The beverage section of the hospitality industry has did well 2008’s Loo of the Year awards.
In the awards, several very notable names in high street hospitality hit remarkable scores - JD Wetherspoon, which took the national ‘corporate provider’ award, had 55 of its pubs listed as five-star award winners, and took the top pub prize in every region of the UK.
McDonalds dominated the fast-food section with eighteen five-star winners. On the roads, Welcome Break had 30 of its motorway sites awarded five-star status.
Although the cafes and coffee-houses section did not attract a great many entries, three regional awards were made to sites which the judges considered particularly special.
Harrisons Bistro in Newcastle Emlyn took the Welsh area prize, the Malt Barn coffee shop at the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown won the Scottish region, and the English winner was the Café Metro in Bury.
The inspector’s report of the Café Metro praised the ‘wow factor’ of the café loo, noting its provision of many extras such as tissues, face-creams and flowers.
The Malt Barn was commended for a high standard of liaison between cleaning teams and other staff, resulting in very highly-monitored facilities.
“We continue to be impressed with the high standards of the Wetherspoon toilets that we inspect,” commented the awards managing director Mike Bone. “From 110 entries they achieved 55 five-star awards and the same number of four-star, which is significant achievement across the UK. The Wetherspoon management values the inspection and grading provided by Loo of the Year.
“Welcome Break toilets need to cater for very high volumes of users at most times of the day and night. They employ full-time attendants who are continually cleaning and maintaining to a high standard despite the continuous use of the facilities.”
By Ian Boughton