Congratulations
• Marcia Brimson, PA to the MD, on 10 years service to Beales Hotels and to Adam Brooks, Conference and Banqueting Manager at WLP, on 5 years service. Both are pictured here with Tony King and Andrew Beale [left pic]
• Sam Wilberforce, Night Porter at BH, on 5 years service to Beales Hotels. Sam is pictured here with Chris Hall [middle pic]
• Sam Chamberlain, Chef de Rang at West Lodge Park, and Simply the Best award winner for December 2009 [right pic]
Welcome to!
• Thomas Sydenham, father of English medicine. Not a new member of staff but a stunning portrait for the Mary Beale Restaurant at West Lodge Park, painted by Mary Beale in 1689, of a distinguished scientist and doctor in the 17th century. He was unique at the time among fellow doctors who prescribed tortuous and horrible treatments for their patients. He believed that, in the main, patients should be left alone to get better. [left pic]
• Lucy Palmer, Sales Manager for Beales Hotels, from similar positions at St Michael’s Manor, and Grims Dyke hotel [right pic]
Great news!
On 20th January West Lodge Park went live with free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. This superb facility is easy to manage, and gives our guests the flexibility to check emails in their bedroom, surf the net in the bar, and work on that vital report on the terrace. It also gives us a major competitive advantage, and complements the other two major IT projects carried out at this hotel during the past year, namely flat screen freeview TVs and a new PMS and EPOS computer system.
Web news!
• The extreme weather conditions of the past month have had a hugely damaging impact on the hotels as guests have cancelled conferences, bedroom bookings and not shown up for restaurant reservations. About the only upside has been that we have, for the first time, got some wonderful wintry pictures of Beales Hotel which are on a new gallery at www.bealeshotels.co.uk/gallery/bh/winter – a couple of examples from the gallery are here.
• New brochures are now live on the website at www.bealeshotels.co.uk including BH Special Events 2010 [right] and a commemorative WLP Concert Brochure [far right] to celebrate the 200th WLP concert on 5th February.
And finally…
last month we looked back at all the great things achieved in 2009; this month we look forward to the exciting plans for 2010 which include:
– new deluxe Hypnos beds for the remaining 12 bedrooms at WLP
– new workshop and storage building at BH (being completed in February)
– upgraded reception desk at BH
– upgrade of the ladies WC area at WLP
– a further 12 bedroom refurbishments at WLP
– improved restaurant menus at both WLP and BH
– more arboretum plantings as we develop our Quercus (Oak) collection on the top field
Andrew Beale
Managing Director
