A luxury Scottish country house has been awarded a Gold 4 Star Quality Assurance award following a grading from VisitScotland.
The national tourism organisation’s Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme is a benchmark for quality within the tourism industry and operates across accommodation, visitor attractions and food sectors.
Located in the heart of Royal Deeside, Douneside House, situated in Tarland, is the great spot for outdoor enthusiasts – boasting incomparable touring, walking, climbing and fishing opportunities.
Visitors can try their hand at fishing for salmon in the Rivers Dee and Don, take in the tranquil sites of Crathes, Drum or Castle Fraser on the nearby Castle Trail or experience one of the numerous festivals on offer in the area, from boat festivals to pipe band championships.
Set within the grounds of the MacRobert Estate in Aberdeenshire, Douneside House features 13 beautiful contemporary guest rooms, and has a range of holiday apartments and cottages within the grounds. The on-site restaurant has recently been awarded VisitScotland’s Taste Our Best Award. This accolade is designed to recognise businesses that not only offer a quality food and drink experience but include and promote Scottish produce on their menus.
There are even more surprises on offer for guests, as the property sits within 17 acres of Royal Horticultural Society accredited gardens. The gardens also produce a bountiful supply of organically grown fruit and vegetables–making it one of Scotland’s largest hotel kitchen gardens. Guests can also enjoy access to Douneside’s Health Club with swimming pool and state-of-the-art gymnasium – and enjoy a range of activities within the grounds including tennis, putting and croquet.
Jo Robinson, VisitScotland regional director, said: ‘Congratulations to the team at Douneside House in achieving a well -deserved 4 Star Gold grading. This award recognition is a true testament to their hard work and is a glowing example of the quality of experiences on offer in Aberdeenshire.
‘We continually strive to provide world class experiences, events and attractions to keep up with ever-changing visitor demands. The star rating reflects the entire visitor experience, as well as the investment in the business to make it as economically sustainable and profitable as it can be.’
Gillian Currie, director of Douneside House, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to receive this Gold award from VisitScotland. Douneside House opened to the public as a country house hotel in 2016, and since then we are striving to exceed the expectations of our guests who come to visit, stay and dine with us.
‘As Douneside House is owned and run by The MacRobert Trust, a charitable Trust based in Aberdeenshire, our team are constantly trying to uphold the values and ethos of the Trust’s late founder – Lady MacRobert. It was wonderful to know that this has been recognised by VisitScotland with this prestigious award.’
For more information on Douneside House visit https://www.dounesidehouse.co.uk/.
To learn more about VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance and other schemes visit: www.visitscotland.org
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