Conference Centre named best in the country

(left to right): Penelope, Viscountess Cobham, Chairman of VisitEngland, with the team from Cotswold Conference Centre: Rachael Buttery, Mandy Morrison, Debbie Sarjant and Lesley Stretch. Far right: James Berresford, Chief Executive, VisitEngland. 

Cotswold Conference Centre has been named as the country’s best business tourism venue by industry experts VisitEngland. 

The conference, training and teambuilding centre, on the Farncombe Estate near Broadway, won Gold in the Business Tourism category of the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2012. The national awards celebrate the best tourism venues, businesses and visitor attractions in the country and this year saw a record 392 applications. Winners were selected for their use of best practice, quality and innovation throughout the business and for helping raise standards across the industry. 

Cotswold Conference Centre topped a Business Tourism Award short-list which included Ribby Hall Business & Conference Suite in Preston, Manchester’s Lowry Hotel and Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The awards ceremony was held at the Athena in Leicester on Tuesday and the success marks the fourth Gold award that Cotswold Conference Centre has won so far in 2012. 

Richard Howdle, Operations Manager of Cotswold Conference Centre, said: “We’ve won regional awards, customer service awards and environmental business awards this year but there’s no doubt that this national recognition tops it all. “It isn’t just that we were short-listed alongside some great venues which makes winning so special, but also the fact that it comes from VisitEngland makes it very satisfying. “To have an organisation that works with so many great venues across the country choose us as the winner is a fantastic reflection of our performance and a wonderful boost for the whole team.” 

Cotswold Conference Centre’s other awards so far this year are the VenueVerdict Gold Award for customer service in January, the Cotswold Tourism Gold Award for best conference centre in March and Gold in the Green Tourism Business Scheme, in April. 

Cotswold Conference Centre is a modern venue based on the 370-acre Farncombe Estate, five minutes from the picturesque town of Broadway and just half-an-hour from Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon.