The snow falls just added to the magic at the Lodore Falls Hotel when over 100 people packed in to see Aladdin.

Aladdin is the first pantomime performance ever held in the hotel. The panto was a complete sell out and the hotel “theatre” was buzzing with a very excited audience.

It couldn’t have been a more festive, winter wonderland location for the panto – snow on the fells, pretty Christmas lights and 70 sparking Christmas trees – the perfect backdrop for the performance.

Without doubt the family groups really enjoyed the panto, saying it was great to have some good family fun just before Christmas and the Blast off Burgers went down a treat in the interval. Visitors included nine members of the Hughes family from Keswick who thoroughly enjoyed the occasion – a special trip for Emelia who was eight next day.

Sophie Kings, Assistant Manager of the Lodore Falls Hotel part of the Lake District Hotels Ltd group and organiser of the panto said “We thought there was a need for some traditional panto fun this Christmas and I am thrilled so many people wanted to see it. Everyone agreed it was fantastically funny for adults and children alike and very engaging for the little ones who loved sitting on the silk cushions at the front. The kids were such an integral part of the performance and the feedback has been fantastic – seeing everyone laughing, shouting and clapping so much was utterly fabulous and we are already thinking of what we can do next year.”

Anyone interested in organising groups for next year should contact Sophie Kings on 017687 77285 or visit http://www.lakedistricthotels.net

The Borrowdale Hotel steps back in time with an exhibition of old photographs depicting life in the Borrowdale valley hundreds of years ago. The exhibition is set to run until the end of October.

The display, by kind permission of Patricia Roscamp, is made up from historical photographs that have been hung in the Borrowdale Hotel bar. It is quite fitting that the photographic exhibition is being held at the Borrowdale hotel in the Lake District – built over 140 years ago it was the first purpose built hotel in the valley.

General Manager Stephen Wilcock is also marking the occasion by introducing a luncheon and dinner menu that is representative of the 1800’s. Dinner guests can choose from today’s a-la-carte menu, or choose dishes from a menu available to guests in the 19th century. The menu is as close to tradition as possible, but certainly doesn’t go as far as Heston Blumenthal’s Tudor feasts shown on TV last autumn. Diners can choose from two, three or four courses which includes Victorian favourites like ‘Ham Hock Terrine with pureed peas, roast goose and an old fashioned desert of Lemon Posset with almond brandy.

Head Chef Peter Starauscheck has tried to replicate 19th century dishes wherever possible, but knows tastes have changed! “Local ingredients and seasonality have always been important, but Chef’s in 1800 would have goose on the menu any time of the year – today geese are generally available around Christmas, so we had to place a special order to ensure we could include Goose on the menu. Once the Pheasant season begins we will be introducing a three bird roast of goose stuffed with a chicken and pheasant.”

Lunch time visitors to this Lake District hotel can sample the ‘Bygone Days two or three course luncheon’ while they peruse the photos and history of the valley; potted salmon with pink peppercorns, egg, lemon, peppers and a tomato vinaigrette, or chunky vegetable and bacon soup, followed by slow braised shoulder of mutton served upon stewed pearl barley and vegetables. Proper puddings were certainly fashionable in the early 1800’s and a rhubarb and Bramley apple crumble mixed with oats and nuts would be warmly welcomed – then and now.

Stephen Wilcock said “we have completed most of the hotel refurbishment and thought the exhibition would be a good opportunity for local people to come and have a look. We have mounted the old pictures and hung them in the bar so visitors can see how the valley used to look while they enjoy lunch afternoon tea or dinner. Adding a 19th century dinner menu certainly tested Chef – but like today, they would have used as many local lake District ingredients as possible and diners will be delighted when they see what we can offer.”

For more details on the exhibition and details of the 19th century dinner menu at the Borrowdale Hotel please contact the General Manager – Stephen Wilcock on 017687 77224, http://www.lakedistricthotels.net or http://www.lakedistricthotels.net/borrowdalehotel/index.htm.

For the 4th successive year the Lodore Falls Hotel has taken an award at the Keswick Tourism Association ‘Keswick in Bloom’ Competition.

Results were announced earlier this week (Tuesday) and the hotel scooped Best Garden in the large hotel category.

The hotel has 40 acres of grounds to manicure and uniquely has the Lodore Falls situated in the grounds – which makes it an attractive and very audible garden. It also has its own pack horse bridge and lakeside frontage – popular settings for photographs.

General Manager Stephen Johnson said “This is the 4th year in succession that the hotel has been mentioned in the Keswick in Bloom Awards and we are pleased that the hard work put into our gardens is appreciated. They are a natural draw for visitors who enjoy seeing the planting bloom through different seasons. The gardens have been carefully planned to be naturally sympathetic to the local environment – and occasionally there is a Herdwick sheep who wanders through – very in keeping but not popular with our gardeners! The picturesque grounds provide a stunning backdrop for guests enjoying the outdoor hot tub and we also get some great comments from photographers and wedding guests”.

This imposing hotel, part of the luxury Lake District Hotels Ltd group, was built in traditional Lakeland slate has had a commanding presence in the Borrowdale Valley for over 200 years. Standing in 40 acres of grounds with lake frontage and the dramatic backdrop of the spectacular Lodore Falls and surrounding mountains, this Lake District hotel has one of the finest settings, with access to some of the most impressive walks in the area from the front door.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the gardens should contact Stephen Johnson at the Lodore Falls Hotel on 017687 77285 or visit http://www.lakedistricthotels.net/lodorefalls/

There are several new experiences at the Lodore Falls Hotel which are proving popular with visitors and locals too.

There’s the new ‘Café Culture’ at the Leisure Club, new treatments for men in the Beauty Salon, a new hot tub with stunning views across the lake and Cat Bells – and finally a new life enhancing club called ZEST!

The whole ambience at the Lodore Falls is one of relaxation and a chance to spoil yourself – and with a number of local people using the facilities, the ZEST experience was an obvious next step.

Zest is a new club that offers a schedule of treatments over 3, 6 or 12 months. It entitles you to a range of half hour or full hour treatments at greatly reduced prices and is very simple to use. The longer your membership the greater the discount on treatments.

It’s not just the ladies that are making use of Zest. Christine Bibby, Salon Manager said “treatments for men are now very popular. We wanted to make sure we can appeal to gentlemen too, so we have launched new facials as well as Turkish wet shaves and massages. It is important that we keep looking for new ideas and the new treatments for men are certainly a hit.”

Kit Graves, Managing Director of Lake District Hotels said “If you have ever thought ‘I would really like some me time’, then Zest is perfect for you and we are pleased to see that more and more local people are making use of the hotel facilities too.”

Leisure facilities at this luxury Lake District hotel are constantly being improved with two more new additions  -  the new Café Culture recently opened in the Leisure Club, providing morning coffee, light lunches or simply a cool drink after a workout in the gym, a swim in the indoor or outdoor pool. The second enticing addition to the facilities is the new outdoor Hot Tub!

The hot tub boasts stunning views across Derwentwater, and sits alongside the river running from the famous Lodore Falls. General Manager Stephen Johnson said “The tub is attracting a lot of attention and many Spa guests are enjoying the hot tub experience with a glass of chilled bubbly – so it’s no wonder our champagne sales have gone through the roof!”

Anyone interested in finding out more about Zest or any of the leisure and Beauty facilities should contact the Lodore Falls Hotel on 017687 87722 or visit http://www.lakedistricthotels.net/lodorefalls/

A survey of UK holidaymakers has revealed that it is promises of guaranteed sun that drives choice of holiday destinations, ahead of customer reviews and cost.

The customer booking representatives from www.holidays-direct.co.uk have been conducting an open survey with holidaymakers to find out what the most important factors in booking holidays really are.

When asked what makes them choose a holiday in a particular holiday destination, the answer most often given by holidaymakers is:  “We want a holiday in the sun!”

The Canary Islands (Lanzarote, Tenerife and Gran Canaria) offer year-round warm sunshine, which is one of the reasons they are perennial favourites for family holidays, for couples of all ages and for group holidays

Positive customer reviews of the hotels and destinations are also vital for most people choosing their holidays, the www.holidays-direct.co.uk customers said.  Referring to holiday reviews of hotels has proved to be especially true for people booking all-inclusive holidays.

Cost is obviously vital, but the wide choice of bargain holiday deals for Summer 2009 means that many travellers are already confident of getting a good deal.

The top 10 reasons for picking a holiday as reported by www.holidays-direct.co.uk customers are as follows: -

1. Good climate – guaranteed sun
2. Customer reviews of hotel /area
3. Cost
4. Things to see / excursions
5. Lively nightlife
6. Good beach
7. Can fly from local airport
8. Good food
9. Easy to get to from airport
10. Child-friendly resort

For parents travelling with children under the age of 10 years old, choosing a child-friendly holiday resort was often given as the most important factor, especially when choosing to go on all-inclusive holidays.

For younger people, especially those booking group holidays, a good beach and lively nightlife competed to be the most important thing about choosing a summer holiday destination.

About www.holidays-direct.co.uk

Online travel agency www.holidays-direct.co.uk is part of the Midlands Co-operative Society Group and is a member of ABTA. They specialise in providing affordable flights and accommodation in the top holiday destinations around the world.

Midlands Co-op Travel, incorporating Ilkeston Co-op Travel, is the No 1 independent travel agent in the Midlands.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Jenny Simpson
Online News & PR Manager
WebCertain Global Ltd.
Northminster Business Park
York
YO26 6QW
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1904 780030

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As the recession bites harder and people continue to tighten their belts, hotel breaks appear to be one of the luxuries they sacrifice. That’s why it’s more important than ever for hotels to have a better understanding of who their most profitable guests are, how to improve their loyalty, and where to find more like them. Customer insight specialists, Cartogen (www.cartogen.co.uk), are launching a guest profiling service for hotels answering those very questions.

Room rate, occupancy and revenue per available room (revpar) dropped across both London and the regions during December 2008, according to the latest figures from hospitality consultants PKF. Revpar dropped by 2.1% in London on the back of a 0.9% fall in daily room rate and a 0.8 percentage point fall in occupancy levels. The declines were steeper in the provinces, where revpar slumped by 11.6%, driven by a room rate decline of 2.4% and an occupancy drop of 5.9 percentage points. Even Liverpool’s last month as the European Capital of Culture failed to prevent a decline of 14.5% across the city’s hotels. This negative trend is forecast to continue.

In this environment many hoteliers are desperately looking for ways to improve occupancy levels whilst maintaining reasonable room rates, unaware that the answers may be found within their existing databases. Cartogen uses a geodemographic profiling system called CAMEO which only requires a postcode to provide a wealth of lifestyle and behavioural information relating to newspaper readership, internet usage, brand preferences, shopping habits, car ownership, holiday type and frequency, and financial status.

CAMEO UK assigns every UK postcode into one of ten main groups and, within those, 57 categories. Clusters have been built linking households with similar demographics, lifestyles and behaviour and have been proven to be very discriminative. Descriptive titles such as “Mature Owner Occupiers in Rural and Coastal Neighbourhoods” help to paint a broad picture of each category, supported by detailed information on typical characteristics.

Using CAMEO, Cartogen can profile a hotel’s database, detailing the breakdown of consumer types and highlighting areas of over-representation. These data can then be cross-referenced with information such as spend on meals and additional services, and number of visits to create a clear picture of the ‘best guests’. Once these guests have been identified strategies can be put in place to offer the most appropriate services based on their particular lifestyle information. Given that the classification system is created at a postcode level, ‘look-a-like’ prospective guests can be located and targeted with direct marketing campaigns.

Cartogen’s Managing Director, Stephen Kennedy said, “This type of geodemographic information has been used by retailers for a long time but not specifically applied to hotels. By merging the guest database data with additional service and guests’ home information allows us to develop the most appropriate strategies on a bespoke basis. Each hotel is individual, even within the same area, and has to be treated as such”.

A greater understanding of guests is important for any hotel and, during this economic downturn, could mean the difference between success and failure.

HotelDirect.co.uk is launching Christmas Gift Vouchers from 04 December to give hotels in London and across Europe a much needed Christmas boost. Tara Physick, Director of Hotel Direct, stated; ‘Hotels are at the sharp end of the global recession that we are all entering. Gift Vouchers are one of a series of Hotel Direct initiatives to provide hotels with new sales avenues. We need to work harder at persuading people to book hotels and this means stimulating the market with new ideas and reasons to buy’.

Tara continued: ‘Until now it has been very difficult to purchase a hotel stay as a gift. The uncertainty of dates meant hotel breaks didn’t make a practical present. Hotel Direct’s gift vouchers allow people to decide exactly how much they want to gift and give access to all the destinations and fantastic offers available at www.hoteldirect.co.uk. The vouchers are valid for any hotel booking made within 18 months of issue.’

Hotel Direct’s Gift Vouchers are being launched with an online and offline advertising campaign and are promoted with the headline ‘Stick a hotel in someone’s stocking‘.

HotelDirect.co.uk was established in 1997 and is the leading online agent for hotels in London and other European cities. Hotel Direct offers advice and hotel reservations both online and through it call centres on 08700 550 550.

You can check out Hotel Direct’s Gift Vouchers at: http://www.hoteldirect.co.uk/giftvouchers.htm

Budapestlets are a leading accommodation agency providing quality apartments in the heart of central Pest and Buda offering a wide variety of renovated period properties for short and long term rental. The range of properties presented on the web site provides quality alternatives to some of Budapest’s expensive hotel accommodation.

Budapestlets have designed the new web site to make viewing their extensive portfolio of apartments easier and much more interactive and intuitive for the sites visitors. The new site layout is clean and offers a simple navigation system, easy to follow booking facility and some excellent information on the apartments and the city.

There is an easy to enter apartment search facility for both its long term and short term accommodation options which then presents the apartments with extensive details on the properties with photographs, apartment layouts, and local points of interest, location maps and the on line booking function.

The booking facility has been made user friendly and according to marketing manager Andrew Laidler “will enhance the users experience and provides a one stop shop for everyone looking for quality but affordable apartment accommodation. We have the most extensive range of quality apartments supported with unrivalled service which is now supported with a great looking clean and functional commercial web site. This has helped us to enhance our clients experience and provides an exceptional showcase for what we believe to be the best portfolio of holiday and commercial lets offered anywhere in the city”

The web site can be accessed through www.budapestlets.com and the success of both the business and new web site has been recently recognised by the sites inclusion in the globally acknowledged traveller’s bible the rough guide.

UK Venues has the answer in the shape of a

quick and easy to use online venue directory

Anyone whose job description involves finding venues for business functions can relax, because their job just got easier!

UK Venues (http://www.ukvenues.co.uk) is an online directory of venues covering all locations throughout the United Kingdom.

The directory provides users with direct access to a wide range of venues suitable for a variety of commercial functions, from large-scale awards ceremonies, networking events and seminars to smaller scale business meetings and conferences.

UK Venues is free to use and offers many useful features for the time-strapped venue seeker. From conference halls to hotels, castles to football stadiums; whatever the function being organised, UK Venues makes it easy to find the ideal location.

TIME SAVING

Using factors such as occasion, location and venue type as search criteria presents the user with a list of possibilities in under a minute. Venues are listed in an easy to read format showing their distance from the specified location. To save time, a checked selection can be contacted all together in one hit using a simple form.

GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Company Director Navjot Kaur specifically wanted UK Venues to be the directory that went the extra mile. She says, “We don’t just provide names and addresses of venues; through our directory users can see finer details such as room capacity; parking facilities, disabled access, services offered like catering and photography, and lots more.”

An increasing number of venues also feature 360 degree virtual tours to make it even easier to see exactly what they’ve got to offer.

So for anyone charged with the task of venue hunting, a visit to UK Venues at http://www.ukvenues.co.uk is recommended to help find that perfect business function location – quickly, and with ease.