Food for thought at Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre

In 2011 Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre signed up to the Government’s Responsibility Deal, championing healthier eating for you, our customers.

To support this we have launched Know Your Food, out new initiative that will put health in the heart of what we do.

Our key commitments to you are:

• Provide full GDA labelling on our food and drink

• Eliminate artificial trans-fats in the food we serve

• Continue our efforts to further reduce the salt levels in our food

• Reduce the calorie content of our recipes wherever we can.

Guideline Daily Amounts or GDA’s are derived from Government dietary recommendations. They provide a guide to how many calories and nutrients we should consume each day for a healthy, balanced diet. We now display the GDA information in amounts and percentage of GDA for calories, sugars, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt in our restaurant, in a similar format to the information a lot of the supermarkets use. You can use this information to compare the average nutritional content per serving of the different dishes on the menu, helping you to make the choices that are right for you and your diet. 

Artificial trans-fats can be formed when oil goes through a process called hydrogenation, which makes the oil more solid (known as hardening). This type of fat, known as hydrogenated fat, can be used for frying or as an ingredient in foods. Working with our supplier partners, dieticians and Chefs, we have reviewed the ingredients that we use to create our menus and have removed all artificial trans-fats.

We have already done a huge amount of work to reduce the amount of Salt in our recipes, but we are committed to ensuring we continue to meet, if not exceed, the government targets.

Where possible, and without compromising on quality or taste, we will continue to look at ways of reducing the number of calories in our recipes whilst continuing to offer you variety and choice through our menus.

Keep an eye out for the ‘Know Your Food’ board in our restaurant where you will find information around our ongoing commitments to healthier eating and living as well as details about our sustainable sourcing initiatives and promises. 

Kents Hill Park Training and Conference Centre

Kents Hill Park is a dedicated training and conference centre set in a peaceful location yet within easy access to key road (M1 J13/14), rail and airport networks.

Wtih over 70 meeting rooms and 330 bedrooms combined with our onsite AV Production Team to assist in event production, conference organisers can be assured of a successful event.  Delegates have use of our extensive leisure facilities throughout their stay.

17m indoor swimming pool, steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi, fully equipped gymnasium, two squash courts, large sports hall for badminton, five a-side football, short tennis, exercise classes and a beauty treatment room.

Wyboston Lakes shortlisted for two national conference awards

Wyboston Lakes, the leading conference and training venue, has achieved significant recognition in this year’s national Conference & Venue Supplier Awards. It has been shortlisted in two categories – ‘Best New or Refurbished Conference Venue’ and ‘Best Training Venue’.

The Awards are amongst the most sought-after annual accolades to be given within the conference and training sectors. They are judged by a panel of operations directors and managing directors of some of the most successful conference organising companies in the UK. The Awards will be presented in London on 7th June.

“The Conference Awards represent an important independent assessment of venue standards across the country,” commented Wyboston Lakes’ managing director Mark Jones: “To be shortlisted in two distinct and highly competitive categories underline that the impact of our latest investment is already being widely recognised.”

While Wyboston Lakes has been established for many years as the UK’s largest privately owned single site specialist venue, the quality of its facilities and overall services was enhanced during 2012 through a comprehensive £3.5 million investment programme. Its two residential conference and training venues, the Wyboston Lakes Executive Centre and the Wyboston Lakes Training Centre, have been extensively improved to enable the company to offer a uniquely wide choice of facilities, services and delegate packages for conferences, meetings and training events.  

Users of both venues benefit from another key development, the establishment in spring 2102 of a sector leading 200 mbps broadband network, believed to be by some way the most powerful available in any specialist conference venue in the UK. The development was fundamental to the venue’s winning of the HBAA Venue IT award in September last year. The improved broadband facility has brought a completely reliable Wi-Fi service in all working, residential and rest areas, which is free to all conference clients and delegates.  The system also opens up new horizons for internet based events.

“Our advanced technology can now illustrate to our guests that events of major dimensions need no longer be held with fingers crossed.  With the right facilities, carefully managed and monitored, they can be achieved with total consistency. That means our clients can, as they require, create solutions that are at the same time truly ground breaking, for them and their delegates, whilst being totally reliable.”

Conference Centres of Excellence measures up the meeting experience

Conference Centres of Excellence member venues continue to measure customer experience and once again a significant number have achieved BDRC Continental’s VenueVerdict Gold Standard Accreditation.

Conference Centres of Excellence is the only marketing consortium to use the scheme as the benchmark for its ongoing quality assurance, ensuring quality standards are consistently maintained and measured to provide an excellent business meeting experience at all times.

Customers are faced with an increasing choice of venues for business events, with wide ranging levels of expertise, facilities and service, and it can therefore be hard for customers to be confident about the smooth running and success of their event.

In choosing a venue where customer feedback and in particular the ‘likelihood to recommend’ has been measured, customers can rest assured that they are in safe hands.

Conference Centres of Excellence is very excited that so many of our member venues have achieved the top level Gold Standard Accreditation, demonstrating that quality remains at the very core of their businesses and our consortiums desire to promote excellence across our industry.

Seven Conference Centres of Excellence member venues have achieved the BDRC Continental VenueVerdict Gold Standard Accreditation following ongoing assessment of customer feedback during the year from April 2012 to March 2013. 

The Conference Centre of Excellence gold accredited venues are:

• Broadway House, London

• Cotswold Conference Centre, Midlands

• Engineers House, Bristol

• Maple House, Birmingham

• Scarman Training and Conference Centre, Warwickshire

• The Manor House, Surrey

• The Møller Centre, Cambridge

Anthony Lishman, Executive Director of Conference Centres of Excellence commented: 

“There is no better commendation than that of independently gathered, genuine feedback from customers and once again we are delighted to have a number of venues achieving the Gold Standard. In an environment where customers are presented with such a wide choice of new venues, our members consistently stand out with these accreditations. All of our member venues provide excellent quality standards in terms of dedicated facilities, exceptional food, and superior staff expertise, and this ensures a productive and profitable experience, whatever the business event.  

For more information please contact info@cceonline.co.uk or call 0845 230 1414.

SAVE THE DATE!!!!

Conference Centres of Excellence is delighted to be holding its 2013 conference and awards dinner at imago.

This annual event provides an opportunity for CCE Members, industry professionals and suppliers to network and discuss the latest issues affecting our industry in a friendly and supportive environment.

The awards dinner is an opportunity for Conference Centres of Excellence to recognise quality venues and suppliers to the meetings and events industry and the celebratory dinner kicks off the conference in style.

Event Date:

Thursday 18th July to

Friday 19th July 2013

Venue:

imago, Loughborough 

Event Schedule:

Further details will be available shortly. 

Click here to view last year's event >

For more details please contact: marketing@cceonline.co.uk or contact 01926 488 020.

David Vaughton joins the Conference Centres of Excellence board

David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, has been appointed to the board of Conference Centres of Excellent (CCE), the UK's only marketing consortium to represent specialist, quality conference and training centres in the UK.

CCE now has 34 members nationwide, including many of the country’s best known specialist conference and training venues, covering a geographical area extending from the South East of England to Scotland. Before joining, venues have to meet stringent criteria in terms of quality, facilities, accommodation and customer care. 

Commenting on his appointment, David Vaughton said: “Having previously served on the board of CCE, I am delighted to be involved again with this quality-driven organisation which promotes best practice throughout this niche sector, allowing members to market themselves on a shared ethos of high quality standards.  

‘I see my appointment as a great opportunity to help shape CCE’s future strategy and growth and build on the superb job the Consortium has done to date in attracting like-minded, specialist venues to come together under one umbrella to provide a targeted solution for discerning meetings buyers.”

The majority of CCE’s members are independent operators, all of whom avail of the Consortium’s venue sales team and marketing support.

David Vaughton continued: “CCE’s strengths are many, not the least of which are its emphasis on the transparency of relationships and understanding of buyers’ needs.  CCE’s geographical footprint and shared ethos and vision give independent players an additional arm to their marketing strategies, as well as strength by numbers. Most importantly, independent quality mechanisms such as BDRC Continental’s bench-marking scheme give CCE members industry credibility, allowing them to compete on par with bigger operators and chains in this challenging and busy marketplace.”

David Vaughton is director of venues for EEF Venues, a group of three conference venues dedicated to meetings, conferences, team building, training and corporate events: Engineers’ House in Bristol; Broadway House in Westminster, and Woodland Grange in Warwickshire.  

“We are delighted David Vaughton is joining the board – his wide experience of dedicated training centres, both residential and non-residential will further enhance the wealth of experience brought together with the existing board members. David is well known and respected within the industry as having a clear quality focus in all of his previous work and we are sure that he will serve the board well.” commented Anthony Lishman, Chairman of Conference Centres of Excellence.

For more information please contact pr@cceonline.co.uk or call 0845 230 1414.

CEME Conference Centre achieves GOLD Standard

CEME Conference Centre has just been awarded the highly prestigious ‘Accredited in Meetings’ (AIM) Gold Standard by the Meetings Industry Association.  Located in East London, CEME is one of only 15 venues across the United Kingdom that has achieved the highest grade, and is the first in East London and Essex.

CEME is an ultra-modern events and conference venue ideally located for London and Essex with close proximity to The City and Canary Wharf.  The Conference Centre incorporates a state-of-the-art 120-seat auditorium, The POD, together with 19 meeting rooms, exhibition space and outdoor facilities. The venue is located on an 18 acre Business, Education and Research Campus and supports the charitable objectives of the Centre in the regeneration of the Thames Gateway.

Eamonn Cole, Conference Centre Director, commented:  “We have a wonderfully modern building with amazing space, first class facilities and we know the importance of quality and value to event buyers in choosing venues in the current climate.  It is fantastic to be awarded this prestigious accreditation, especially as we have only been with the MIA for one year.  Being the first AIM Gold venue in Essex and East London is also a great privilege that adds substantial value to our clients and, together with us also being a World Host venue, ensures delivery of the highest levels of customer service.”

Accredited in Meetings (AIM) is the Meetings Industry Association’s national quality standard for venues and suppliers in the meetings, conference and events industry.  At Gold level, users can expect first class facilities with the very highest levels of service, exceptional catering using the highest quality ingredients, highly proficient staff and a price reflective of the quality of the venue and service delivered.

Jane Longhurst, Chief Executive of the MIA, said:  “A venue applying for Gold Accreditation is assessed across a very wide range of facilities and services.  To pass at this high level requires the very highest standards and staff of the highest quality.  I am delighted that this superb conference facility has made the grade.”

CEME Conference Centre is ideal for all types of meetings, conferences and events, film shoots, product launches, business presentations, receptions and corporate hospitality for up to 600 people.  A unique blend of contemporary design, innovative technology and the highest standards of quality and customer service, makes CEME one of the best value for money events and meeting venues anywhere in the South East.

CEME is also signed up to the Fair Pricing Charter with VisitLondon and has been accepted into membership of Conference Centres of Excellence proving its commitment to the consistent delivery of quality, value for money events and meeting solutions.

Teambuilding Special Offer at Cotswold Conference Centre

For new events booked to take place in May or June Cotswold Conference Centre are offering free use of the Rabbit Run teambuilding activity. This activity has been specially designed for use as a business team building and executive training exercise. It operates on the principle of business simulation. The 26 control course is spread over the 320 acre estate.

Cotswold Conference Centre

40 miles from Birmingham, set in 300 acres of breathtaking scenery overlooking the Cotswold Vale – this really is a conference venue in Worcestershire with a difference. Cotswold Conference Centre has been built and developed by training people, the incredible attention to detail and investment in facilities means you’ll love using this stunning centre. This is the only Conference Centres of Excellence venue in the Cotswolds, with more businesses than ever recognising that the calm Cotswold environment is the perfect place for training. 

For more information call 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk

Youth Sport Trust Donation Marks Finale of Burleigh Court Anniversary

Following a year full of events and activities in celebration of its 21st anniversary, four star venue Burleigh Court has presented the Youth Sport Trust with a cheque for over £2,500 which will go to sporting programmes for young people in Loughborough. 

In its 21st year, the Loughborough University based hotel and conference venue celebrated with a gala dinner, special discounts for customers and a trek across the three peaks in Yorkshire, which was so successful that it raised half of the final total. Burleigh Court also welcomed Team GB as the University campus became the team’s official preparation camp ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, adding to the excitement felt around the whole building during its anniversary year.  

On presenting the cheque, Guy Hodge said: “2012 was a unique year for Burleigh Court and a really exciting time for the whole team - we wanted to celebrate by giving something back to the community. The Youth Sports Trust seemed like the perfect fit due to our link with Team GB and other major sporting events.  We know that this donation is going to a great cause and will help children get a ‘sporting start’ in life. We hope to see some of them using the world-class sporting facilities at Loughborough University in the future!” 

The Youth Sport Trust is an independent charity devoted to changing young people's lives through sport. Established in 1994, the trust helps young people to achieve their full potential in life by delivering high quality physical education and sport opportunities.

Being Responsible...

At Kents Hill Park we take Corporate Responsibility seriously. So you know when you choose to run an event with us we are doing everything possible to pursue sustainable development through an integrated approach: achieving a sustainable, innovative and productive economy and a just and healthy society, while respecting the limits of the planet's environment, resources and biodiversity.

Each day we look to: 

• Support and develop our employees 

• Run our business to the highest ethical standards 

• Ensure the good health and well-being of our customers

• Reduce our impact on the world in which we live 

• Make a positive contribution to the communities in which we live and work. 

In our restaurant we have some fantastic initiatives to promote seasonal and healthy eating. We provide full GDA information on all our meals, so you know exactly what you are eating. We are also committed to remove all artificial trans-fats from our menus as well as reducing salt and calorie levels.  When it comes to seasonality, as well as using fresh seasonal produce in our kitchens, we also provide delegates information on how to source, use and even grow their own!  

Fair Trade is a concept we have supported for a number of years. You will find Fair Trade coffee, sugar, bananas and chocolate on the menu every day. We are taking this one step forward with the introduction of Eat Fair. 5p from the sale of each Eat Fair product goes to projects that help growers and producers in developing countries with agricultural training, clinics, professional help, advice and support in bringing their Fair Trade products to Market.

You will find mixed recycling boxes in all of our meeting rooms and water coolers instead of individual bottles of mineral water (which is much better for the environment). We use energy efficient lighting around the site, biodegradable cleaning products where possible and are committed to reducing our energy usage. 

You can use public transport to get to Kents Hill Park; we are less than 10 minutes from the train station, less than 5 minutes from the national coach station and have a bus stop right outside of our site. 

Just another of the many benefits of running an event with Kents Hill Park.

For more information please contact info@cceonline.co.uk or call 0845 230 1414.
 

Monday Madness!

Hold your event at Stirling Management Centre on any Monday in 2013 at a fantastic day delegate rate of £33.00 per-person (inc. vat).

And what's more, you can choose from a list of value-added extras including extra tea/coffee, additional syndicate room, complimentary bed & breakfast the night before, free laptop hire ....*

Stirling Management Centre

Stirling Management Centre is Scotland's premier management and conference venue, set in the rolling parkland campus of the University of Stirling. Purpose-built, the Centre's superior level of facilities and services compare with any first class hotel. The spectacular Windows on the Wallace conservatory is the last word in flexibility, hosting high tech conferences and exhibitions by day and high profile private dinners under the floodlit Wallace monument by night. With a Sales Executive personally dedicated to your pre and post event handling, the success of your event is guaranteed.

*Terms and conditions apply.

For more information please call us on 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk

Summer Special Offers from Ashorne Hill

Hold your event at Ashorne Hill during the summer and take advantage of summer special offers!

From the 1st - 31st August 2013 

24 hour rate from £130 + VAT Day rate from £30 + VA

Pimms O’Clock

Pimms and Croquet 

every evening for those on a 24 hour rate

from 6-8pm on the terrace throughout August 2013

Delightful Dinners

From the 1st - 31st August 2013 

On Thursday evenings from the 8th of August we will be having a themed food night for those on a 24 hour rate.*

8th August 2013 

Tapas evening*

15th August 2013 

Italian evening*

22nd August 2013 

Mexican evening*

29th August 2013 

Greek Evening*

To take advantage of the offers please call us on 0845 230 1414 or email: info@cceonline.co.uk 

* Theme food option must be booked 2 weeks in advance.