Qype - Live and tell

You might have noticed that we’re a bit obsessed with seeking out cool, independent places here at Qype. We really believe that finding a great, local place to shop, eat, drink, or stay can really make your day, so with that in mind we have created the Hidden Gem Awards.

Simply put, we wanted to find a way of recognising and rewarding all those places which we love. This isn’t just another ‘best restaurant’ or ‘coolest club’ thing though, we really want to discover those places that make your life better, the places you go to cheer yourself up, and the people that make them.

To kick things off we’re letting you nominate your favourite spots using Qype tags. All you need to do is check out the categories below and just attach the relevant tags to your nominated places (you can nominate as many places as you like, and if the business you want to nominate isn’t already on Qype then you can add it). And of course you can use your review to tell us why your favourite place deserves an award!

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll compile all the nominated places before we come back with shortlists for all the categories so you can vote for your favourites. Then comes the exciting bit: a glitzy awards ceremony to held in London later this year!

So start thinking about the best places you know, the ones you go back to again and again and get nominating!

Most kid friendly place Tag it with: ‘kid friendly’

Anywhere that welcomes the little ones (and we don’t mean Hobbits). Whether it’s a fantastic adventure playground, a restaurant that doesn’t turn its nose up at the nippers, or a shop with a cracking crèche.

Best place for a Sunday roast. Tag it with: ‘sunday roast’

It’s Sunday, you’re too hung over to attempt a roast yourself and your mum lives miles away. Who do you turn to? Who does the best roasties, the greatest gravy, and rhubarb crumble and custard to die for?

Best place to laze away a sunny afternoon Tag it with: ’sunny afternoon’

Yes, we nicked this one from the Kinks, but Ray Davies knew what he was talking about. If you’ve got a favourite secluded sanctuary, a beautiful beer garden, or even just a bench with a breathtaking view, we want to know about it.

Your local hero Tag it with: ‘local hero’

More often than not it’s the people who make the place, so this award is for those unsung champions who you couldn’t live without. Who’s the shopkeeper, the hairdresser, the barman, the waitress or the lollipop lady who makes your day?

Best place you can still smoke Tag it with: ‘still smoke’

On July 1st 2007 finding somewhere to enjoy a sneaky smoke became a whole lot harder, but there’s still a few precious spots left where you can enjoy a ciggy in comfort. So where are they?!

Most useful place in your address book Tag it with: ‘useful’

Whether it’s the plumber who will come out the same day, the café that knows how you like your eggs, the bookshop with the best selection, or classiest tailor in town. We want to know who takes pride of place in your little black book.

2008 Hidden Gem Award Tag it with: ‘hidden gem’

The big one. Quite simply the best local, independent business in the UK. Any of the businesses nominated in the other categories can go up for this award but if there’s somewhere that doesn’t fit into those categories that you think is especially awesome then here’s where you make sure they get recognised.

No tag for this post.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 14th, 2008 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Qype. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.