Hever Castle an “exceptional day out” according to Visit England inspection
Hever Castle & Gardens has been praised following a Visit England inspection which described the attraction as continuing to offer “an exceptional day out” with the history-laden castle, wonderful gardens and grounds and variety of other attractions.”
The heritage attraction had a Visit England inspection and achieved an overall score of 88% during the annual inspection which took place on Monday 5 July 2021.
The Visit England inspection includes scoring of pre arrival information on the Hever Castle website, the welcome on arrival, the appearance of the buildings and grounds, cleanliness, toilet facilities, catering, retail facilities and staff.
The Hever Shop scored the maximum points under all the criteria and the inspector praised the one way system and the clear presentation of items.
Visit England said that: “The main feature of the shop is, however, the superb range of merchandise including bespoke items for Hever Castle, a wide collection of other relevantly themed items and other branded goods. The careful selection of local produce and range of items for children are other key features.”
Head of Retail Ashley Collins said: “We are thrilled to have been given the highest possible score by Visit England. During lockdown we worked very hard to ensure we were still able to offer customers and staff high quality items but in a safe and secure way, this included a click and collect service and online orders. To have received recognition for our excellent range of products as well as our hard working staff is great news.”
Staff across the attraction were also praised for their “overall excellent performance.”
Head of Visitor Services Nicola Smith said: “We are delighted that despite the challenges of the pandemic with furloughed staff and extra procedures to follow, Visit England remained impressed with Hever Castle & Gardens and in particular our hard-working staff. Well done and thank you to our dedicated members of staff for maintaining their high standards of customer service.”
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