STAFF and the family owners of a holiday park are celebrating an "amazing" year which saw their business decorated with a series of prestigious regional and national awards.
South Lytchett Manor's most recent triumph came in November's Destination Management Board (DMB) Tourism Awards 2024 at the Hilton Hotel in Bournemouth.
At the glittering annual event, the popular Lytchett Minster-based holiday park took two top gold awards in both the self-catering and the best customer service categories.
But the judges hadn't finished yet because they also announced that the park's director Matt Bridgen had taken the silver award in the category of rising tourism star.
Matt is the son of Joanne and David Bridgen who took over the glamping and camping park almost 20 years ago. He now helps manage the business with his parents and sister Megan.
And there was another bouquet for the park earlier in the year when it won gold for the best business landscape in the South and South East in Bloom awards.
Judges were impressed with both the array of flowers on display, and the emphasis put on high nectar-bearing blooms providing foraging for honey bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Tributes were also paid to the park in 2024 when the AA confirmed that it had once again earned its five-star platinum rating with an impressive quality score of 98 per cent.
The AA report said: "This park never fails to impress, and this year its glamping side has expanded with eight new Mongolian yurts designed and finished to a very high standard by Jo Bridgen."
There was another 98 per cent quality rating for South Lytchett when Visit England announced that the business had retained its Five Star Gold Award from the national tourist board.
Visit England said: "The whole team should be hugely congratulated for the impressive levels of cleanliness across the park and the cheerful, professional manner in which they greet all guests."
And the team were once again flushed with success this year when they learned that South Lytchett had achieved the diamond accolade in the latest Loo of the Year Awards.
Given to only a small number of businesses each year, the diamond award celebrates washroom facilities of the highest possible standards of cleanliness and maintenance.
Joanna Bridgen said that both the family and the park team were "over the moon" at the different honours achieved in recent months by South Lytchett Manor.
"It's been a colossal year for us, and also one of our busiest on record in terms of visitor numbers and the volume of glowing reviews left," she said.
"We are a family business, and the park team here shares our passion for providing the best experiences possible for guests from the moment they arrive.
"That's why these awards mean so much because they are based not just on our quality standards, but also the welcoming atmosphere and level of hospitality provided.”
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