Over the years Clive and Tracy have been fortunate enough to win many Tourism Awards for Hillcrest ~ originally for Hillcrest Bed & Breakfast and then a few years later, when they built Mountain View Cottage and changed their name to Hillcrest Mountain View Retreat, for the operation as a whole.

This page explains what some of the logos and Awards symbols you see displayed on the Hillcrest website actually mean for you, the guest.

Hillcrest won the HMAA Award for Excellence in 5 Star Hosted Accommodation in 2007

From June 2005 any member not inspected and rated by AAA Tourism (see below) must pay for an inspection to ensure that they adhere to the minimum standards as claimed.

Hillcrest has been a member of BBFANSW since opening

After initial approval there is an annual site inspection by independent adjudicators from outside the area. This ensures standards are maintained after the initial process. If standards slip, you lose your Accreditation and are no longer entitled to display the logo.

If you stay with an Accredited Tourism Business you know that they not only run in a professional manner, but they have all relevant licences and insurance in place and are trained in the health and safety of themselves and their guests.

Hillcrest Was Accredited by the Tourism Industry Council of ACT in October 2004 ~ The First and Only Business in the Northern Rivers Region to be Accredited under the National Scheme.

Entry is by submission and independent site inspection. The submission is long, 40 pages with another 50 pages of supporting information, and covers the areas of customer service, customer satisfaction, facilities, best practice, eco friendliness, risk management, staff training,  local commitment and commitment to the industry as a whole.

When you stay at a business that has been judged as one of the top 5 in the State in the NSW Tourism Awards you can be assured that not only do they have superb facilities, but their customer service and satisfaction levels have been proven to be - well one of the best 5 in the whole State. As you might expect when the best of the best compete, it is generally a very tightly fought race, Example: In 2003 only 1 point separated the top 3 in the finals - however there is only one Award i.e. no second or third place are announced.

Hillcrest Won the NSW Tourism Award of Excellence in 2004
and represented their State in the Australian National Awards February 2005

Hillcrest Was a State Finalist in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007

Entry is by submission and anonymous site inspection. The submission follows the NSW Tourism State Awards outline, sometimes just part of it, and sometimes the whole thing. For the hosted accommodation section the judges stay as guests ~ all we know is the approximate 4 week period in which they will stay, we never find out who they were.

Although finalists are announced,  they are listed alphabetically with no category listed, so it's hard to tell how many finalists there are in each section ~ we estimate that there are usually two.

To win the Northern Rivers Regional Tourism Awards and be judged the best in your region automatically places you at finalist level in the State Awards. However in recent years the State Awards finalists have been announced before the Regional Awards have taken place, so we know that Hillcrest has gained State Finals level independently of our Regional wins.

Hillcrest Won the Regional Tourism Awards of Excellence in
2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005

and was inducted into the Hall of Fame for 2005-2006-2007

There are 6 categories including Customer Service, which is always a hotly contended category. Hillcrest was judged as one of only 3 finalists in this category in 2005.

Star Rating

Businesses are rated on the level of facilities, maintenance and cleanliness. They also have to provide proof of insurance. Rating is by annual site inspection by a trained AAAT inspector who marks rooms according to a points system. Whilst a certain number of points may entitle an operation to have an extra Star, within each Star level certain minimum standards apply. For example: Smiths Motel has enough points to be a 4 star, but because not all of their rooms have ensuite bathrooms they can only be a 3½.

Hillcrest is rated 4½ Stars