The Trinity team was at EIBTM last week to improve their knowledge of international venues. I think it’s fair to say that we’ve got great knowledge of the city and managed to see a lot of the hotels and know how it works for our clients.
EIBTM is a regular event in our calendar and we always make new contacts and it’s a great opportunity to find out what’s going on in the events industry. It was a tag-team operation, with Jacqui and Katharine going to Barcelona on Monday-Tuesday, Debbie, Laura & Russell on Wednesday-Thursday.
Between us we attended 77 appointments, but there was also time to visit other stands and get ideas.
Katharine also managed to see three unusual venues for dinners in Barcelona and carried out a site visit at the Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos. Debbie stayed at the Crowne Plaza Fira Centre, hosted by Millenium Hotels and dined at Café Emma and then went on to the Hilton Barcelona on Thursday night so that she could visit key venues in the city Barcelona to extend her appreciation of what is available for our clients. Laura stayed at the Melia Sky Barcelona & Hotel Silken Diagonal, hosted by Hotel Republic. Russell stayed at the Majestic, then travelled to Madrid afterwards for site visits and get and understanding of how the city works for our clients.
Many thanks to Ellicis, Leading Hotels of the World, Fairmont, Hotel Republic and Millennium for hosting us.
Photo – view of Barcelona from the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos I
It’s the last week of Trinity’s charity auction – Don’t miss out!
This is your final chance to bid in our charity auction. There are 55 lots to choose from and they will all end on Saturday, 18th October. As usual there’s a great choice, so take a look now
Overnight breaks all over the UK and abroad, so whether you fancy Birmingham, Manchester, Stratford or to go further afield to Barcelona, Marbella, Paris, Dublin or Stockholm you’ll find it here
How about dinner in London? There’s an eight-course dinner at the Benihana Japenese Restaurant, Grange St Paul’s or dine a la carte in Hunter 486 Brasserie, The Arch with a bottle of Sommeliers Choice wine. Or Sunday lunch for 6 people in a private room at the Malmaison Leeds?
Treat yourself with a 7-day VIP health club pass at Chesford Grange or a bag of Champney’s spa goodies
Or indulge in afternoon tea at the Macdonald Bear Hotel, Woodstock; Sir Christopher Wren Hotel, Windsor or Cheltenham Park Hotel
And many more lots too ….
Thank you to everyone who has help raise almost £15,000 so far, for The Children’s Air Ambulance; Thorpe Hall, a Sue Ryder Hospice and Hospital at Home.
Also, we’ll be back in touch at the end of November with a special 2 week Christmas auction – just in time to buy your gifts.
The Meliá Vienna opened on the 26th February 2014, in the Danube City (DC) Tower, making the property the highest hotel in Europe.
Designed by Parisian architect Dominique Perrault, the tower is 250 metres tall, and is currently Austria’s highest skyscraper. Behind the spectacular glass facade, guests will find calm, subdued colors, fine materials and a purist ambience. Across 15 floors the hotel boasts 253 exquisite bedrooms (including 40 suites and a 200 sqm Presidential Suite with 180 degree panoramic views). All are equipped with the latest technical equipment. Guests can enjoy a spectacular 360-degree view from the top of the tower and culinary delights in the “57 Restaurant & Lounge,” which occupies the top two floors of the DC Tower.
Intercontinental Westminster becomes Conrad London St James
As of Monday 1st September 2014 The Intercontinental London Westminster became known as Conrad London St James. Owners of the property, Supreme Hotels, agreed to part company with IHG and went on to sign a franchise agreement with Hilton to rebrand as The Conrad.
The Conrad brand currently operates 23 hotels worldwide but hasn’t had a presence in London for seven years. The Chelsea Harbour Hotel once belonged to Conrad before it was taken over by The Wyndham Group in 2007, earlier this year it became the first in a new group of hotels called The Monogram Collection from Millennium and Copthorne.
Supreme Hotels are owned by The Splendid Hospitality Group who operate 13 hotels in the UK, they currently work with IHG, Hilton and Choice Hotels and have development plans for five further hotels.
As of mid July 2014 Topland acquired the Hallmark portfolio of eight hotels, Topland already consisted of 12 Menzies Hotels, six Thistle Hotels, the Hilton Brighton Metropole, the Hilton Glasgow and The Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath.
Menzies are now offering as standard bacon rolls on arrival, unlimited tea/coffee and water, afternoon cakes and free WiFi and hope to push this across to Hallmark as well.
Every single Menzies hotel now has an environmental accreditation for Green Tourism and they also now have 3 AA Rosettes across the group too.
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.
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.
