Competing against a line-up of international hotel brands, The Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa proved once again that professional independently owned operations can have the final say when it took home the gong for both awards categories it entered winning Deluxe Accommodation and Tourism Education & Training at Tropical North Queensland’s Tourism Awards in Cairns on Saturday night.

General Manager for the resort, Craig Biber was in attendance to accept the award that he says, is a real coup for an independently owned and operated property.

This is the second year running The Lakes Cairns Resort and Spa has won the Deluxe Accommodation category at TNQ’s Tourism Awards and comes hot on the heels of bagging HMAA’s ‘Best 4-5 Star Resort’, ‘Training’ and ‘Operator of the Year’ awards (Qld) as well as its signature restaurant, Lago, winning ‘Best Hotel / Resort Restaurant’ at the Restaurant and Caterer’s Awards.

“These awards are testament to the hard work and commitment of our entire team whose day-to-day mission is to provide guests with world-class accommodation and a memorable experience.

“On a bigger picture level, this acknowledgement from industry underscores the value of independent operators who are becoming less and less with the increase of global hotel operators who posses bigger brand power and bigger marketing budgets.

“As an independent, we work hard to make up the shortfall in brand and dollars by providing a unique product that responds quickly to changing market trends, along with creating a culture that supports and encourages staff to provide very personal service. Our success relies heavily on the guest experience so it’s critical to ensure the product and the service operate hand in hand.”