Monte Rei were one of the big winners during the 59 Club Awards Dinner dubbed “The Oscars of Golf” collecting a Gold Flag award, Golf Manager of the Year and Golf Operations Team of the Year awards. The awards which are based on the mystery customer scores throughout the year are a reflection of all areas of the customer’s journey.
Simon Wordsworth, CEO of 59 Club commented “Very few venues reach the gold standard, never mind after just 18 months of working within 59club’s program. It’s great to see a team work so hard at improving the journey their customers make, they truly deserve the accolades 59club have awarded them.”
The stunning Monte Rei Golf & Country Club, in the eastern Algarve, was also named ‘best member’ when the World of Leading Golf (WLG) announced its 2015 award winners in a ceremony at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, England.
Salvador Lucena, General Manager at Monte Rei said: “We are delighted to receive the awards from 59 Club and World of Leading courses and will be pleased to showcase them back at Monte Rei. We are proud of the service levels we deliver and it’s wonderful for this to be recognised in the gold flag award and the golf operations team of the year awards. It is really pleasing that our retail manager and F&B manager were also nominated for awards showing that we are delivering in all areas. We now look forward to 2016 and continuing to improve our service to ensure our guests receive the best experience possible.”
WLG is an association representing many of the best-known and most highly regarded golf venues in almost 20 countries, and, for the first time, it handed out a total of six awards, recognising the very best of the best among its membership.
WLG’s chief executive Claus Feldt, who was present to hand out the ‘gongs’ to the award winners, said: “Merely to gain membership to the association, clubs have to meet stringent quality criteria, so to win an award in such illustrious company is quite an achievement.
“It’s been a great pleasure to be able to celebrate our members in this way and I’ve enjoyed being part of the judging panel. Congratulations to every single winner.”
The awards are decided partially by mystery shopper tests undertaken by WLG partner 59club – the industry leader in measuring and analysing customer-service levels for golf venues – and, in part, by representatives of WLG.
Feldt added: “59club is the market leader in establishing and analysing all objective data, but our awards also recognise the subjective, which is important to our members. So, wherever applicable, we also take into account things like ambience, enjoyment and aspiration.”
Monte Rei has gained recognition around the world as a premier golf and family destination and, since its opening 8 years ago, it has been ranked several years in a row as the number one golf course in Portugal. Monte Rei continues to grow and the past few years have seen a number of developments at the resort with the introduction of fully serviced rental villas, along with the opening of Veranda, which includes a restaurant and bar, tennis courts, swimming pools, gymnasium and spa.
Monte Rei Golf & Country Club www.monte-rei.com