Month: August 2019

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Exclusive Hotels and Venues renamed as Exclusive Collection

Exclusive Hotels and Venues, the parent company of Pennyhill Park and other luxury hotels, has been renamed as Exclusive Collection.

The new name has been chosen to reflect the group’s varied portfolio of businesses that comprises four hotels, a pub, two spas, a golf club and cookery school.

At the same time, the branding around the new name had been updated, with the traditional crests from before replaced with a simpler and more contemporary look.

Danny Pecorelli, managing director of Exclusive Collection, said: “The new name makes us sound more modern and more eclectic, which is a good thing.”

Alongside Pennyhill Park in Bagshot, Surrey, the three other hotels in Exclusive Collection are South Lodge, near Horsham, West Sussex; Lainston House, Winchester, Hampshire; and the Manor House, Castle Combe, Wiltshire.

The group also comprise two venues, Royal Berkshire in Ascot, Berkshire, and Fanhams Hall, Ware, Hertfordshire; as well as the Manor House Golf Club; the spas at Pennyhill Park and South Lodge; Castle Inn pub in Castle Combe; and Seasons Cookery School at Lainston House.

“For Exclusive Collection we have created a modern type and icon combination logo and for each property we’ve featured a single animal, some of which already occupy a place in the hotel, like the sheep at South Lodge, and some like the horse for Royal Berkshire are synonymous with the location,” said Pecorelli.

“Using animals is a great way to engender an emotional connection with the properties and separate them all, whilst giving them a unified look and feel.”

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Cardiff City Centre set to get go-ahead for for luxury new hotel

Plans for a new luxury hotel in two of Cardiff’s most historic buildings are set to be given the go-ahead.

The listed old Post office and County Court in Westgate Street, near the Principality Stadium, are set to be transformed into a four-star, 175-bed hotel operated by the Celtic Manor Resort.

Developer Rightacres and the Welsh Rugby Union are behind the plans which are set to be approved by Cardiff council’s Planning Committee next Wednesday (August 14).

Cardiff planning officers have recommended councillors approve the plans.

If plans are approved the vacant post office and county court would be refurbished while a new-build six-storey extension would be built behind the historic building. 

The developers say the new Westgate Hotel would have a “prestigious” entrance hall, one of the largest function rooms in Cardiff capable of seating 350 guests, a new bar and 120-seater restaurant facing Westgate Street and a leisure spa offering views across the city.

The Westgate Hotel would be a joint partnership between the WRU, which owns the county court which has stood since 1904, and Rightacres, which owns Parkgate which hosted the post office and was built in 1896.

Both the interiors and stone facades of the two buildings would be refurbished, while the spiral staircase of Parkgate would be replaced.

A total of 17 people have objected to the plans, while HM Courts and Tribunals Services, which uses the Cardiff Civil and Family Justice Centre next door to the site, has also raised concerns.

HM Courts and Tribunals Services has told the council about “the potential for excessive noise, vibration and dust to be generated during both the demolition and construction phases of the development.

“Mitigation will be required to avoid such matters affecting the Justice Centre operations and potentially damaging the building’s ventilation plant and equipment.”

HM Courts and Tribunals Services has also raised concerns about the development’s impact on traffic to the Justice Centre.

Its letter to the council said: “The access from Westgate Street is used primarily by the judiciary who require unencumbered access, mainly at the start and end of the working day, on foot and by vehicle.

“Security is the main concern in this regard, since members of the judiciary are at risk due to the nature of their work and are, from time to time, the subject of various threats of harm.”

If planning permission is approved the developers would be asked to pay £50,000 towards improving the footpath on Westgate Street.

Find out what other venues are available for meetings and events in Cardiff.

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Schlosshotel Berlin has joined Preferred Hotels and Resorts

Schlosshotel Berlin by Patrick Hellmann is situated in what was West Berlin, about 25 minutes from Tegel Airport and 30 minutes from Schoenfeld Airport. It is an old mansion on a leafy street and surrounded by woodland.

This is a luxury boutique hotel with stylish interiors in a historic building, combining the glitz and glamour of the last century with contemporary guestrooms. The ‘Stadtpalais’ was built in 1914 and quickly became a favourite destination for the international bohemian set: Josephine Baker stayed here; Hildegard Knef wrote music here; Romy Schneider got married here and Jogi Löw and the German national football team stayed in 2006.

There are 53 contemporary guestrooms and a spa, gym and indoor swimming pool with a view of the pine forest.

The hotel has seven meeting rooms, the largest has capacity for 70 people in theatre style. The remaining rooms take between 12 and 30 people. All are suitable for private dining and the restaurant can be privatised for a group of 60 people.

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Under, an underwater dining experienced in Norway

Situated at the most southerly point of Norway, a restaurant 5 metres underwater, opened earlier this year. The restaurant was built on a barge before being submerged and bolted to a concrete slab anchored to the bedrock beneath the sea bed and it’s the world’s largest and Europe’s first underwater restaurant.

Under is designed to look like a rock formation above the ground. The entrance is above the water, clad in oak and guests descend to a mezzanine level where the bar area is situated and there’s a vertical window where guests have a split level view of air and sea. The dining area is down further with a huge window to look at the seabed, which changes in colour throughout the day and seasons, from sapphire blue on a cold Winter’s day, to emerald green in the Summer. Depending on the season the fish species that can be seen are pollack, cod, colourful wrasse, urchins, crabs, lobsters, spiny dogfish and kelp.

The plan is for the structure to integrate with the marine environment over time. Its half-metre-thick concrete walls are built to withstand pressure and shock from the sea conditions, while the rough shell will function as an artificial reef for marina flora and fauna. The restaurant collaborated with the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomic Research to create optimal conditions on the surrounding seabed so that fish and shellfish can thrive.

Under has seating capacity for 100 guests, but on normal nights it will serve 40 guests. The menu includes fish and seafood and also the option of tasting seabirds and wild sheep from the surrounding area.

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Four Points by Sheraton Warsaw Mokotow, a new opening

This 4* hotel is Marriott’s first Four Points hotel in Poland. It has 190 bedrooms and is located in the business district, 4km from Warsaw International Airport and 7km from the city centre. The Galeria Mokotow shopping mall is just a short walk away from the hotel.

The hotel’s design is taken from famous Polish artists of the 50s and 60s the history of the region is reflected in black and white photography of the local area. However, modern technology is used in the high speed WiFi, mobile check-in, keyless locks and Chromecast screening in-room with Youtube and Netflix apps.

There are five meeting rooms, all with natural daylight. The largest has capacity for 250 in theatre style, there are three rooms for 49 people, which can be combined and two rooms for 12 people.

The restaurant serves seasonal dishes and there is craft beer from the hotel bar. The hotel also has a fitness centre.

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Bathroom miniatures on the way at IHG hotels

IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) has announced that its entire hotel estate of almost 843,000 guest rooms will switch to bulk-size bathroom amenities, with the transition to be completed during 2021. This would make it the first global hotel brand to undertake such a move.

Building on its efforts to reduce plastic waste as part of a broader sustainability agenda, this pledge makes IHG the first global hotel company to commit all brands to removing bathroom miniatures in favour of bulk-size amenities.

Keith Barr, CEO, IHG, commented: “It’s more important than ever that companies challenge themselves to operate responsibly – we know it’s what our guests, owners, colleagues, investors and suppliers rightly expect. Switching to larger-size amenities across more than 5,600 hotels around the world is a big step in the right direction and will allow us to significantly reduce our waste footprint and environmental impact as we make the change.

“We’ve already made great strides in this area, with almost a third of our estate already adopting the change and we’re proud to lead our industry by making this a brand standard for every single IHG hotel. We’re passionate about sustainability and we’ll continue to explore ways to make a positive difference to the environment and our local communities.”

IHG currently has an average of 200 million bathroom miniatures in use across its entire hotel estate every year. As the new brand standard is adopted between now and 2021, the company expects to see a significant reduction in plastic waste. This commitment builds on IHG’s pledge to remove plastic straws from its hotels by the end of 2019, and a number of broader waste reduction initiatives already in place. IHG remains a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index, and recently joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100 network, signalling its commitment to working with cross-industry partners to build a more sustainable world.

Switching to bulk-size amenities is a tried and tested approach at IHG and the move has already happened in about a third of its estate. Whether for business or leisure, hotel guests increasingly want their stays to be more sustainable without any impact on the quality of their experience. Several IHG brands are already achieving this today.

To support the reduction of plastic at events why not check out our blog for ideas.