Director General of Tourism Joy Jibrilu presented Sandyport Beaches Resort and Hotel with the RCI Gold Crown Award, a hotel industry top honor based partly on happy guests' positive comments and reviews.
"This is the only resort I've been in where there is a director of happiness. When a property has that as a strategic objective and they designate someone to ensure guest happiness, what better formula can there be for guest satisfaction?" said the director general.
Accepting the award on behalf of the staff was Hotel General Manager Vernon Moss and Front Desk Manager Cheralda Arnett, who underscored the importance of friendly and efficient staff, many of whom are mentioned by name in the reviews.
"As you can see, we have an exceptional property here, but it is the staff that makes the difference," said Arnett.
Jibrilu said it was phenomenal that a small, niche resort hotel was able to garner such a huge recognition.
"I am delighted to be here to congratulate the staff led by General Manager Vernon Moss and to meet the RCI representative, Shannon Dabney, who is here to recognize the importance of this award. I am here today to say that the Ministry of Tourism and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas are proud of Sandyport Resort for flying the hospitality flag so well. We talk about excellence of service and how important it is, and this resort speaks to that.
"Sandyport Beaches Resort was assessed by RCI guest comments on quality of service throughout the resort - check-in, grounds people, housekeeping - and I'm advised that of the thousands of RCI registered hospitality properties, only 15 percent have achieved this Gold Crown Award honor," she said.
Shannon Dabney, an RCI account executive, was present to also offer congratulations on the hotel's third consecutive win.
"Sandyport Beaches Resort is the only Gold Crown Award holder in Nassau; I'm proud and honored that Sandyport is one of my clients; I can't speak highly enough about the staff. It is evident that is really what makes the difference in guests' overall vacation experience."
The presentation coincided with another top achievement - the influential TripAdvisor site is consistently rating Sandyport Beaches Resort in the top three of 35 listed Nassau hotels. Sandyport Beaches Resort already holds a prestigious TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, which recognizes establishments that consistently earn great TripAdvisor reviews from travelers.
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