Gwelmor holiday cottage is in line for another award after being crowned the best Dog Friendly Business in Cornwall.
Gwelmor in Widemouth Bay, north Cornwall, is now a finalist in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards, the winners of which will be announced next month.
The three bedroom holiday cottage won Gold in the Dog Friendly Business of the Year category of the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2021/22 – having previously won bronze for two years running.
The judging panel has selected the winners for the South West region and will announce who has won Gold, Silver and Bronze at a prestigious ceremony at Sandy Park in Exeter on April 7.
Gwelmor’s owner, Jayne Martin, said: “Winning Gold for Cornwall in the dog-friendly business category was a dream come true, but be selected as a finalist in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards is unbelievable. I’m blown away.
“We launched Gwelmor in 2017 after experiencing several supposedly ‘dog-friendly’ holidays but where we ended up feeling like second class citizens for wanting to holiday with our pets.
“We decided that we wanted to create a luxurious place, close to the sea, where dogs we welcomed just as much as their owners – if not more!
“Over the years we’ve welcomed dogs of all breeds into our home to enjoy a holiday by the sea, many of whom have returned time and time again.”
Dog treats handmade in Cornwall by Paws for Cake are given to each doggie guest with a hand-stamped name tag. All new dogs visiting Gwelmor also get a personalised letter ‘written’ by Jayne’s own dogs Molly, Indy and Margo.
Gwelmor’s utility room is dedicated to doggie guests with an abundance of towels, spare bedding, sofa throws, food and water bowls, tennis balls, spare leads, a doggy shower attachment as well as a cooling mat for those hot summers days.
The South West Tourism Excellence Awards is run by @VisitEngland and celebrates the best of tourism businesses across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Bath, Bristol and Somerset.
Follow us on our social channels (Facebook @GwelmorWidemouthBay, Twitter and Instagram @gwelmor) to find out how we do.
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Jo Ecroyd, Customer Service Director of headline sponsor South West Water, said: “The South West is home to 860 miles of beautiful coastline and wonderful beaches which are major draws for the millions of visitors to our region each year. In 2021, for the first time ever, 100% of our classified coastal bathing waters passed stringent standards, meaning our regions beaches can proudly take their place as amongst the best in Europe. We are delighted to support the South West Tourism Awards which shine a spotlight on the best tourism businesses right across our region. The resilience and adaptability of the tourism industry over the last couple of years is inspirational. Congratulations to all those businesses which have made it to the finals and good luck to all the finalists.”
Chair of judges Nigel Logan commented: “This has been another challenging year for the Awards but the resilience of the Services for Tourism team and the dedication of the many volunteer judges have been outstanding. Despite the challenges of staff shortages in the face of unprecedented demand for Staycations all sectors of our tourism industry have shown incredible resourcefulness and made time to embrace this awards process. The judging panel would like to pay tribute to that especially. The diversity and focus of businesses, large and small, is of particular note and we offer our best wishes to all finalists for the year ahead.”
Robin Barker, Director of Services for Tourism Ltd, who manage the Awards, added: “Tourism has been referred to as ‘the happiness business’ and after two years of online events I can’t wait to share some happiness once again with the region’s tourism businesses and the many sponsors, partners and supporters who make the awards possible. It has been a life-changing two years in so many ways – roll on 7 of April!”
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