[A] renowned Cumbrian hotel is in the running for an unusual national award, thanks in part to its commitment to a charitable cause which twins toilets to help fund overseas sanitation.
The four-star Wild Boar Inn Grill & Smokehouse, a traditional Lakeland inn set in a tranquil valley close to Windermere, has been nominated for the 2017 Loo of the Year award.
The awards provide an independent, cost effective and valuable assessment of ‘away-from-home’ washroom provision and standards of cleanliness and maintenance.
An inspector will pay an unannounced visit to the venue over the summer and winners will be announced at an awards event in Solihull in December. Entrants will receive a 2017 Loo of the Year grading certificate in bronze, silver, gold or platinum categories.
In 2014, English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues joined forces with Toilet Twinning to raise money to provide proper toilets, clean water and hygiene education in poorer countries. The facilities at The Wild Boar Inn Grill & Smokehouse are twinned with sites in Columbia, Cambodia and Nepal.
The hotel group introduced the idea of twinning toilets by putting up plaques and attracting donations via www.toilettwinning.org to pay for the construction of latrines in communities across the globe.
Its venues in Cumbria and North Lancashire display certificates bearing photographs of their twinned latrines, in direct contrast to the luxury surroundings experienced by their guests and visitors when nature calls.
“We’ve had a lot of people comment on the comfort, cleanliness and quality of our washroom facilities and products, and that is a key reason for the award entry,” explains Adam Bujok from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, the manager of The Wild Boar.
“Toilet twinning our loos with purpose-built latrines in third world countries is a factor too. The lack of access to clean water and effective sanitation is hugely detrimental to too many overseas communities.”
Toilet Twinning is a partnership between development charities Cord and Tearfund, to enable people living in poor communities to have clean water, a decent toilet, and to learn about hygiene – a vital combination that prevents the spread of disease and reduces the number of deaths among children.
The Wild Boar Inn has its own smoke house, which supplies the restaurant with meats, cheeses and fish and offers food smoking courses. The Inn also has an on-site microbrewery, the Brewhouse, where guests can experience real ale fermenting sessions under the expert guidance of a master brewer.
For further information, visit http://englishlakes.co.uk/the-wild-boar/
