ICC Birmingham completes second phase of refurbishment
The International Convention Centre (ICC) has now completed the second phase of its multi-million-pound refurbishment programme.
The ICC celebrates its 25th birthday this year and the venue felt it was time to change the look and feel of the spaces to create an overall better experience for their customers. The ICC has seen halls 8, 9 and 10 refreshed, along with four of its executive meeting rooms which is a key improvement to the venue. The Public Mall has had large format digital screens installed and the WiFi has also been upgraded. The lighting has also been modernised throughout the Mall, registration and foyer areas.
The next stage of the refurbishment will be completed in 2017, and will focus on additional halls and executive meeting rooms.
Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery has been launched at The Science Museum for corporate hire. The £6m gallery is due to open later this month, it is an interactive space featuring more than 50 exhibits in seven zones. The venue can be used in conjunction with other galleries for seated dinners, and on its own it can accommodate 400 guests for an evening reception. Guests can order experiments at the Chemistry bar, watch lightning strike and dance on the revolving solar system under a canopy of stars or take selfies in the infinity mirror.
The Chester Grosvenor came in to see us this week. Here are 5 key points about them.
•5 Red Star Hotel situated in the heart of Chester, Cheshire, built in 1865 and overlooks the famous Eastgate clock – the second most photographed clock in Great Britain
•68 individually designed bedrooms and suites, all furnished with beautiful fabrics and soft furnishing
•‘Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor’ – retaining its Michelin Star since 1990, only one of 4 venues in the UK to have achieved this accolade
•Up to 10 individual meeting rooms with versatile space up to 250 delegates theatre style.
•Just 2 hours from London Euston, 30 minutes from Liverpool and 45 minutes from Manchester
I recently visited Portsmouth to take a look at the venues they have to offer and was really impressed with the city. For event organisers there’s a good range of venues on offer of different standards, which can provide accommodation and meeting space, as well as the Historic Dockyard with the Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior.
Portsmouth Marriott Hotel is easy to get to by car as it’s close to the motorway junction and has free parking. There are a variety of different sized meeting rooms and this hotel is currently refurbishing the bedrooms.
There is a Holiday Inn Express, as well as a Holiday Inn. Both are in the city centre. The Holiday Inn Express has two meeting rooms, the larger one is for 16 boardroom style. This hotel is in a great location on Gunwharf Quays with shops and restaurants around and 5 minutes’ walk to the Historic Dockyard.
No Man’s Fort is in the middle of the Solent (pictured), a really different venue, accessible by boat and would be good for a group which needs complete privacy or an incentive trip. There are only 22 bedrooms and it can be booked for exclusive use.
The Spinnaker Tower has wonderful views and there is a floor which can be used for meetings during the day. At night the three viewing floors can be privatised for a group – lovely for a dinner, or an abseiling event!
Portsmouth Guildhall offers large space, including a theatre/concert hall. There’s a permanent exhibition of the local area’s musical heritage with lots of memorabilia from performers at the Guildhall and Isle of Wight festival.
The hotel has 99 guest rooms, and five different dining concepts, including Evoluzione by Michelin-starred chef Andrea Angeletti and the herb garden with its well-stocked humidor.
For events, the hotel can offer both a designer boardroom, and an exclusive games room. The hotel is close to the attractions of Albertopolis, including the Natural History Museum and the V&A, as well as Hyde Park and Kensington Palace.
Hotel Xenia, an independently owned hotel in Kensington, has joined the Autograph Collection by Marriott, taking place alongside other boutique hotels such as Threadneedles Hotel and the Glasshouse in Edinburgh.
The hotel has 99 guest rooms, and five different dining concepts, including Evoluzione by Michelin-starred chef Andrea Angeletti and the herb garden with its well-stocked humidor.
For events, the hotel can offer both a designer boardroom, and an exclusive games room. The hotel is close to the attractions of Albertopolis, including the Natural History Museum and the V&A, as well as Hyde Park and Kensington Palace.
Hotel Xenia Autograph Collection
Hotel Xenia, an independently owned hotel in Kensington, has joined the Autograph Collection by Marriott, taking place alongside other boutique hotels such as Threadneedles Hotel and the Glasshouse in Edinburgh.
The hotel has 99 guest rooms, and five different dining concepts, including Evoluzione by Michelin-starred chef Andrea Angeletti and the herb garden with its well-stocked humidor.
For events, the hotel can offer both a designer boardroom, and an exclusive games room. The hotel is close to the attractions of Albertopolis, including the Natural History Museum and the V&A, as well as Hyde Park and Kensington Palace.
£35 Million Refurbishment at the Radisson Blu Lyon
The Radisson Blu Lyon, France, reopened its doors on the 1st October following a £35 million refurbishment. The hotel is in the city centre of Lyon and is within easy reach of the public transport including trams and the international airport is a 30 minute drive away.
The hotel itself has 245 bedrooms which have all been renovated and some even benefit from views over the French Alps or the city. There is also a brand new restaurant called the Celest restaurant which has views over the city and can be hired exclusively for private events whilst there are also 11 other meeting spaces which can fit up to 250 delegates in the largest room. All meeting rooms have natural daylight.
£1.5 Million Investment programme for Sketchley Grange
Sketchley Grange is undergoing a £1.5M investment programme, including:
The Garden Bar has been fully refurbished
All Classic bedrooms have been fully refurbished with air conditioning being installed in all bedrooms
£40K of new precor gym equipment has been installed in the gym and work is to be carried out in the leisure club in the new year.
The Reception will be extended and refurbished in January 2017
Purpose built conference facilities all self contained offering exclusivity to our clients when booking large conferences.
Sketchley Grange has everything all under one roof, 12 meeting rooms with a maximum capacity of up to 300 people, leisure and spa facilities and 300 complimentary car parking spaces.
Four Seasons have opened a new hotel in New York. Situated in Lower Manhattan the new hotel features 189 bedrooms which includes 28 suites. All of the rooms are very spacious with a minimum of 27 metres and with all the expected amenities and luxuries of a 5 star property such as large smart TVs, mini bar and even a mirror with a built in TV in the bathroom. For meeting space, the hotel has a total of 644 sqm space across 3 rooms which includes the Greenwich Ballroom which is 274 sqm and can also divide into two sections. The room also has a pre-function area and all have natural daylight.
The hotel also has a spa and a celebrity chef restaurant.
•The Gallery Hall is a multi-purpose space and can be used for exhibitions, large conferences and for a conference as a catering area. The Gallery Hall offers 890 square metres of beautifully lit space. The Gallery Hall registration area offers a tannoy systeml, multiple wired Internet connections, a dedicated phone line and handset, photocopier, power sockets, purpose built cloakroom facilities, digital signage screens, conference stationery kit, laptop with Internet connectivity and a colour scanner/printer.
Overlooking the Gallery Hall is the Gallery Atrium which is provides additional space of 550sqm.
•The Auditorium offers tiered seating for 268 with conference chairs laid out infront for a total of 500 people. There is space for an AV set build within this room. The motorised ceiling rig has pre-installed lighting and sound equipment that can be hired directly from AVC Live and this area has full black out facilities.
•Room A is an ideal size for conferences for up to 250 guests. The room contains a partition wall which can break it down for smaller events and to create a walk way to other syndicate rooms.
•Syndicate rooms B-H are ideal spaces to use for break out rooms, boardroom meetings and seminars. Each room seating between 60 – 90 delegates, can be changed through the use of partition walls to fit your event specification.
•The Executive Centre is located on the ground floor and offers over 161 square meters of space. It is an intimate and private area to host a wide range of meetings, training and workshops for up to 60 theatre style or 40 cabaret style.
Ramada Hotel & Suites Coventry came in to see us this week. Here are 5 key points about them:
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•We are the only ‘Ramada Hotel & Suites’ property and this makes us different as we are a 4 star.
•We are located in the centre of Coventry City Centre, less than a 10 minute walk to both Coventry train station and city centre with easy motorway access.
•We recently invested £120,000 and re branded our restaurant to a Queens Road restaurant, which offers British cuisine with a modern twist.
•We are the most central meeting hotel in Coventry and offer 4 distinctive meeting rooms.
•We offer super-fast speed Wi-Fi complimentary to all guests.
