A COUPLE from Pipers Pool have picked up a prestigious VisitEngland ROSE Award for their award-winning self-catering accommodation.

David and Bridget Pett own Gospenheale Barn in Pipers Pool. They have won an award for self-catering at the awards ceremony held recently.

The awards showcase outstanding accommodation providers across the country, from Penzance to Penrith and from Skegness to Great Ayton. The winners were nominated by VisitEngland quality scheme assessors and selected from assessor comments and online feedback from overseas and domestic visitors.

Recipients of the awards cover all types of accommodation and include Bed and Breakfasts (B&B), guesthouses, self-catering and hotels to park and campsites, glamping sites and hostels. They also cover a range of quality from two to five stars.

VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes said: “It’s great to see the diversity and quality of accommodation available across the country with each of these winners demonstrating outstanding customer service — and it’s this level of commitment to ensuring visitors have the best experience combined with the amazing range of settings and attractions that have domestic and international visitors out exploring and spreading the economic benefits of tourism throughout the country.”

The ROSE Awards celebrate the teams and owners whose efforts surpass expectations and the recipients can advertise their accolade as long as they remain in VisitEngland’s scheme.

On winning their award, David and Bridget said: “We have always enjoyed welcoming guests to Gospenheale Barn. We feel it is important to pay attention to detail and treat every visitor as special. People stay here for many reasons; the majority are on holiday, but others have been visiting local family and friends, needing temporary accommodation when moving house or using the barn as a base when working in the area. It’s great that many visitors have returned to stay again and say it’s like ‘coming home’.

“The VisitEngland star ratings are a well-known quality assurance scheme, which we joined to have independent annual inspections to ensure we were providing the best standards possible. It was a very pleasant surprise to hear from VisitEngland informing us that we have been given a 2017 ROSE Award. This stands for ‘Recognition Of Service Excellence’, which is what we’ve always tried to give our guests.”