Member Article

Guest House Goes for Gold in Tourism Awards Double

An historic guest house on Tyneside where a relative of the Duchess of Cambridge once lived is going for gold after being nominated for a top tourism award for the second year in a row.

Martineau Guest House in Tynemouth is one of four hospitality businesses to have been shortlisted for best Bed and Breakfast/Guest House Accommodation of the Year in the prestigious North East England Tourism Awards 2013.

Owner Sally Craigen only entered the influential competition, which gives tourism related businesses across the region the chance to celebrate their innovation, quality and service, for the first time in 2012 and was rewarded with a bronze place in the same category.

Now she is hoping to go two places better and take the crown at what promises to be a glittering awards ceremony hosted by BBC Look North presenter Carol Malia at Newcastle United’s home ground St James’ Park on November 21.

Sally, 59, a former head teacher who only took over Martineau Guest House four years ago, said: “I am absolutely delighted to be nominated again for this award. Being shortlisted the first time was a complete surprise, but for a second year in a row for the guest house to have been deemed good enough to stand alongside the best of the best from the North East and possibly represent the region at a national level is a huge honour.

“The winners on the night get to compete on a national stage against the champions from the other English regions at the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

“To be able to showcase both Tynemouth and the North East at that level would be a very proud moment for me. But the success isn’t just mine.

“There is a small but dedicated team who work closely behind me, so this feels like everyone’s success.”

Sally’s is the only Tyneside-based guest house or bed and breakfast shortlisted. She is competing alongside Carraw Bed and Breakfast near Hexham and St Cuthbert’s House at Seahouses, both Northumberland, and Dowfold House in Crook, County Durham, for the overall title.

The Grade II listed guest house on Tynemouth’s picturesque Front Street is so named because famed Victorian social theorist, novelist and journalist Harriet Martineau – whose fourth great grandniece is Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge – lived there for five years from 1840 whilst convalescing from a serious illness.

Credited with being England’s first female journalist she wrote many of her most important novels at the Georgian house and was visited by among others Charlotte Bronte and Charles Dickens.

The tourism awards nomination comes at the end of a successful year for Martineau Guest House. In February it gained a five star rating for its predominantly locally sourced breakfasts from VisitEngland and Sally has launched A Taste of the Sea residential cooking courses with the aim of helping participants get to grips with fish preparation as well as to showcase Tynemouth and the nearby North Shields Fish Quay.

She has extended her vegetarian and vegan breakfast option and the guest house also boasts a four star silver rating from VisitEngland for its accommodation and is recommended in the Michelin Guide.

Sally says: “I haven’t sat on my laurels, despite being nominated for the North East England Tourism Awards last year and getting a bronze.

“I am always looking to improve the guest experience and am continually reviewing and looking at ways of enhancing the business, whether that is through extending the breakfast menus or launching A Taste of the Sea.

“This latest nomination is recognition that I am doing something right. It is exciting to be in the top four bed and breakfasts and guest houses in the North East and is also a feather in the cap for Tynemouth and in promoting the area and local businesses.

“Tynemouth is a great place to be and stay with its history and stunning coastal scenery and all the village’s wonderful cafes, restaurants and shops.”

Away from the guest house Sally is the current chair of the Tynemouth Business Forum and on the organising committee for the village’s now annual food festival which will have its third outing in May 2014.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jane Hall .