The Yacht Harbour Association (THYA) has announced the winners of its Marina of the Year Awards for 2016, with proud partners GJW Insurance. Now in its third year, the Awards were open to Gold Anchor accredited marinas both in the UK and overseas. The winning marinas are considered the best by their customers in the UK Coastal, UK Inland, International and Superyacht categories.
TYHA, a group association within British Marine, worked closely with partners GJW Insurance to encourage marina customers to vote for their favourite marina which culminated in over 4500 votes being cast, a 48% increase from the 2015 awards!
The Awards have developed significantly with votes being cast for an impressive 88 marinas. The increase in votes and the comments that were posted on marinaawards.com clearly shows how highly marina customers value the high levels of customer service provided in Gold Anchor accredited marinas.
To commemorate their achievement winners and runners up of the prestigious awards were presented with laser etched glass trophies and framed certificates by David Perfect, Managing Director of GJW Insurance and Sarah Hanna, Chairman of The Yacht Harbour Association.
The Marina of the Year 2016 winners and runners up were:
UK Coastal Marina of the Year 2016 (over 250 berths)
- Winner – Lymington Yacht Haven
- Runner up – Mayflower Marina
UK Coastal Marina of the Year 2016 (under 250 berths)
- Winner – Poole Quay Boat Haven
- Runner up – Southampton Town Quay
UK Inland Marina of the Year 2016
- Winner – Overwater Marina
- Runner up – Caen Hill Marina
International Marina of the Year 2016
- Winner – Marina de Vilamoura
- Runner up – Saint-Quay Port d’Armor
Superyacht Marina of the Year 2016
- Winner – IGY Yacht Haven Grand
- Runner up – Porto Montenegro
Jon White, General Manager of The Yacht Harbour Association, commented: “My congratulations to all the winners’ runners up and all marinas voted for in the 2016 Marina of the Year competition. The increased number of marinas votes and nominated marinas makes the finalists achievements even more impressive, they clearly know how to look after their customers! Our feedback is that the Awards have encouraged Gold Anchor accredited marina operators and their staff to go that extra mile and build even closer relationships with their berth holders which supports our Gold Anchor objective of raising stands of customer service!”.
Dylan Kalis, Managing Director of Yacht Havens Group, commented on winning the UK Coastal Marina of the Year Award: “We are extremely proud that we have been awarded such a prestigious accolade, along with the Five Gold Anchor Award in 2015, which is a benchmark within the industry. We would like to thank the TYHA and sponsors for hosting these awards. This award is a credit to our amazing staff and a reflection of their continual hard work and professionalism in delivering the highest level of service year-on-year, which makes Lymington Yacht Haven so worthy of both awards. I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for Lymington Yacht Haven, many of who are regular visitors from our other marinas around the UK and the Netherlands where we strive to offer the same high level of service and facilities.”
Kenny Jones MBE, Executive Vice President – Operations for Island Global Yachting commented: “IGY Marinas and more importantly the operational staff who work exceptionally hard to present the highest quality of service to the superyachts owners, guests, crew and captains are extremely proud to have received this recognition. The fact that this award is measured on honest feedback through positive testimonials from our guests’, makes this award even more valuable. Across the IGY network we have learnt never to be complacent in our approach to customer service and recognize that every year the service level, facilities and overall presentation needs to be improved if it is to survive in a very demanding sector of the marina industry. I am very honored to be receiving the award on behalf of IGY and Mike Revier, the General Manager of Yacht Haven Grande and his very devoted team”.
John Binder, Marina Manager of Poole Quay Boat Haven and Port of Poole Marina commented: “I am delighted to receive the UK Coastal (under 250 berths) Marina of the Year award 2016 for Poole Quay Boat Haven and Port of Poole Marina. This award is a testament to the dedication and hard work of my very experienced permanent staff and my enthusiastic temporary summer season staff (many of whom return year after year). I would particularly like to thank all of our customers who voted for us – without whom this award would not have been possible. Special thanks are owed for the support of Jim Stewart, Chief Executive of Poole Harbour Commissioners, our parent company”.