Stanley House secures VisitEngland gold stamp of quality
Stanley House Hotel and Spa has received a string of top industry awards and glowing assessments following a rigorous secret inspection by VisitEngland.
The Mellor-based hotel has achieved an overall 4 Star rating, as well as the Gold, Breakfast and Taste Lancashire Highest Quality Assures awards, combined with a performance increase in all areas of the VisitEngland assessments compared to its previous reports.
Stanley House secured 90 per cent overall, while its restaurants continue to improve on already excellent standards. Mr Fred’s Bar & Lounge scored 85 per cent, up from 83 per cent in 2016, and The Grill – already riding high on 96 per cent – managed to scoop 97 per cent in the latest assessment.
This is the fifth year running that Stanley House has been bestowed the Gold accolade, while it has now also received the Breakfast award three times.
The VisitEngland assessment says: “The establishment continues to provide quality accommodation with food, service and hospitality exceeding the expectation of the customers and market.”
It also cites: “Higher quality food and service, particularly experienced in the Grill on the Hill,” as well as singling out Stanley House’s breakfast, which it says is: “Worthy of the coveted Breakfast award.”
Meanwhile, Mr Fred’s and Grill on the Hill both received a rare Taste Lancashire Highest Quality Assured Award under the restaurant category.
The VisitEngland assessment of The Grill is particularly glowing: “Attention continues to be given to the quality of the food and presentation of the dishes, along with the quality of service levels and hospitality from the team.”
Visit England accreditations are internationally recognised, with participating businesses eligible for the organisation’s achievement awards, including Breakfast, Silver, and Gold.
The evaluation process involves a professional assessor making an overnight mystery inspection visit, during which all aspects of the hotel’s customer-facing operations are scrutinised, from the initial booking to check out.
During the assessment visit, the assessor makes quality judgements across all areas of the hotel’s customer-related activities. Scores are awarded in six key areas to ensure the hotel offers a consistent service at the level of star rating awarded. Key areas are: cleanliness, bedrooms, bathrooms, service and efficiency, food quality, and hospitality and friendliness.
Philip Wharton, general manager at Stanley House Hotel and Spa, commented: “We are enormously thrilled and deeply honoured to have performed so strongly across all areas of the business. VisitEngland use strict and meticulously professional hotel inspectors, which makes their seal of approval all the more valued.
“Looking ahead, improving on this latest set of assessments will be a challenge, although we will certainly continue to do our utmost to get even better at everything we do, with the customer experience at the heart of all our activities.”