STAFF at Darlington Civic Theatre are celebrating after it received a certificate of excellence from travel website TripAdvisor.

Now in its fifth year, the award celebrates excellence in hospitality and is given only to establishments that consistently achieve great reviews on the site.

When selecting certificate winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account the quality, quantity and recency of reviews and opinions submitted by travellers over a 12-month period as well as other factors.

To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

Theatre director Lynda Winstanley said: "Winning the certificate of excellence is a true source of pride for the entire team at the Civic Theatre and we’d like to thank all of our past guests who took the time to complete a review.

"There is no greater seal of approval than being recognised by one’s customers.

"With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business and our continued commitment to excellence.”

Marc Charron, president of TripAdvisor for business, said: "By putting a spotlight on businesses that are focused on delivering great service to customers, TripAdvisor not only helps drive increasing hospitality standards around the world, it also gives businesses both large and small the ability to shine and stand out from the competition.”