College Court Honoured in the Prestigious Laterooms.com Simply the Guest Awards

College Court in Leicester has been honoured in the LateRooms.com Simply the Guest Awards 2016 by achieving the prestigious Top Rated status.

The highly prized LateRooms.com Top Rated status rewards only the very best properties globally, highlighting exceptional hotel standards and service.

To be awarded Top Rated status means that College Court in Leicester achieved a minimum review score of 80% on the LateRooms.com site during 2015.

The accolade is part of the annual LateRooms.com Simply The Guest Awards and is given to a select band of hotels in recognition of their excellent record of positive guest reviews.

The awards are special because they are the only UK hotel awards based solely on genuine guest
reviews – calculated through the review ratings given by guests who have actually stayed at a property and gone on to publish a review on the LateRooms.com website.

Andrea Tarpey, LateRooms.com spokesperson said: “The LateRooms.com Simply The Guest Awards have become a highlight of the travel and hotel calendar since they were launched four years ago.  Because all reviews on the LateRooms.com site come only from customers who have genuinely booked and stayed at the property, Top Rated status is now a trusted benchmark amongst those looking for a hotel where they know they can be confident of a truly outstanding stay.   

“According to our guests, College Court is one of the top hotels in the UK and to receive the honour of a Top Rated status in this year’s Simply The Guest Awards  reveals its standards are at the very top of the league in all areas.”

College Courts Centre Director Steve Crawford said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded LateRooms.com Top Rated status. It is firm recognition of the unrivalled quality we insist on here and the hugely exacting high service standards that we have become renowned for.”

Wilson Vale chefs celebrate success at College Court

The Wilson Vale catering team at College Court Conference Centre at the University of Leicester has been named overall winner of the Wilson Vale Achievement Awards 2015. The team of thirteen, led by chef manager, Riccardo Corbinzolu, competed with 85 Wilson Vale catering operations nationwide to receive the award.

Judged under several categories including food, innovation, marketing, financial performance, customer care and training, the winning team received a trophy and a bonus each.
Ashby-based Wilson Vale provides a breakfast, lunch, dinner and hospitality service for delegates and visitors at the residential conference centre, as well as catering for a large number of private events including weddings, christenings and award dinners.

Formerly a hall of residence, College Court is a member of the Conference Centres of Excellence (CCE) and is the only dedicated residential conference centre in Leicester. Food has played a big role in the centre’s success since it opened in 2013, with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal dishes cooked in-house by Wilson Vale’s team of craft-skilled chefs.

Commenting on the Achievement Awards, Carolyne Vale, co-founder and managing director of Wilson Vale, said: “The standards get better year-on-year across the entire business and on every level.  In fact, the standards were so exceptionally high this year that there was just one point between the winning team and the runners up. This is a great reflection of our people – from kitchen porters up to managers – who go that extra mile to make a difference and whose passion has made Wilson Vale what it is today.”  

Wilson Vale’s chef manager at College ” I was in complete shock when Carolyne called to say that we had won as I never thought with all the amazing things going on in the company that we would take the top spot. We are our own biggest critic and that’s what drives us to keep evolving and developing our style of food and service to be the very best at what we do. We have had a great year as a team and this really is the icing on the cake.”
Court, Riccardo Corbinzolu, who lives in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, said:

The runners up were the Wilson Vale catering teams at NewDay (Leeds) and Amgen (Cambridge) and finalists included SERCO (Wiltshire), SCA Hygiene (Dunstable) and Amgen (Uxbridge). Other awards were given to the Wilson Vale catering teams at The Beacon School in Amersham, Kellogg’s in Kings Langley and The Ryley’s School in Cheshire.

Steve Crawford, conference centre director of College Court, said:“ I am delighted for Riccardo and his team to have been recognised as Wilson Vale’s top site. Very well deserved and is great recognition for the key role that they have played in developing the brand and reputation for the new business of College Court. Customer feedback has been excellent and has been a key factor in the ongoing growth of sales and increasing level of repeat customers. “

College Court recognised in Conservation Awards

At an Awards dinner ( East Midlands Region) arranged by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors on Friday 2nd May in Leicester, College Court was awarded 1st place in the category for Building Conservation. 

Following the Judges visit their comments were: 

“College Court is the result of a £17.5m total refurbishment of a group of Grade II listed buildings. It has been reborn in all its Modernist glory as a memorably distinctive residential conference centre. Sensitive external restoration, internal remodelling and extension and an all-new services & fit-out has provided a high quality, inclusive environment suited to the demands of the 21st century hospitality sector. Delivered on time and budget, the scheme is now delighting its guests and visitors.”

College Court was also a finalist in the Tourism & Leisure category, and has now been put forward to the national finals which will be held in London later this year.

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

College Court becomes latest member to join Conference Centres of Excellence

College Court in Leicester, a £14m project to transform a group of Grade ll listed buildings into a leading residential conference venue has joined Conference Centres of Excellence, the UK’s only sales and marketing consortium of dedicated meeting providers. 

College Court will open in October 2013 combining exemplary service with modern, state of the art facilities - a dedicated conference centre housing 18 conference rooms with capacities from two to 160 delegates, a 200 cover restaurant, bar, separate Garden Bar with  wide screen TV and business lounge. The onsite 123 bed hotel includes a selection of executive rooms and nine suites, as well as offering free onsite car parking, free wifi throughout, free leisure club access at two nearby University gyms and state of the art AV facilities.

Joining the consortium prior to opening enables College Court to benefit from the group’s marketing efforts and activities, providing customers with a single route to booking one of our nationwide venues, with consistent quality standards.

Anthony Lishman, Executive Director of Conference Centres of Excellence said “We are excited to be welcoming College Court within membership, and having spent considerable time working together reviewing the project, level of investment, architect plans and quality commitments we are confident that they will meet and exceed our strict criteria for quality standards in membership. Following a recent hard-hat tour, our expectations have been confirmed and College Court looks set to provide an excellent addition to our group of specialist venues.”

Conference Centres of Excellence has been working with specialist venues in the meetings, training and events industry for 21 years, and its 32 members include many of the country’s best known specialist 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 facilities, accommodation and customer care. 

Centre Director of College Court, Steve Crawford is no stranger to the group’s quality standards, being a previous Chair (during 2009 - 2011) and also Head of the Quality Group for Conference Centres of Excellence.

Steve commented: “I am delighted that College Court has been accepted into membership of CCE. As both businesses have the customer, quality and dedicated professional teams at the heart of all that we do. Joining CCE will provide a welcome boost to our pre-opening drive and will be wonderful to be working again with like- minded professionals.”

Full details will be available on our website soon, for more information please contact us on 0845 230 1414 or email info@cceonline.co.uk