Perfect wedded bliss….
It has turned out to be a perfect day for the happy couple getting married here at the hotel today. All the guests awoke this morning to brilliant blue sky and sunshine and it has stayed that way all day today.
The ceremony was held in the Piano Room at the hotel and (thankfully) went perfectly, I had the very important job of music co-ordinator for the afternoon and the pressure was on to ensure that the timings were right. As luck would have it the stereo behaved itself and the ceremony went without a hitch, well not completely smoothly… The bride did forget her flowers half way through the ceremony, so one of the guests had to frantically run up to the room to grab them in time for the signing of the register and the photos – oh well it is something to talk about in years to come. Overall a lovely day was enjoyed, congratulations from All at The Fowey Hotel to the Happy Couple.
Happy Easter!!!
The official start to the season finally arrived this afternoon! After (what has felt like) a very long winter we carried out our annual Easter Egg hunt on the Tea garden. It was a little ‘touch and go’ regarding the weather, but thankfully at 1pm the rain stopped , the skies turned blue and the hunt for the Golden Egg commenced.
In total, Stuart (our very jolly porter) placed over 150 chocolate eggs on and around the Tea Garden along with 4 giant eggs and the ultimate Golden Egg. It was the ideal location and perfect weather for a really fun afternoon, the hunt managed to raise £88 for Marie Curie Cancer care and the afternoons fun and frivolities will be making the Cornish Guardian Newspaper next week! Thankfully, all of the 40 children managed to find at least 3 eggs each, with the only casualty being one squashed egg that had been missed in the stampede. It was a really fun afternoon and with all the excitement and running around that was being done, I don’t think that any of our budding hunters will need to attend weight watchers anytime soon.
Happy Easter from All at The Fowey Hotel.
Easter Egg Hunt for the Sun…..
I have just tapped on to the BBC Weather forecast only to find that we are to expect rain, rain and yet more rain for the next five days!! On talking to some of our guests in the hotel this afternoon, many of them actually say that they don’t mind the rain because it just allows them permission to simply sit and read or snooze away the day and actually relax. I hadn’t really thought of it like that, but after all, that is what a holiday is all about and so many of us do go on holiday only to be up early and rushing around so that we are able to visit the attractions and see everything the area has to offer before we return home.
So in light of this new revelation… Let it rain and I hope you are all able to create some much-needed relaxation time.
The main reason I wanted to check the weather forecast was because on Good Friday I am planning our annual Easter Egg hunt on the hotels Tea Garden in Aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. Of course (being true Brits) we do have a contingency plan and that is to hold it on Easter Monday instead, if that fails then I will have 200 Cream Eggs to find homes for - something tells me I will have a lot of help from both staff and guests….
Success for Shelterbox!
A fantastic day was had here at the hotel on Saturday, we held a coffee and cupcake afternoon and raised over £1,000 which was the target and now gives shelterbox a further 2 boxes (each costing £490)!! After the Haiti disaster we here at the hotel wanted to do something in order to help and thankfully we had a great deal of support from local businesses, neighbouring hotels and sister hotels.
Three of our chefs here had their legs waxed by three St Austell college beauty therapists on the NVQ level 3. They were all fantastic and gave up their time in order to help raise the £178 in sponsorship money – the only payment they received was in the form of a coffee and a cup cake. Full respect went to the three brave chefs, Brian (aka Bubba), Tom and Kevin who are now walking around with legs that are smoother than a baby’s bottom – I wonder if they will be able to wear their shorts this spring/summer???
There was also a live auction, where some very generous gifts were donated from our sister hotels, and the Fowey Hotel - one night Dinner, Bed and Breakfast stay reached £140 alone, with the total money raised for the auction on the day being £415. So as you can imagine we were all delighted!!
Many great pictures were taken by Mike, photographer for the Cornish Guardian. Lets hope it makes the front page and raises even more awareness for this incredible charity. Many thanks to all who got involved – you have helped to make a real difference.
For further information on shelterbox please visit: http://www.shelterbox.org
Just beyond our reach…….
Just wanted to let you know that the South West Tourism Awards was a huge success last Thursday. Both Candace and myself dressed up in our evening gowns and had a really wonderful evening at the Headland Hotel in Newquay. I was lucky enough to bump in to an ex college lecturer Vince Falco and a few other ex students of Camborne College that night and it was so nice to enjoy some banter about “how things use to be”. As always the evening was well organised and the after dinner speaker was Kirstie Allsop from (one of my favourite programmes) Location, Location, Location. A few of us were a little miffed as to how Kirstie could be ‘linked’ to the catering and hospitality industry. However, she quickly explained that she owned a holiday cottage in the area and had always visited Cornwall as a child with her family. Kirstie gave a great (no notes required) speech and cracked a few ‘Cornish’ jokes which we all appreciated.
So I have waffled on and kept you in suspense for long enough, I expect some of you may be interested in how we did? As you may know we entered the hotel in for small hotel of the year. Last year we were delighted to receive the Silver award and this year we were awarded with the same again! So Silver two years running, which we are again very proud of. If you are visiting the hotel over the next few month do look out for the certificate and award displayed in the hallway.
Murder Mystery night at The Fowey Hotel is taking place on Saturday 28th November this year and is set to be another memorable evening in the very capable hands of the murder by appointment team. Anyone in the area wishing to come along for the evening can do so or similarly make a weekend of it and take advantage of our two night break from only £239 for a double room for the two nights! Visit this link for find out more http://www.thefoweyhotel.co.uk/murder_mystery.php .
The Fowey Christmas Market is again rapidly approaching and again the hotel is getting busy with booking for this time. Friday 4th and Saturday 5th is when the festivities begin with the turning on of the Christmas lights and carol singing on the Friday night, the main Christmas Market day on the 5th is always a fantastic day to get those final ‘local’ and unique gifts. With Cornish Christmas cakes, delicious local cheeses and the friendly family butcher you can’t go too far wrong. The Market opens at 10am on the Saturday so be sure to come along if you are in the area – it’s a great festive start to the season.
Farewell Emma Mac!!
Well after eight years of loyal service we sadly waved good-bye to our dear friend and colleague Emma Mc Kane, but don’t worry we made sure she had an appropriate send off to mark the occasion.
A dozen of the front of house team met at the newly opened Frankie and Benny’s in St Austell, it was a lovely evening as it was also a bit of a reunion too. Old staff members met up for the evening who had worked with Emma throughout her time here, so it was quite an emotional evening packed with a lot of laughs and a few nostalgic reminders. Natalie had made up a fantastic photo album which she presented to Emma, this had many photos of Emma and the team throughout the years – a really lovely idea which she very much appreciated.
Emma leaves The Fowey Hotel to study to become a nurse, a job that she has wanted to do for many years and one that we all feel she will be fantastic at – We wish you all the luck in the world Emma, go get um!!!
Saturday 28th November: If there are any super sleuths amongst you then you may be interested in the Murder Mystery night we have here at the hotel. The evening is open to non-residents for dinner and an evening of entertainment as well as anyone wishing to stay either one or two night. Please enquire with reception should you require any further information. Below is a brief synopsis of the evening, feel free to dress in appropriate costume should you wish to:
Welcome to the world of Bond - James Bond
The year is 1965. The Fowey Hotel invites you into the
world of James Bond, a world of intrigue and international
espionage. Join in the world of spies and seduction as prominent
members of MI5 and other Crime Organisations gather at the hotel
in an attempt to gain possession of a stolen decoding machine which is
vital to the safety and security of the western world.
Threats and blackmail eventually lead to a body being discovered!
Can you uncover the killer?
Ohhh ….. Its set to be another exciting evening. We look forward to welcoming you with a Martini or two – Shaken, not stirred of course!!!
Price: £39 per head including dinner and the evening entertainment, we recommend you book early to avoid disappointment.
Free phone: The Fowey Hotel - 0800 243 708
UFO’s spotted over Fowey???
There were almost 50 UFO’s sighted floating over the Fowey river estuary last Saturday, and it was easy to see why it had caused such a commotion! If you have never seen them before you could be mistaken for thinking they were a mystical vision that silently floats in the September night sky, and they can almost appear ghostly as they are illuminated from inside with a slow burning taper.
These lanterns were lit and sent off into the night sky by guests from the wedding party that were here last weekend, it was perfect weather conditions and very romantic to see. With the weather continuing to behave itself it was a perfect ending to a perfect day……
The 10 mile dash….
A strange thing happened a few days ago, something that has never happened in my 15 years of working here……
As you would expect, a number of guests were departing on Sunday morning after The Fowey Regatta week. One lady left her luggage next to another families luggage whilst she went to have breakfast, unfortunately there were a lot of suitcases that the family brought down and yep you’ve guessed it the single ladies suitcase was accidentally packed into the families car and they then merrily headed home – completely unaware that they had a bag in their car that didn’t belong to them…. On realising that the single lady couldn’t find her luggage the reception team put two and two together and realised what must have happened.
Luckily, some friends of this family were still staying at the hotel and on finding them we were then able to get a mobile phone number and call them to let them know of the ‘stow away’ suitcase. As you can imagine they were mortified, as the lady had had to leave the hotel without her suitcase in order to catch her train that morning. Thankfully, I was able to catch up with them at Bodmin Steam Railway and took possession of the piece of luggage that had caused so much trouble. I can confidently conclude that this has now made its way back to its rightful owner in London.
Following on from the Regatta week celebrations and from my last blog entry about the Red arrows, I am pleased to inform you that the hotel has been given some fabulous photos that I am planning on putting on the hotels website in the near future. Keep an eye on the website; they are definitely worth a look.
This Bank Holiday is set to be a bumper one, the hotel is fully booked for the next three nights and if the sun shines then the guests will be able to take full advantage of the Tea Garden being opened for its final few days of the season. Any locals (or holiday makers in the area) wishing to take that last Cornish Cream Tea over looking the Fowey River estuary can do so only for another week as Sunday 6th September will be the last day it will be open for the year – go on treat yourself!
How quickly can you eat a Cornish Pasty then?
Well one gentleman ate his in 53 seconds this week! It was all part of the Fowey Regatta week celebrations and the famous pasty eating competition. The record is currently held by a local man who scoffed down the entire thing in a staggering 51 seconds, and believe it or not it stayed down!!!
Despite a few over cast days, the week has been a huge success, the Red Arrows flew last Thursday at 6:30pm and still enthralled and amazed us all with their fantastic routines. This year saw the first female pilot too! This being Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Moore aged 31. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/5314144/First-woman-joins-Red-Arrows.html
There was an entertaining moment when a gaggle of Canadian Geese decided to fly (in perfect ‘arrow head style’ formation) right across the estuary during the display, but the ever professional pilots picked this up and gave them a wide birth until they flew away. Deservingly the geese also received a round of applause from the crowds. It was a shame that the rain started just as the Red Arrows began their routine, but everyone stayed despite the down pour. After about 15 minutes it must have been decided that the Red Arrows were going to end the display and disappeared, but within 2 minutes the rain stopped a magnificent rainbow appeared and they returned to fly right through the rainbow which stretched perfectly from one side of the estuary to the other. It was a fantastic moment that was made all the more special by the fact it was here in Fowey. I have luckily managed to track down a professional photographer who happened to take this photo and I am hopeful that you will be able to see it on our website in the near future – keep an eye out!!
The Fowey Hotels web cam is now officially up and running, with a great deal of activity on the water over the regatta week a number of people (who have been unable to make it to Fowey this year) have commented on how great it is to still view all that is happening on the water, especially with the races that have been taking place. The camera is currently pointing at the mouth of the estuary and gives a fantastic view, if you would like a look click on to the following link. www.thefoweyhotel.co.uk and then click the “live web cam” box at the bottom of the home page.
Finally, and ending on a comical note…. Our loyal and trusty maintenance man Ray meet with a new duty this week when he spotted a sea crab in the corner of one of the corridors. He had to ‘double take’ as he couldn’t quite believe his eyes! Interestingly the night before, our Night Porter Alex thought he was hallucinating when he saw another water loving crustacean walking side ways down the hallway. The mystery has been solved by one of our receptionists who remembers seeing a little boy and his father (who have been staying at the hotel) carrying a bucket containing four crabs that he had proudly caught in the rock pools below the hotel only the day before. Thankfully all four crabs have now been accounted for and have been released back into the estuary where they rightfully belong.
Web Cam
The web cam has been installed so hopefully you will be able to tap onto our website within a few days and see the beautiful views of Fowey that we are lucky enough to see every day. Also, with next week seeing the start of the Fowey Regatta week the timing could not be better. Keep an eye on this blog site and I will let you know when and how to see the view from the new web cam.
Over the last few days I have been working closely with Candace (Deputy Manager) and Emma (Head Receptionist) on our marketing plans for the Autumn and Winter of this year. We very much need to get our ‘creative heads’ on to try and come up with a different yet appropriate break for the October, November and December months. After a lot of planning, I feel confident that we are now offering highly competitive breaks, all we need now is lots of warm/sunny days. I guess only time will tell…..
On thinking about the festive season (already! I hear you cry) the hotel is now half full for the 3 day Christmas break, which is great news as this illustrates that people are booking early and planning their festivities well ahead of time. If you are thinking of taking a break away before the madness of the season, keep an eye on our website for the special offers. There is still so much to see and do throughout the quieter time of the year, with Eden opening their ice-rink, Heligan’s Harvest celebrations with Lobb’s farm shop as well as the impressive gardens of Lanhydrock, it’s a great (and somewhat more peaceful) time of the year!
Finally, yesterday saw the first marriage ceremony carried out at the hotel, this took place in room 109 and was a very intimate and private ceremony with only 6 people being present, two of which were our very own Candace and Tristan who stood in as the witnesses. According to Candace it was all very romantic and it was a really lovely day. Lets hope that this is the first ceremony of many…..
