Ardencote Manor are an independently, privately owned hotel sat in the Warwickshire/Staffordshire country side yet only 10 minutes from J15 of the M40. They have grown from what was an 18 bedroom manor house 17 years ago to a 110 bedroom hotel with a dedicated conference centre and spa.
80% of the hotels profits get reinvested in the hotel and in January 2014 they installed fibre optic broadband meaning the hotel can now offer city centre speed in a rural setting, the capacity of the broadband will allow each delegate to connect up to three devices.
In January 2014 the conference centre was enhanced with two unlimited refreshment stations, these stations offer tea, coffee, cold drinks and snacks available throughout the day to all delegates.
In March 2014 the hotel installed the latest AV equipment in all of their meeting rooms meaning that the screens can now be connected to via wireless technology.
Three years ago the hotel built a pavilion on the lake which can be used for BBQ’s, drinks receptions and team building. The hotel are looking in to the possibility of using their lake for activities so watch this space…
Hotel Britania, a Boutique Art Deco hotel in the centre of Lisbon has been recognised in Expedia’s Insider’s Select annual awards for exceptional customer service. The hotel dates from the 1940’s and was designed by the famous Portuguese modernist architect Cassiano Branco and is the only hotel of that period to have survived intact.
Helicopter tours over Lisbon are the latest tourism attraction. There are various options: regular, customized for any location in Portugal and thematic experiences. The service will operate from Lisbon’s heliport in the Port area and prices start from 35 euros.
TripAdvisor has awarded the Certificate of Excellence 2014 to the No.28 tram and the São Jorge Castle. Both are iconic symbols of Lisbon and great experiences.
1.The Knowledge Challenge : Developing Trinity’s venue knowledge by visiting a total of 500 venues over two days
2.The Charity Challenge: Raising money for our three chosen charities The Children’s Air Ambulance, Hospital at Home and Thorpe Hall, our local Sue Ryder Hospice
3.The Venue Challenge: The opportunity for venues to showcase their properties, be innovative with their site visit, add fun to our industry and really promote their venue both to our Team and to our Clients as well
Everyone visits 20 venues, which counts towards their annual target of visiting 100 new or refurbished venues every year. All site visit reports are loaded into our database and our clients have access to these reports.
A wide variety of hotels are involved, from large groups to independents as well as specialist meeting and unusual venues. Once the site visit weekend has been completed the prizes are loaded onto an auction website to raise funds for our chosen charities. The Auction site will be open in September to our buyers and those people who support these charities. The charities which will benefit this year are: Hospital at Home, Lincolnshire & Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance and Sue Ryder – Thorpe Hall Peterborough.
If you find yourself in Nottingham and are in need of a spot of rest and relaxation, the Crowne Plaza may well be the place to go. Urban Escape, its onsite spa, has recently undergone a £1m renovation. You can now enjoy the luxury of a heated swimming pool, spa, steam room, ice station, relaxation area, gymnasium, as well as a great selection of treatments provided by The Urban Rooms beauty salon.
Similarly, two other luxury European venues have recently undergone major changes to the facilities and services that they offer. Forte Village Resort in Italy has seen its convention centre be completely redesigned, and now boasts a total of 18 conference rooms, and 4 large meetings rooms with impressive state-of-the-art technology features. Extra luxury accommodation has already been added, with further refurbishments to rooms scheduled for 2015, and two brand new restaurants will soon be opening.
Meanwhile Hotel Dubrovnik Palace in Croatia has been fully reopened as of April this year, following various renovations to its rooms and main restaurant, Elafiti. The new look of the rooms has been designed to reflect the coastline, which can be seen from every room and suite thanks to the private balconies offering a stunning view of the sea. As a meeting venue, there are 8 flexible conference and meeting rooms available.
We posted a blog back in May reporting on the extensive renovations and refurbishments made to the newly named Puente Romano Beach Resort Marbella, including an overhaul of its conference centre, and the transformations of its 8 restaurants, one of which being the two Michelin starred Dani Garcia Restaurante.
Similarly, two other luxury European venues have recently undergone major changes to the facilities and services that they offer. Forte Village Resort in Italy has seen its convention centre be completely redesigned, and now boasts a total of 18 conference rooms, and 4 large meetings rooms with impressive state-of-the-art technology features. Extra luxury accommodation has already been added, with further refurbishments to rooms scheduled for 2015, and two brand new restaurants will soon be opening.
Meanwhile Hotel Dubrovnik Palace in Croatia has been fully reopened as of April this year, following various renovations to its rooms and main restaurant, Elafiti. The new look of the rooms has been designed to reflect the coastline, which can be seen from every room and suite thanks to the private balconies offering a stunning view of the sea. As a meeting venue, there are 8 flexible conference and meeting rooms available.
News of Luxury European Hotel Refurbishments
We posted a blog back in May reporting on the extensive renovations and refurbishments made to the newly named Puente Romano Beach Resort Marbella, including an overhaul of its conference centre, and the transformations of its 8 restaurants, one of which being the two Michelin starred Dani Garcia Restaurante.
Similarly, two other luxury European venues have recently undergone major changes to the facilities and services that they offer. Forte Village Resort in Italy has seen its convention centre be completely redesigned, and now boasts a total of 18 conference rooms, and 4 large meetings rooms with impressive state-of-the-art technology features. Extra luxury accommodation has already been added, with further refurbishments to rooms scheduled for 2015, and two brand new restaurants will soon be opening.
Meanwhile Hotel Dubrovnik Palace in Croatia has been fully reopened as of April this year, following various renovations to its rooms and main restaurant, Elafiti. The new look of the rooms has been designed to reflect the coastline, which can be seen from every room and suite thanks to the private balconies offering a stunning view of the sea. As a meeting venue, there are 8 flexible conference and meeting rooms available.
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC) in London is set to close from late July until early September as it embarks on an extensive refurbishment project. With planned works to include total renovation of the main entrance foyer, reception and registration areas, as well as a replacement of all carpeted floors, conference chairs and tables, and improvements in connectivity, the refurbishment should result in a ‘more modern and stylish environment’ that focuses on ‘enhancing the [overall] customer experience’.
QEIICC is an award-winning events venue situated in the heart of Westminster, and is surrounded by various London landmarks and attractions, including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye.
Refurbishment plans at QEIICC
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre (QEIICC) in London is set to close from late July until early September as it embarks on an extensive refurbishment project. With planned works to include total renovation of the main entrance foyer, reception and registration areas, as well as a replacement of all carpeted floors, conference chairs and tables, and improvements in connectivity, the refurbishment should result in a ‘more modern and stylish environment’ that focuses on ‘enhancing the [overall] customer experience’.
QEIICC is an award-winning events venue situated in the heart of Westminster, and is surrounded by various London landmarks and attractions, including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye.
Monument offers 14,000 sqft of space spread over two floors in a contemporary design, providing the consumer with high quality meeting, training and conference space.
The venue officially opens in September, but etc.venues are offering the chance of a sneak peek in the form of showrounds from 1st August onwards.
Etc.venues has announced the addition of another venue to its portfolio – etc.venue Monument. Set in a prime location in the heart of The City, next to the unmistakeable ‘Walkie Talkie’ building, it is located just minutes away from Bank, Monument, and Fenchurch Street stations.
Monument offers 14,000 sqft of space spread over two floors in a contemporary design, providing the consumer with high quality meeting, training and conference space.
The venue officially opens in September, but etc.venues are offering the chance of a sneak peek in the form of showrounds from 1st August onwards.
New etc.venue to open in Monument
Etc.venues has announced the addition of another venue to its portfolio – etc.venue Monument. Set in a prime location in the heart of The City, next to the unmistakeable ‘Walkie Talkie’ building, it is located just minutes away from Bank, Monument, and Fenchurch Street stations.
Monument offers 14,000 sqft of space spread over two floors in a contemporary design, providing the consumer with high quality meeting, training and conference space.
The venue officially opens in September, but etc.venues are offering the chance of a sneak peek in the form of showrounds from 1st August onwards.
In addition Jacqui and venuefinder.com showcased Meetings Voice, our new initiative to create a professional, collaborative and forward thinking environment where event organisers can interact by sharing experiences, learning and identifying best practice.
Intercontinenal Westminster launches new restaurant concept
The five star Intercontinental Westminster Hotel has just launched a brand new concept for their restaurant. They no longer have the smokehouse menu but have moved to an English style cuisine. The décor will remain the same, but as of 1 July 2014 they have had a new chef, new menu and new concept. They have also launched a new summer Afternoon Tea menu which has a fruity feel to it, is lighter, and includes items such as smoothies and macaroons, as well as free pouring Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne!
The Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport has been acknowledged for being the greenest hotel in the UK and Europe. They were the Green Footprint Challenge winner in 2012 which they won based on their eco-friendly initiatives including harvesting their rain water and keeping their carbon rating as low as 2, which is amazing considering most hotels have a rating of between 45-50! Their heating and power now also runs on biofuel!
In other news from Rezidor … The Park Inn Cardiff completed a £6m investment in their meeting space in January 2011 and the Radisson Blu Stansted Airport just finished a £7000 soft refurbishment on their Wine Tower. In support of the Stansted based hotels already excellent transport links a new train line running between Stansted and Cambridge will open on 21 July 2014! The Radisson Blu Manchester Airport refurbished 120 business class rooms in 2013 along with the business class lounge which has excellent views over the run way. They are now in phase 2 of the refurbishment of the standard bedrooms with 120 already finished and the remaining 120 to be completed by October 2014.
The Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport has been acknowledged for being the greenest hotel in the UK and Europe. They were the Green Footprint Challenge winner in 2012 which they won based on their eco-friendly initiatives including harvesting their rain water and keeping their carbon rating as low as 2, which is amazing considering most hotels have a rating of between 45-50! Their heating and power now also runs on biofuel!
In other news from Rezidor … The Park Inn Cardiff completed a £6m investment in their meeting space in January 2011 and the Radisson Blu Stansted Airport just finished a £7000 soft refurbishment on their Wine Tower. In support of the Stansted based hotels already excellent transport links a new train line running between Stansted and Cambridge will open on 21 July 2014! The Radisson Blu Manchester Airport refurbished 120 business class rooms in 2013 along with the business class lounge which has excellent views over the run way. They are now in phase 2 of the refurbishment of the standard bedrooms with 120 already finished and the remaining 120 to be completed by October 2014.
The Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport has been acknowledged for being the greenest hotel in the UK and Europe. They were the Green Footprint Challenge winner in 2012 which they won based on their eco-friendly initiatives including harvesting their rain water and keeping their carbon rating as low as 2, which is amazing considering most hotels have a rating of between 45-50! Their heating and power now also runs on biofuel!
The first of the Radisson Red hotels will open during the middle of 2015 with 60 due to be in operation by 2020. Radisson Red will focus on the Millennia Traveller offering apartment style living in funky urban spaces.
In other news from Rezidor … The Park Inn Cardiff completed a £6m investment in their meeting space in January 2011 and the Radisson Blu Stansted Airport just finished a £7000 soft refurbishment on their Wine Tower. In support of the Stansted based hotels already excellent transport links a new train line running between Stansted and Cambridge will open on 21 July 2014! The Radisson Blu Manchester Airport refurbished 120 business class rooms in 2013 along with the business class lounge which has excellent views over the run way. They are now in phase 2 of the refurbishment of the standard bedrooms with 120 already finished and the remaining 120 to be completed by October 2014.
The Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport has been acknowledged for being the greenest hotel in the UK and Europe. They were the Green Footprint Challenge winner in 2012 which they won based on their eco-friendly initiatives including harvesting their rain water and keeping their carbon rating as low as 2, which is amazing considering most hotels have a rating of between 45-50! Their heating and power now also runs on biofuel!
The first of the Radisson Red hotels will open during the middle of 2015 with 60 due to be in operation by 2020. Radisson Red will focus on the Millennia Traveller offering apartment style living in funky urban spaces.
In other news from Rezidor … The Park Inn Cardiff completed a £6m investment in their meeting space in January 2011 and the Radisson Blu Stansted Airport just finished a £7000 soft refurbishment on their Wine Tower. In support of the Stansted based hotels already excellent transport links a new train line running between Stansted and Cambridge will open on 21 July 2014! The Radisson Blu Manchester Airport refurbished 120 business class rooms in 2013 along with the business class lounge which has excellent views over the run way. They are now in phase 2 of the refurbishment of the standard bedrooms with 120 already finished and the remaining 120 to be completed by October 2014.
The Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport has been acknowledged for being the greenest hotel in the UK and Europe. They were the Green Footprint Challenge winner in 2012 which they won based on their eco-friendly initiatives including harvesting their rain water and keeping their carbon rating as low as 2, which is amazing considering most hotels have a rating of between 45-50! Their heating and power now also runs on biofuel!
Missoni is no longer part of the Rezidor portfolio following a decision from the Missoni family to focus on their fashion rather than the leisure industry. Missoni will be replaced by the brand name Quorvus with three hotels currently under this name; The G & V in Edinburgh (who will be refurbishing their bedrooms next year), Symphony Style in Kuwait and The May Fair in London. By 2020 they plan to have 20 hotels in this collection, each with its own history and story.
The first of the Radisson Red hotels will open during the middle of 2015 with 60 due to be in operation by 2020. Radisson Red will focus on the Millennia Traveller offering apartment style living in funky urban spaces.
In other news from Rezidor … The Park Inn Cardiff completed a £6m investment in their meeting space in January 2011 and the Radisson Blu Stansted Airport just finished a £7000 soft refurbishment on their Wine Tower. In support of the Stansted based hotels already excellent transport links a new train line running between Stansted and Cambridge will open on 21 July 2014! The Radisson Blu Manchester Airport refurbished 120 business class rooms in 2013 along with the business class lounge which has excellent views over the run way. They are now in phase 2 of the refurbishment of the standard bedrooms with 120 already finished and the remaining 120 to be completed by October 2014.
The Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport has been acknowledged for being the greenest hotel in the UK and Europe. They were the Green Footprint Challenge winner in 2012 which they won based on their eco-friendly initiatives including harvesting their rain water and keeping their carbon rating as low as 2, which is amazing considering most hotels have a rating of between 45-50! Their heating and power now also runs on biofuel!
Rezidor launches new brands – Quorvus and Radisson Red!
Missoni is no longer part of the Rezidor portfolio following a decision from the Missoni family to focus on their fashion rather than the leisure industry. Missoni will be replaced by the brand name Quorvus with three hotels currently under this name; The G & V in Edinburgh (who will be refurbishing their bedrooms next year), Symphony Style in Kuwait and The May Fair in London. By 2020 they plan to have 20 hotels in this collection, each with its own history and story.
The first of the Radisson Red hotels will open during the middle of 2015 with 60 due to be in operation by 2020. Radisson Red will focus on the Millennia Traveller offering apartment style living in funky urban spaces.
In other news from Rezidor … The Park Inn Cardiff completed a £6m investment in their meeting space in January 2011 and the Radisson Blu Stansted Airport just finished a £7000 soft refurbishment on their Wine Tower. In support of the Stansted based hotels already excellent transport links a new train line running between Stansted and Cambridge will open on 21 July 2014! The Radisson Blu Manchester Airport refurbished 120 business class rooms in 2013 along with the business class lounge which has excellent views over the run way. They are now in phase 2 of the refurbishment of the standard bedrooms with 120 already finished and the remaining 120 to be completed by October 2014.
The Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport has been acknowledged for being the greenest hotel in the UK and Europe. They were the Green Footprint Challenge winner in 2012 which they won based on their eco-friendly initiatives including harvesting their rain water and keeping their carbon rating as low as 2, which is amazing considering most hotels have a rating of between 45-50! Their heating and power now also runs on biofuel!
