CORKS have been popping at the Atlantis Holiday Apartments in Solsbro Road, Torquay, as delighted owners Pauline and John Roberts have just been nominated for not one but two awards.

Their holiday apartments have just won a silver award in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards (Access for All Award) and is short-listed in the Herald Express South Devon Business Excellence Awards (Best Tourism and Leisure Award).

Atlantis could now go through to the Visit England Awards for Excellence.

Carolyn Custerson, chief executive of English Riviera Tourism Company, said: "I'm absolutely delighted for Pauline and John and wish them every success at the awards.

"The ERTC wants to encourage accommodation providers to be the best they can be, and Atlantis Holiday Apartments are a shining example of what can be achieved."

The Victorian villa in Chelston has been converted into six furnished self-catering apartments.

Each has an iPod dock, digital television and DVD player, a well-equipped kitchen with filtered tap water, and year-round access to an on-site heated pool.

The apartments have become a highly sought-after destination for an English Riviera stay, with visitors returning again and again.

As well as welcoming guests with a range of disabilities, Pauline and John have been actively using sign language for the last 20 years and are members of the Torbay Deaf Club.

Making your property accessible to all is something the Roberts are experts in and, according to Pauline, because they think about what they would want on holiday it helps them to provide everything their clients would want too.

"It's not just about wheelchairs, there are many different disabilities," she said.

"Catering for these communities successfully is about attitude — it's the little things people really appreciate and remember.

"Things like grab rails in the bathroom and making shower rooms more user-friendly for the visually impaired by defining shelf-edges and using a coloured shower curtain."

Pauline recommends having a good range of audio books which can be borrowed and a guest information book available in large print.

She also advises signing up to the National Accessible Scheme run by Visit England, which rates the accessibility of visitor accommodation throughout England.

A recent survey found that 62 per cent of disabled travellers said the National Accessible Scheme would positively influence their decision to visit.

"In 26 years on the English Riviera I've never had a bad season," she said. "It's all about quality and giving people what they want and what they need."

The couple won a bronze award for self-catering establishment of the year at the Visit Devon Tourism awards in 2011.