The Welsh government has agreed to form a joint venture partnership with Wesley Clover, Celtic Manor Resort’s parent company, for its planned £80 million convention centre. The joint venture partnership will allow the proposal to construct the international convention centre in the grounds of the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport to continue moving forward. The venue will become the largest facility of its kind in Wales and the south west of England.
The proposed £80m facility is expected to be constructed and ready for use in 2019. It will be able to accommodate up to 5,000 delegates, with a total floor space exceeding 20,000sqm. It will house an exhibition hall large enough to hold 2,000 delegates plus an additional 15 meeting rooms and outdoor events space. The government hope that the convention centre will provide a considerable economic boost to Wales, and the 2010 Ryder cup and 2015 NATO Wales summit demonstrated to them that they are able to host Global scale events.
Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire has reopened their event space following a complete internal and external renovation.
The Safari Lodge is set within the grounds of the animal park and has expansive views across the animal enclosures. With a maximum capacity of 300 guests and an outdoor veranda area the space is stylish and suitable for a range of events as the room can be split into 2 for conferences or set up to suit a luxury dinner or an outdoor BBQ on the veranda.
As part of their packages they offer a VIP Experience whereby delegates will be taken on a Land Rover through the park to see the animals including commentary from a Park ranger. As well they have team building activities with incorporate activities and trials with the animals. Both could be an opportunity for team building, corporate away days and for something a little bit different for an event.
London’s US embassy in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square is to become a luxury hotel. The Grade two listed building will be transformed into a 137 rooms, five star hotel, according to plans that will be submitted to Westminster council in May, the development is estimated to cost around £1 billion. The development comes after plans to move the US embassy to a new home in Nine Elms next year.
The hotel will feature a ballroom with space for 1000 delegates, a spa, six high-end shops and five restaurants.
Developer Qatari Diar, controlled by the Qatari Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, has appointed British Architect Sir David Chipperfield to draw up redevelopment plans, with a public exhibition on the scheme running from 11 – 16 April at 24 Grosvenor hill.
A Bristol venue has been named the best in the UK for the second year running. Engineers’ House in Clifton Down took the Specialist Venue and Overall Venue in BDCR Continental’s VenueVerdict Awards for the second consecutive year. The industry awards scheme is based on customer feedback throughout 2015.
EEF Venues, the group behind Engineers’ House, also walked away with ‘No 1 Small Group’ and ‘Best Value for Money Group’ in the same awards programme for the third year running. This year’s results are based on 20,003 individual responses throughout 2015 from event planners across a pool of over 375 participating venues nationwide.
Once the home of Charles Pinney, a former Mayor of Bristol, the venue has a conference and meeting business, with 14 distinctive meeting rooms, a highly specified IT system and private grounds for outdoor events.
The Coldra Court hotel, which is located a few minutes away from the Celtic Manor Resort has 148 bedrooms, taking Celtic manor’s bedroom count up to 600. As part of the £2m upgrade, the hotel will be updating its conference facilities. The hotel currently has nine conference and meeting rooms, all housed in the newly rebranded Springs Health Club. The Severn suite, the largest conference and meeting space, can seat up to 220 delegates for a dinner. Coldra court plans for the hotel to be 4 star in terms of facilities but run it with the 5 star service standards associated with the Celtic Manor Resort.
The Celtic Manor Resort, has recently opened its new Coldra Court Hotel, and plans to invest more than £2m in upgrades over the next three years. The Coldra Court Hotel has been trading as the Hilton Newport until contracts were officially exchanged on 31st March. They plan to complete a phased refurbishment of the bedrooms, and will also be introducing a new restaurant concept, and looking to update the conference and banqueting facilities in the near future.
The Coldra Court hotel, which is located a few minutes away from the Celtic Manor Resort has 148 bedrooms, taking Celtic manor’s bedroom count up to 600. As part of the £2m upgrade, the hotel will be updating its conference facilities. The hotel currently has nine conference and meeting rooms, all housed in the newly rebranded Springs Health Club. The Severn suite, the largest conference and meeting space, can seat up to 220 delegates for a dinner. Coldra court plans for the hotel to be 4 star in terms of facilities but run it with the 5 star service standards associated with the Celtic Manor Resort.
The Celtic Manor Resort and Coldra Court Hotel update
The Celtic Manor Resort, has recently opened its new Coldra Court Hotel, and plans to invest more than £2m in upgrades over the next three years. The Coldra Court Hotel has been trading as the Hilton Newport until contracts were officially exchanged on 31st March. They plan to complete a phased refurbishment of the bedrooms, and will also be introducing a new restaurant concept, and looking to update the conference and banqueting facilities in the near future.
The Coldra Court hotel, which is located a few minutes away from the Celtic Manor Resort has 148 bedrooms, taking Celtic manor’s bedroom count up to 600. As part of the £2m upgrade, the hotel will be updating its conference facilities. The hotel currently has nine conference and meeting rooms, all housed in the newly rebranded Springs Health Club. The Severn suite, the largest conference and meeting space, can seat up to 220 delegates for a dinner. Coldra court plans for the hotel to be 4 star in terms of facilities but run it with the 5 star service standards associated with the Celtic Manor Resort.
Village The Hotel Club have announced details of a £35m investment plan that incorporates significant refurbishment plans & new technology starting with 8 of their key UK locations & more to follow. The first locations are:
London Watford
Coventry
Manchester Cheadle
Manchester Bury
Warrington
Cardiff
Maidstone and
Bournemouth
To start, they are fully refurbishing all the bedrooms & bathrooms and both will have a new feature ‘stripe’ wall & new mattresses. Additionally, new 48’ wall mounted TV’s with their UpperDeck rooms featuring a 55’ inch wall mounted TV with Sky and Bluetooth sound bar.
All bedroom corridors will be refurbished and following that, investment in the health & fitness clubs, their pubs The Public House, restaurants and conference & meetings rooms is planned. They are on track for completion by the end of April 2016.
For their meeting and conference rooms, February sees the start of the installation of “click-share” wireless connectivity to TV’s and projectors, plus new 65’ TV’s in meeting rooms and new projectors in larger conference rooms. By the end of April 2016, all conference and meeting areas will have had a complete refurbishment in the 8 locations. Plans are also in place to then continue the meeting room refurbishment programme to the rest of the brand.
Village Glasgow’s guests have been giving great feedback on the new self-service check in facility that was launched when the hotel opened in Summer 2015.
Each kiosk, of which there are 4, allows you to search for your reservation by surname, allocates a room and issues you with a key. Their lobby hosts are on hand for any questions or any assistance required – shifting their focus from the computer screen to the customer.
Based on their success in Glasgow, on completion of the refurbishment to the current 8 locations, self-service check in will be available. The remainder of the hotels will all have self-service check in by December 2016.
Village has also recognised that good Wi-Fi is becoming a non-negotiable requirement when travelling on business or leisure and will have completed a wifi upgrade to all 28 of their UK locations by the end of March 2016 improving coverage and speed. Village continue to offer this free of charge to unlimited devices in each hotel.
It is looking to be an exciting year ahead for Village as they continue their refurbishment, investment and development.
The Montague on the Gardens has just announced the pop-up Beach Bar, for the summer only. Located in Bloomsbury, close to the British Museum and Russell Square, the hotel’s new attraction offers real sand, real palm trees, fresh coconut and pineapple cocktails, as well as a delicious barbecue. The Beach Bar is open throughout June and July 2016 for private parties from 40 to 150 guests. The bar has previously been decorated as a Ski Lodge and Christmas Wonderland during previous winters, and takes advantage of the hotel’s garden at the back of the property.
Q-Hotels came in to see us this week and had some exciting things to tell us;
Crewe Hall scoops Gold in National Tourism Awards
Crewe Hall in Cheshire is celebrating after being recognised as the best venue in the country for business tourism at the 2016 Visit England Awards for Excellence.
Crewe Hall in Cheshire is celebrating after being recognised as the best venue in the country for business tourism at the 2016 Visit England Awards for Excellence.
Crewe Hall, one of QHotels’ 26 four-star hotels across the UK, was the only venue to be presented with a Business Tourism Gold Award, highlighting the strength of the hotel’s corporate offering as a destination for conference and events in the UK.
Crewe Hall beat off tough competition from venues across the country in the awards, which recognise businesses that champion best practice, demonstrate excellence in customer service and celebrate the very best in quality and innovation.
Set in eight acres of parkland in the Cheshire countryside, Crewe Hall combines historic charm with modern facilities to offer a state-of-the-art conference and events centre.
Mart Louwerse, General Manager at Crewe Hall, said: “We are overjoyed to win the Gold Award, as it represents the highest standard of business tourism in the country.
“The team here at Crewe Hall thoroughly deserve this award for all their hard work, delivering memorable customer service that encourages our business guests to return time and time again.
“The QHotels approach really sets us apart from other hotel groups, as we continue to enhance our offering based on the feedback we receive from our guests, and this award is further evidence of this.”
Wi-Fi investment across the group.
QHotels will invest £2.2m in upgrading Wi-Fi access and bandwidth across the group’s 26 hotels. The group says guests will receive a faster, more reliable connection after the upgrade works, which will include:
500 simultaneous connections to be available at each internet access point
Each hotel’s free Wi-Fi offering will increase from a shared 8Mbps to 90Mbps
Dedicated bandwidth capacity for conferences and events will increase from 90Mbps to 900Mbps
And, in a move the group says recognises customer’s expectation to always have easy access, the hotels’ health clubs, spas and restaurants will all feature their own access points, ensuring that connectivity is reliable through the entire hotel spaces.
The Wi-Fi upgrade starts across the group this spring and is due to be completed by August 2016.
Madrid, the capital city of Spain, is a cosmopolitan metropolis where you will find urban and traditional cultures are mixed throughout the many streets. Landlocked in the Iberian peninsula, this destination offers many reasons to visit beyond museums, the Royal Palace and the Real Madrid football club stadium. Madrid exceeds expectations and offers a large variety of restaurants in which to sample the authentic Spanish gastronomy, which makes this city so attractive.
TOP REASONS TO VISIT MADRID
Good connections with International Direct Flights.
Competitive pricing on accommodation, restaurants and meeting facilities.
Excellent cuisine.
Rich, cultural and artistic heritage.
Possibility to combine with other key cities of Spain.
One of the best cities in Europe for shopping.
Named the 3rd most visited city for congress by ICCA
Pendley Manor Hotel, the perfect choice for out of the city meetings.
Pendley Manor Hotel is set in 35 acres of landscaped and wooded parkland in the picturesque Hertfordshire town of Tring, being just over an hour from Central London, it is great for London business coming into the Hertfordshire countryside for the day! Pendley Manor combines a wonderful countryside location with modern and flexible facilities making it a great choice for events. The hotel offers complimentary parking and Wi-Fi throughout, and a 4 acre meadow is also available for team building activities. The hotel has 72 guest bedrooms consisting of executive rooms, suites and family rooms, these are all due to have a full refurbishment commencing in the spring.
