment boasts three beautifully decorated en-suite bedrooms, a fully-equipped spacious dining kitchen and a sitting room offering magnificent views over the parklands to the River Tay.
Guests can enjoy a tour of the grounds, which have been commended for their commitment to sustainability with a Gold Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme.
Scone Palace itself holds a five star grading from VisitScotland, and is one of Perthshire’s most popular attractions drawing over 100,000 visitors in 2013.
Lady Stormont of Scone Palace said:
“‘We are absolutely delighted that our new self-catering apartment has been awarded 5 stars by VisitScotland. It has been a big project which has seen a part of the Palace which hasn’t been used for many years rejuvenated, giving visitors the opportunity to stay in one of Scotland’s most historic locations.’
Jim Clarkson, VisitScotland Regional Partnerships Director, said:
“This is an incredibly well deserved accolade for The Balvaird Apartment which has set an absolutely fantastic standard of self-catering accommodation in Perthshire. Not only do they offer guests an excellent space to spend a short or long break, they provide a world-class visitor experience which is reflected in their five-star award.
“The VisitScotland Quality Assurance Scheme provides an independent and objective grading which helps to set visitor expectations while also providing tourism business with useful advice on best practice. We hope the success of The Balvaird Apartment at Scone Palace sets an example to other businesses to join the scheme, which benefits tourism businesses and visitors alike.”
VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Scheme currently boasts over 7,000 participants and has been used as an example of best practice with countries all over the world, including Sweden and Namibia.
For more information about the Balvaird Apartment, visit www.sconepalace.co.uk
Topics
- Tourism
Categories
- corporate communications
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 has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- 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.
- 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
- The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx
