Bancroft Gardens earns 2016 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence

Visitors to Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Bancroft Gardens have heaped praise on the open space attraction, earning a Certificate of Excellence from customer review website TripAdvisor.

Now in its sixth year, the prestigious award celebrates hospitality businesses that have achieved consistently great traveller reviews on TripAdvisor over the past year.  Certificate of Excellence recipients include accommodations, eateries and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a quality customer experience. 

Bancroft Gardens is rated 21^st out of 95 things to do in Stratford-upon-Avon, with 109 visitors rating it as excellent or very good. Recent reviews have described the park as 'Nice place to take a walk', 'A riverside refuge', 'A great place to stop & rest' and 'Lovely space'.

Cllr Mike Brain, Community and Technical Services Portfolio Holder says: “Bancroft Gardens is a super green space in the heart of Stratford-upon-Avon for locals and visitors to enjoy all year round. Receiving an accolade like this is a real source of pride for us, and reflects the excellent work the District Council does in partnership with our contractors to make Bancroft Gardens the fantastic attraction that it is.

“There is no greater seal of approval than being recognised by our visitors, and we'd like to thank all of our visitors who took the time to write a review on TripAdvisor and we look forward to continuing to welcome visitors to Bancroft Gardens."

"With the Certificate of Excellence, TripAdvisor honours hospitality businesses that have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travellers", said Heather Leisman, Vice President of Industry Marketing, TripAdvisor.

“This recognition helps travellers identify and book properties that regularly deliver great service. TripAdvisor is proud to play this integral role in helping travellers feel more confident in their booking decisions." The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travellers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

Bancroft Gardens, Stratford-upon-Avon

The Bancroft Gardens, located on the bank of the River Avon and in front of the world famous Royal Shakespeare Theatre, attract over a million visitors every year.

The Bancroft was originally an area of land where the townspeople grazed their animals, and the Canal Basin formed the terminus of the Stratford-to-Birmingham canal, completed in 1816. The Gardens also occupy the site of former canal wharves, warehouses, and a second canal basin, which was built in 1826 and refilled in 1902.

The statue of Shakespeare is the work of Lord Ronald Sutherland Gower, and was presented to the town in 1888. The smaller figures of Shakespearean characters are of Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Falstaff and Prince Hal; symbolising philosophy, tragedy, comedy and history.

The Country Artists Fountain was made for the 800th anniversary celebration of the granting of the Charter for Market Rights by King Richard I (the Lionheart) in 1196. The fountain was sculpted by Christine Lee and is made of stainless steel and brass. It was unveiled by the Queen in 1996.

About TripAdvisor

TripAdvisor^® is the world's largest travel site**, enabling travellers to plan and book the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers advice from millions of travellers, and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features, with seamless links to booking tools that check hundreds of websites to find the best hotel prices. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching 340 million unique monthly visitors***, and 350 million reviews and opinions covering 6.5 million accommodations, restaurants and attractions. The sites operate in 48 markets worldwide.

TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRIP), through its subsidiaries, manages and operates websites under 24 other travel media brands:

www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.everytrail.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com(including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl, www.besttables.comand www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.travelpod.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com, www.viator.com, and www.virtualtourist.com.

**Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, February 2016

***Source: TripAdvisor log files, Q1 2016