An update of the last 2 MONTHS!!!

Well my New Years resolution has gone well and truly out of the window (thanks Tyrian for reminding me)!! Please accept my apologies if you are a regular reader. However, hopefully I will be able to get you up to date with the events of the last 8 weeks….

Wow. So where do I begin?

Over the last few months we have been working on marketing the hotel for the winter months (08 and 09), specialising in winter style sports as well as indoor activities, this is in an attempt to boost the winter business over what can be a very lean few months. Therefore, within the next week you will see some new and exciting themed breaks appearing on our website. Why not take a look and book a well-deserved break away for a few days?

Regarding the refurbishment work we have been going “gusto” on the public areas, we are now very proudly displaying all the old black and white photos in the hallway and public areas, this being largely thanks to the diligent work from Alex our porter. As before, these photos are creating a lot of interest from both guests and staff interested in how the hotel has developed through the decades!! I have often dreamed about how I would love to research the building and its history, how interesting it would be to take a step back in time to when the ladies walked around with corsets and bustles and the men only ever wore top hat and tails!!! Where is doctor who and his time machine when I need him?

On the 14th March the hotel held a charity fashion show in aid of the Merlin Project, this was organised and run by Frederick Trinckvel (Deputy Manager) and Natalie Waller (Senior Duty Manager). The whole evening was a great success with over 40 diners, 20 children from the local primary school strutted their stuff up and down the catwalk from 8 – 10pm and the atmosphere on the night was fantastic! United Colours of Benetton (Truro) provided the clothes and some of the models for the evening and I think it is safe to say that a great evening was had by all. Well done to the entire team who were involved in both the organising leading up to and the event on the day, it was a night that will not be forgotten for a long time. Sadly after the Fashion show was Fredericks last day and he said his final fair wells and left for pasture new. Good luck Fred!

I have been very lucky this month to jet off to Paris with my fellow colleagues; we went as guests of Kevin McKee who is the National Account Manager for Moet Hennessey. To say we were well looked after would be an understatement; I think I drank more fine champagne than I did water for the entire two days! We stayed in a super Holiday Inn on the out skirts of Reims and were bussed (luxury bus of course) around the Champagne region visiting Krug, Veurve Cliquot and Moet Chandon.

Whilst at Krug we were invited to try the very exclusive Grande Cuvee which would retail anywhere in the region of £300 - 400 per bottle at the Grand Hotel (Torquay). We were treated like lords (and ladies) and dined in some truly beautiful restaurants, on the final night we were entertained in an exquisite chateaux style house by a lady called Anne who was one of the directors of Veurve Cliquot. She was kind enough to show us into a room that held the original press for Veurve Cliquot dating back to 1748. Another impressive event of the evening was to see the specially designed champagne fridge designed and manufactured by Porche, a mere snip at 50’000 Euros! It was an unforgettable experience and a fun filled few days, many thanks to Kevin and his team for all his organisation – it was very much appreciated.