Visit Scotland | Alba
Article published 19/05/2023

Two tourism businesses in Dunbar have received Quality Assurance awards including a modern hostel and a popular brewery.

Our Quality Assurance Scheme is a benchmark for exceptional quality within the tourism industry and operates across accommodation, visitor attractions and food sectors. It covers the entire visitor experience, demonstrating improvement and investment within businesses right across the country.

There are now 59 tourism businesses in East Lothian that have achieved four star and five star Quality Assurance awards.

Find out more about the successes of Dolphin Inn and Belhaven Brewery.

The Dolphin Inn

The Dolphin Inn hostel received a five star Quality Assurance award on its first grading visit. The independent hostel is the first hostel to receive the five star rating in East Lothian and one of only two across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

The business opened in July 2021 and has eleven bedrooms offering a mix of double, single, bunk and family rooms. With a strong focus on sustainability, the hostel has developed key connections within the local community and recently hosted a group of international students from Flensburg University in Germany who worked with Sustaining Dunbar, a community development trust on supporting local projects.

Take a look at the Dolphin Inn

Belhaven Brewery

Scotland’s oldest working brewery, Belhaven Brewery, was awarded a four star Quality Assurance award. Its visitor centre, which was recognised with the award, opened for tours in 2021.

It was visited by our Director of Industry Destination Development, Rob Dickson; Regional Director, Neil Christison; East Lothian Council’s Executive Director for Place, Douglas Proudfoot; Service Manager for Economic Development, Jamie Baker and Team Manager Economic Development, Elaine Carmichael on a recent trip to East Lothian.

Find out what Belhaven Brewery has to offer

Belhaven BreweryEast Lothian Team Manager Economic Development Elaine Carmichael, Belhaven Brand Manager Fiona Matheson, VisitScotland Director of Industry Destination Development Rob Dickson and East Lothian Service Manager for Economic Development Jamie Baker. 

Congratulations to the Dolphin Inn and Belhaven Brewery on their recent Quality Assurance awards. The five star and four star award are fantastic achievements for both businesses, reflecting their commitment to providing excellent customer experience.

Our Quality Assurance Scheme represents world class excellence, helping businesses shine, enabling visitors to make informed choices and driving up investment in quality. This is fantastic news for Dunbar and for East Lothian as we look forward to the start of the traditional summer season.

Rob Dickson, Director of Industry and Destination Development at VisitScotland

Related links

Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance (QA) is the name of our official grading system for tourism businesses.