In a gala award ceremony hosted last night at the Marine17 conference at Sydney’s newly revamped exhibition centre, Abell Point Marina took out the coveted Marina of the Year award. This nationally accredited awards program judged by the Marina Industries Association recognizes excellence in the marina industry.

Luke McCaul, Abell Point’s General Manager agrees the award belongs to the hard work of the dedicated marina team “I’m incredibly proud of our entire team. They drive the business every day, with a customer focus and a shared vision of excellence. Paul Darrouzet (owner) bought the marina four years ago with a vision to make Abell Point a first-class destination marina. This award recognizes the realization of that vision.”

Since coming under new ownership in 2013, Abell Point Marina has undergone a $17 million development including upgrades to shore based facilities, the launch of a waterfront wedding/ conference venue, the upgrade of superyacht facilities to accommodate vessels up to 70m, the introduction of concierge services, the installation of two private helipads, the upgrade of marina buildings, grounds and gardens including development of a 2.5hectare community parkland within the marina facility. It is this focus on continuous improvement and providing a first-class destination marina at the gateway to the Whitsundays which has culminated in this recent award.

In addition to the Marina of the Year award, Abell Point also took out the Best Innovation award for their Blue Carpet Treatment initiative. With a strong focus on customer service and concierge services, the team at Abell Point Marina roll out the ‘blue carpet’ for all their guests by providing personalized service and a range of concierge services including courtesy cars, welcome vessel, dockhand concierge and marina lifestyle card. This strategy is testament to the innovative approach to business Abell Point is has been recognized for with this award.

Less than three months ago, Abell Point Marina experience major structural damage to 20% of its on-water facilities during tropical cyclone Debbie, the effort put into the restoration project lead by the experience team at Superior Jetties is an indication of how the marina operates. By the end of August all on-water berthing will have repaired with six arms being replaced for new.

With the launch of the marina’s latest development, Ocean Club a 26m floating customer lounge, last week, the timing couldn’t be more pertinent with this awards win. With plenty more on the horizon for Abell Point including being Host Port Sponsor for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in January 2018, as well as the launch of the much anticipated Abell Point Parkway it is skies the limit for the most highly-awarded marina in the Whitsundays.

To contact Abell Point Marina - http://abellpointmarina.com.au/superyachts/