THE owners of a group of five-star self-catering holiday cottages in Monmouthshire have made the finals of the Wales Tourism Awards for the fourth time.

Husband and wife Malcolm and Fiona Wilton, who have been running Monmouthshire Cottages since 1998, said they were in “disbelief and honoured” to be nominated after winning the regional heats for south east Wales.

They have been awarded the title of Best Self Catering in the region, which they also won at national level in 2010 and 2018.

South Wales Argus:

(Malcolm (centre left) and Fiona Wilton (right) were presented with their award for the regional heats by Lord Elis-Thomas Deputy Minister for Tourism in Wales last week.)

Their site in Catbrook includes three five-star self-catering cottages, and won the regional heats which was open to all self-catering service in south east Wales.

“We are in disbelief and honoured that we have been nominated nationally again,” said Mrs Wilton.

READ MORE:

Asked why Monmouthshire Cottages keeps racking up the accolades, Mrs Wilton said: “We try and go the extra mile for our customers, particularly when times are hard like they are now.

“The flooding means a severe shortage of water in the area, so I’ve spent the morning picking up as much bottled water as I can for our visitors.”

The Wiltons, who were presented with the regional award on Thursday, February 13, do much of the work themselves, with the help of ad-hoc cleaners.

South Wales Argus:

(Fiona and Malcolm Wilton at their site in Catbrook)

The awards evening will be held in May at the Celtic Manor Resort, where the Wiltons will be up against four other self-caterers across the country.

“After 22 years you’d think we’d be at an age where we were thinking about quietening down, but we love it” added Mrs Wilton.

“There’s not much we can do now, so we’ll just go and enjoy the evening and keep our fingers crossed.”