Montalto Estate of Ballynahinch, Co. Down, has received a five-star visitor attraction grading from Tourism NI.
The property includes a café, trails, gardens and a natural play area for children.
It also features a newly developed history trail where visitors can learn about the estate's history, including the location of the Battle of Ballynahinch.
The venue opened its doors to the public for the first time in September of last year, and by August of 2019, it had welcomed its 100,000th guest.
"Montalto Estate is a significant addition to the tourism product in Northern Ireland. September 2018 marked the first time that the estate was opened to the public and it has gone from strength to strength ever since," Caroline Adams, quality and standards manager at Tourism NI, said. "Our quality and standards team informed Montalto Estate on what is required from a five-star visitor attraction, and they fully embraced the challenge."
Stand-Out Visitor Experience
Keith Reilly, operations director at Montalto Estate, said that the five-star grading came from the estate's "luxury, quality, attention to detail and customer care".
He stated, "Our team always work exceptionally hard to create a stand-out visitor experience that showcases an element of Northern Ireland which is memorable to all who come here.
"We are humbled not only by the number of people that have signed up to be a member of the estate, but also the number of new visitors that come each week.
"To maintain our appeal, we will be continuing to develop our offering, with further plans for trails, gardens, events and play, to name a few. It makes me immensely proud to be part of a team that made this all happen, and I can't thank our staff enough."
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
