Owners of a guest house in Southport say “it’s a dream come true” after they were recognised as the third best in the country at this year’s prestigious VisitEngland Awards.
Sunnyside Guest House, on Bath Street in Southport town centre, added to its impressive collection of honours by winning the Bronze Award in the 2023 B&B and Guest House of the Year category.
Owners Anthony and Larissa Duffey said: “To reach the top three for the best B&B and Guest House in the country is truly a dream come true! In fact we are still pinching ourselves.”
Earlier this year they won the B&B and Guest House of the Year Awards in the 2023 Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards, which they also won in 2022.
The winner in the VisitEngland Awards category, winning Gold, was Piglets Boutique B&B in Essex, while Cedar Manor in Cumbria won Silver.
VisitEngland’s annual Awards for Excellence celebrate the tourism industry’s brightest stars.
The winners were announced at an evening ceremony hosted by Alex Polizzi at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter.
Categories ranged from ‘Small Visitor Attraction of the Year’ and ‘B&B and Guest House of the Year’ to ‘Business Events Venue of the Year’ and ‘Experience of the Year.’
The Gold, Silver and Bronze winners were selected from hundreds of tourism businesses across England including hotels, self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, glamping operators, attractions, restaurants, pubs and museums.
The prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, running for more than 30 years and in 2023 sponsored by the Caravan and Motorhome Club, celebrate and champion innovation, quality and best practice across the industry recognising businesses and individuals who raise the bar of England’s tourism offer.
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“It is fantastic to come together as an industry to celebrate our world-class tourism businesses. Competition this year was fierce with customer service excellence evident across every category, thanks to the passion and dedication of individuals.
“I congratulate all the winners, an achievement cementing their place as the country’s crème de la crème, standard-bearers for England’s tourism industry.”
Sunnyside Guest House owners Anthony and Larissa Duffey said:
“We applied for the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards and won B&B / Guest House of the Year in 2022. The judges gave us invaluable feedback, enabling us to look at our business from different perspectives and ultimately leading to essential alterations in the way we run The Sunnyside which, in turn, produced overwhelmingly positive feedback from our customers.
“This year we won B&B of the Year for a second time – an achievement we were very proud of, particularly given we were up against tough competition from Hotel Anfield in Liverpool and The Braemar in Southport, two high quality establishments.
“We were automatically entered for the national competition which involved winners from 16 regions. The VisitEngland judging panel, consisting of a team of Industry professionals, worked their way through the applications.
“If I am being honest we weren’t expecting to hear back from the panel. My partner and I are a small team of two and our rates are very competitive so we must ensure that we work within our resources.
“Many of the top B&Bs in the country have bigger budgets and work with top B&B consultants and industry professionals, so making the national finals came as a real surprise and honour.
“We were up against two exceptional B&Bs in Piglets Boutique, nestled in an untouched parted of the Essex countryside, and Cedar Manor – a 5* B&B located in the beautiful Lake District National Park.
“To reach the top three for the best B&B in the country is truly a dream come true! In fact we are still pinching ourselves.
“We were fortunate to have the support of the amazing Tracy Holgate and the team at Visit Southport.
“Tracy has encouraged us to incorporate our hobbies and passions into the business which has produced some of our customers’ favourites, including freshly-baked, home-made items on arrival and personalised welcome cards in calligraphy.
“We thoroughly enjoyed the incredible night at Warner Brothers Studios.
“We are absolutely delighted we’ve achieved the Bronze Award for National B&B of the Year.
“We can’t describe how proud we feel to have achieved such high recognition from VisitEngland and their panel of esteemed expert judges.
“We had such an amazing evening, sharing a table with the incredible Bombed Out Church in Liverpool and Titanic Hotel in Liverpool, which brought home the Gold Award in their category.
“The atmosphere on our table was electric and it was clear to see why the Liverpool City Region has a reputation for such amazing people.
“To represent the Liverpool City Region, the most generous and hospitable people in the country, was a privilege and an absolute honour.
“The last few weeks have been epic. Thank you for all the support and kind comments.”
- For more details about Sunnyside Guest House in Southport please visit: sunnysidesouthport.co.uk
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