EXMOOR Character Cottages won gold in the Resilience and Innovation category at the prestigious Bristol, Bath, and Somerset Tourism Awards Ceremony last week.

Their win was especially welcome after one of the most challenging times in the hospitality industry; the judges for the category, sponsored by Visit Somerset, were looking for how the finalists adapted and overcame the challenges for their business, as well as how they supported their local communities during the pandemic.

The owner of the winning business, Lucy Green, congratulated all the finalists at this year’s awards, and said: “This award is a triumph for not only the hardworking team at Exmoor Character Cottages, but for Exmoor and West Somerset too.

“We pulled together in the most challenging of circumstances and the uncertainty of lockdowns, to manage the disappointments of our valued guests, ensured our local teams and suppliers were paid and kept our business open.”

The hard work and commitment paid off and Exmoor Character Cottages welcomed a record number of guests to their four luxury self-catering holidays cottages in Minehead and Dunster and celebrated their busiest ever season in 2021.

Lucy and her team are over the moon with their Gold Award and are planning to celebrate their win very soon.

Meanwhile, though the good news had travelled fast, and as so many of their guests and friends posted congratulations on social media, a delighted Lucy said: “We were pleased just to be in the final, so to be awarded Gold is a welcome boost for the whole team, and it’s lovely to share the news of our win with our guests, who put their faith in us by booking their holidays and giving us a reason to keep going.”