Trout Point Lodge of Nova Scotia achieves 5 stars, joins Small Luxury Hotels of the World

2012 has been a year of achievement for this boutique hotel in the eastern Canadian wilderness with a reputation for gourmet cuisine, friendly service, and great outdoor recreation. End Quote

A 5 star property is luxurious at a world standard, offering outstanding facilities, guest service and amenities.

(1888PressRelease) November 12, 2012 - Having just been named among Atlantic Canada's fastest growing companies by a prominent Halifax business magazine, Trout Point Lodge announces that the national accommodation rating agency Canada Select has awarded it the top ranking of 5 stars in the Inn category. The Lodge has also joined the world's most prestigious boutique hotel group, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH; slh.com).

SLH is an unrivalled portfolio of some of the world's finest small luxury independent hotels. Fewer than 5% of hotels expressing interest in membership ultimately attain that status, according to Michael Moloff, Development Director for the Americas, who also inspected the Lodge.

By associating with SLH, the Nova Scotia wilderness lodge has chosen to leave Relais & Chateaux (R&C), a Paris, France-based association of boutique hotels and gourmet restaurants it joined in 2009. R&C has about 14 hotel & restaurant members across Canada.

SLH, by contrast, has just 3 other Canadian properties, the Windsor Arms in Toronto, the Georgian Court in Vancouver, and Echo Valley Ranch & Spa in Jesmond, BC.

The move to SLH reflects the hard choices small independent hotels face in appealing to an ever more competitive international marketplace of vacation experiences. In this case, the proprietors of the 12-unit Nova Scotia lodge believes it has made the right decision in switching to SLH. "SLH is a better fit for Trout Point," says Chef/Proprietor Vaughan Perret. "While Relais & Chateaux places a lot of emphasis on cuisine alone, SLH hotels are actually places we patronize on a regular basis, they're perhaps more attentive to the overall, well-rounded luxury experience for the guest." Trout Point is acclaimed for its food, having been named among the world's top 10 foodie destinations by Departures magazine earlier this year.

Comprising over 520 hotels worldwide in more than 70 countries, the diversity of the individual SLH hotels, and the experiences that they offer, is truly exceptional. From cutting-edge design hotels to palatial 17th century mansions, city centre sanctuaries to remote private islands, historic country houses to idyllic resorts - the breadth and depth of the brand is far reaching.

While a hotel undoubtedly enjoys the benefits of being part of a global brand, SLH places enormous emphasis on celebrating the individuality of each hotel, a factor important to Trout Point. Individuality remains one of the group's core values and is central to the continued success of the brand. Strict controls are applied to ensure that only the very best hotels with the highest standards are accepted into the brand, thus ensuring that the quality of the experience that guests receive is consistent across all SLH properties. To ensure that these exceptional standards of excellence are maintained, SLH has a carefully monitored 'mystery guest' programme which relies on valuable reviews from inspectors who importantly are also consumers.

According to CEO Paul Kerr, over the last 20 years SLH has been transformed from a Club of hotels to a Club of customers - customers who are extremely loyal to SLH.

Relatedly, the Lodge made capital improvements this year that allowed Ronald van der Weegen, Managing Director of Quality Visitor Services, to grant the Lodge 5 stars after an on-site inspection in October. The Lodge previously had a 4 1/2 star ranking since opening in 2000. According to Canada Select, "a 5 star property is luxurious at a world standard, offering outstanding facilities, guest service and amenities."

Trout Point's managing directors Charles Leary and Vaughan Perret believe the increased ranking and SLH membership will assist their effort to keep the full service lodge open year-round in 2012-13. Such constant reinvestment in their business also put Trout Point on Progress magazine's list of the region's 100 fastest growing companies.

Trout Point is among just 4 Nova Scotia accommodations in the Inn category to have the 5-star designation.

http://www.troutpoint.com

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