More than 100 unpaid carers have taken advantage of an offer from a Perthshire-based luxury hotel group in the past six months.
Crieff Hydro Family of Hotels, which runs Crieff Hydro Hotel, pledged its support to Shared Care Scotland’s Respitality initiative in the summer.
The group, which has eight hotels among its portfolio, donated bed and breakfast stays at all eight hotels in its portfolio, 50 family passes to the Action Glen adventure park at Crieff Hydro.
It also donated a group two-hour gin school experience at its 1881 Distillery in Peebles.
One of the carers to take advantage of the adventure park passes was Vanya Zaczek.
Along with her family, she took a short break from caring for an elderly family member.
Carer praises ‘precious quality time’
And Vanya praised the scheme for allowing it to spend quality time with her young son.
She said: “I juggle single parenting as well as my caring role.
“It allowed me the quality time to not only focus solely on my children, but also make special and fun memories with them.
“We decided to make it a celebration for my son’s sixth birthday, which made it that extra bit special.
“Short breaks like these are so valuable. It’s so important we prioritise self-care.
“Initiatives like these mean we can slow down and make the time for ourselves.”
“We cannot thank everyone involved enough.
“It allowed us to have some very precious quality family time together, and made our son’s birthday one to remember.”
Crieff Hydro ‘delighted’ to support initiative
Head of customer and commercial at the hotel, Nic Oldham, said: “We were delighted to partner with Respitality.
“Feedback like this demonstrates the difference this initiative can make to the unpaid carers it supports by offering some quality family time or a chance to unwind and relax.
“Unpaid carers so often go unrecognised for the support and care they give to others.
“It is important they can take time to care for themselves too.
“We would encourage others in the hospitality industry to get behind this fantastic cause.”
