Crieff Hydro has been named as a finalist in the prestigious 2013 Scottish Events Awards in association with EventScotland.
The resort has been shortlisted in the Best Large Venue category along with the SECC, the AECC, Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange, the Royal Highland Centre and The National Museum of Scotland.
The national awards, now in their sixth year, recognise outstanding contribution to the Scottish events industry in terms of creativity, innovation and excellence in strategic planning and delivery of results.
Other finalists include Perthshire’s ‘Enchanted Forest’ (Best Large Event), the Scottish Fashion Awards (Best Small Event), Edinburgh International Science Festival (Best Large Festival), the World Pipe Band Championships (Best Traditional Event) and the Scottish Golf Awards (Best Awards Scheme).
The list also includes many small up and coming events, highlighting the diversity and growth of the events industry in Scotland.
Crieff Hydro has not only become the holiday and weekend destination for thousands of families each year, but also the host venue choice for national and international conferences, meetings, events, functions and celebrations.
Speaking about the awards announcement, Business Development Manager Caroline Harries commented: “We are absolutely delighted to achieve such prestigious recognition for our events offering.
"The last twelve months have been significant for Crieff Hydro in terms of investment and innovation to evolve the resort into what is now considered one of the UK’s leading venues. We invested over £280,000 in creating our new ‘great indoors’ – two unique and innovative ergonomic meeting spaces which have been designed to encourage free flow, ‘out the box’ thinking in a unique and stimulating environment.
"We also invested more than £80k in providing first-class WiFi facilities throughout the property, enabling superfast broadband and efficient plug and play technology for the ultimate connectivity for our business and leisure guests. Our latest development project includes an investment of over £200,000 in our Action Glen activity centre.
"As part of this, we’re building a brand new treetops adventure course – Aloft! – which launches this month. At Crieff Hydro, we’re not too big to offer a personal, bespoke service and not too small to be able to offer the investment and innovation required to create a world class events offering.
“I think that Crieff Hydro’s commitment to investment, our entrepreneurial ethos, willingness to do things ‘a bit differently’ and our independence, history and heritage have given the resort a unique edge in the events marketplace and we’re honoured to have been given a place in this year’s final.”
The judging panel comprises world leaders in events, marketing, branding and fundraising and includes Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony being held on Thursday September 26 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow.