Chamber member awarded prestigious regional Scottish Thistle Award.
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The Hideaway Experience in Angus has been awarded a prestigious regional Scottish Thistle Award, winning the Best Self Service Accommodation Award within the areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee and Perthshire.
Visit Scotland Quality Assurance also confirmed this week that the business has been awarded a 5 star grading for the coming year.
The unique luxury Hideaway Experience, based five miles north of Dundee, started out as a farm diversification in 2005, with owners Caroline and Ross Millar investing in additional luxury bespoke Hideaways in 2010 with the support of an SRDP grant from the Scottish Government.
Caroline is a current Nuffield Farming Scholar sponsored by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. Using international research into farm diversification and rural tourism gained during Caroline\'s current scholarship studies, the couple are currently preparing to franchise the business to develop a network of luxury Hideaways throughout the UK and abroad. To support the ambitious growth plans, The Hideaway Experience recently welcomed Claire Taylor, formerly Deputy Director and Events Manager at Glamis Castle to work as Project Manager within the business, focusing on supporting new developments.
Caroline said, \'We are delighted to win this award, particularly as our focus on working with other local businesses in Dundee and Angus was recognised. We are also delighted to welcome Claire Taylor to join our business. Claire has a wealth of knowledge in hospitality, operations and event planning and she is already proving a great asset to both The Hideaway Experience and to our rural consultancy business.\'
The Hideaway Experience will go on to represent the Tayside and North East region at a gala national ceremony on November 15th. The Hideaway Experience is the sole representative for Angus and Dundee in the final heats.
Sandra Burke, Chief Executive of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce said, \'I\'m delighted, but not surprised, to hear that The Hideaway Experience has been shortlisted for the national finals of the Tourism Thistle Awards. Caroline and Ross offer their guests exceptional standards of quality and customer service and we wish them the best of luck at the finals.\'
The Scottish Thistle Awards celebrate excellence across the industry, with special emphasis on quality and enhancing the overall visitor experience. VisitScotland\'s Quality Assurance Scheme seeks to capitalise on this further and aims to position Scotland as one of the world\'s best visitor destinations.
