Watford Leisure Centre Woodside has been recognised as one of England’s top leisure facilities for the third consecutive year, receiving the elite ‘Outstanding’ rating from Quest, the national quality scheme for the leisure industry.
The centre, managed by Everyone Active in partnership with Watford Borough Council, is one of just five facilities in the country to achieve this rating. The assessment involved a two-day evaluation covering areas including tackling inequalities and environmental management practices. Additionally, the facility underwent a mystery visit, scoring “excellent” in both Quest Plus and the Mystery Visit, earning the accolade of Quest Outstanding.
General Manager Cary Leigh said, “We are tremendously proud of this achievement which reflects our team’s unwavering commitment to excellent service and positive community impact. Quest’s Outstanding rating is the gold standard, attained by only the most exceptional leisure centres nationally. Quest is much more than a tick-box exercise; it is an ongoing programme to improve our facility for both staff and customers, and a great way to demonstrate our achievements.”
Peter Taylor, Mayor of Watford, added, “This is great news and shows that in Watford we have some of the best leisure facilities in the country. I would like to thank the staff at Everyone Active who are fantastic partners to work with, and this award is testament to the great job the staff do to help us all keep fit and healthy. It is so important that we can continue to invest in our leisure centres to ensure we continue to provide first class affordable facilities for people in our town.”
Quest’s managing director, Caroline Constantine, said, “Quest Plus is such a demanding process. By meeting Quest’s high standards for ‘excellent’ centres and achieving an overall accolade of ‘outstanding’, Watford Leisure Centre Woodside has shown its commitment to providing quality facilities and service to its customers. In these tough economic times it is more important than ever that local leisure facilities can demonstrate their value, and the Quest process helps them do just that; enabling facilities and their teams to have the quality of their work both recognised and nationally accredited, as well as showing how they measure up against national standards.”
Watford Leisure Centre Woodside offers amenities including a 25-metre, eight-lane pool, a teaching pool, a 140-station fitness suite, an active wellbeing suite, a sports hall, squash courts, a Fortis studio for HIIT classes, a cycling studio, and three group exercise studios. The centre also features a 3G outdoor football pitch, a full-service café, and beauty treatment rooms.
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