A TRIO OF SPEYSIDE distilleries have been awarded five-star status by VisitScotland in recognition of their providing ‘exceptional’ customer experiences.
All three are under the ownership of Chivas Brothers and were given the status upgrades as a result of a recent assessment by the national tourism organisation.
The awards have gone to the Aberlour, Strathisla and Glenlivet distilleries following the appraisals carried out as part of VisitScotland’s Quality Assurance Grading Scheme. That is designed to inspire and encourage improvement within the visitor attraction sector by helping participating attractions to achieve their full potential and provide the best possible experience.
Visitor attractions are assessed across a wide range of criteria from the quality of the pre-arrival booking process to staff hospitality and friendliness, experience upon arrival, and catering and retail, with each of Chivas Brothers’ visitor centres scoring above 85% to retain the highest ranking of five stars.
Commenting on the achievement, Chivas Brothers’ Visitor Centres Manager Caroline Mitchell said: “We are absolutely delighted that three of our Speyside distilleries have once again been awarded five stars for providing outstanding customer experiences.
“The achievement is a huge credit to each of our visitor centre distillery teams at Aberlour, Strathisla and The Glenlivet, which go above and beyond to ensure we maintain our high standards and provide excellent customer service across the board.”
The VisitScotland accreditation bolsters the success of Chivas Brothers’ Aberlour Distillery after Visitor Centre Supervisor Rikki Scott scooped the Whisky Magazine Global Icons of Whisky Award earlier this year.