Guest Blog Post – Charlie Deuchar (Owner, Bayards Cove Inn)
It’s been a busy few weeks at Bayards Cove Inn. Roasts are back on the menu which means Sundays are very busy, Christmas party season has started so people are piling in to enjoy our festive two and three course set menus, our 30% December discount on our rooms is proving very popular, and we’ve been to one or two awards ceremonies!
Entering awards is fairly new to Bayards Cove Inn and we’ve been having a fabulous time, picking up various accolades. Most recently we were at the finals of the Devon Tourism Awards and were delighted to receive a bronze award in the best Small Hotel Boutique Accommodation category.
Winning awards is great for staff moral and this latest gong came on the back of an amazing few weeks where we won a Gold Award at the Taste of the West Awards, we’re one of the editors choices in the latest The Good Hotel Guide, and we were also finalists in two categories at the Devon Food and Drink Awards.
For the team it means we are getting something right, and as the important Bayards 400 celebrations approach, we hope we are doing our bit to put Dartmouth on the map.
The feedback form from the Devon Tourism Awards has been invaluable. There are areas in which we scored very highly. In other areas we were given advice on how to improve our marks for next year – it’s something we’re going to really focus on as we’d love to win a Gold in 2019.
We have the most amazing team at Bayards Cove Inn that is innovative and forward thinking. One challenge that faces all of us in the hospitality industry is how to keep busy during the shoulder season – that period between November until the Easter holidays.
We’ve introduced a fresh new Early Supper Club with a three course set menu for just £20 per person. It’s available every night between 5.45pm and 6.45pm, excluding Fridays and Saturdays, and Tuesdays are now bring your own bottle of wine night. We hope we’ll help add to the Dartmouth buzz, encouraging people to visit, whatever the time of year.
We also love supporting all things local, and are hugely behind the Dartmouth 400 campaign. 2020 is an important year for international tourism and as we help to get Dartmouth on the world wide map; we’ve hosted various press trips. These write ups and blogs help encourage people to come to the West Country, and to add Dartmouth to their bucket list, which is all great for generating local business.
So as Christmas approaches and another year draws closer, Zuzana and I would like to thank everybody for their support and to wish you all a warm and merry festive period.
