Warner Leisure Hotels rated UK's favourite by Which? Travel readers

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:50:05 GMT

Warner Leisure Hotels has been named the UK's favourite short-break chain hotel according to a poll of Which? Travel readers and has been named the Which? Recommended Provider of UK Hotels.

Warner Leisure Hotels topped the table which included Hilton, MacDonald and Premier Inn, scoring an outstanding 76% for customer satisfaction and likelihood to recommend.

Which? Travel readers particularly appreciated the good customer service they received when staying at one of the chain's thirteen UK hotels, giving Warner Leisure Hotels an overall score of four out of five stars.

Exclusively for adults, Warner Leisure Hotels enjoys an occupancy rate of over 90% throughout the year across its portfolio of 13 properties.

Jim Forward, managing director of Warner Leisure Hotels said: "We're really proud to have been given such fantastic scores by the Which? Travel readers and are grateful for this tremendous accolade. Each year we receive around half a million guests so it's brilliant to have been recognised for our outstanding customer service, as it is something that is very important us.

"With more and more people choosing UK breaks and rediscovering Britain we're expecting an increase in the number of guests we receive this year - with this survey in mind we plan to keep working hard to make sure they stay completely satisfied with the service we offer."

Notes to Editors:
The Which? research asked readers to rate hotels on three criteria: cleanliness, customer service and value-for-money. The results for the three categories were then compared with average prices for room-only and bed and breakfast, to create a percentage score.

About Warner Leisure Hotels:
Exclusively for adults, Warner Leisure Hotels enjoys an occupancy rate of 90% across its portfolio of 13 properties in the UK. Warner Leisure Hotels offers a wide choice and style of accommodation, each with its own personality. Renowned for its weekend breaks, the chain is also known for its wide range of Experience breaks, offering more than 400 additional activities and UK short breaks, from hot air balloon trips and antiques with TV's Eric Knowles to painting and writing, plus a variety of learn to dance breaks at all levels.

The group currently receives around half a million guests annually but is expecting even more this year as many people are choosing UK breaks and rediscovering beautiful Britain.

Warner Leisure Hotels announces Strictly Come Dancing Experience Breaks

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 09:43:48 GMT

Warner Leisure Hotels has announced it will be offering a series of Strictly Come Dancing Experience Breaks. The breaks will feature some of the most popular Strictly Professional Dancing Stars and judges from the TV show and they have been arranged in exclusive collaboration with BBC Worldwide.

The Strictly Professional Dancing Stars appearing at the breaks are Anne Widdecombe's partner Anton Du Beke with his professional partner Erin Boag; Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace, James and Ola Jordan as well as Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopolova, Ian Waite and Camilla Dallerup.

Taking place at five four-star country house hotels, the breaks offer customers the chance to get up close and personal with the Strictly Professional Dancing Stars from the hit series as well as judge Craig Revel Horwood.

Included in each break are at least two dance classes taught by top international dancers, question and answer sessions with the Strictly Professional Dancing Stars plus a stunning performance in the evening in intimate surroundings.

Fans of the show and dance enthusiasts can also have their photograph taken with the Strictly Stars at a paparazzi-style photo opportunity.

The breaks also include Warner's own Strictly Come Dancing Experience competition where guests are invited to showcase their own style and footwork and truly go through the Strictly Come Dancing Experience and know what it's like to perform in front of Craig Revel Horwood. If dancers are good enough to meet Craig's criteria they could win their own Strictly Experience trophy, which will be presented by one of the show's most experienced dancing professionals.

Warner Leisure Hotels' Grade I and II listed historic hotels provide the perfect backdrop for all the elegance and excitement of Strictly Come Dancing Experience Breaks. These adults-only breaks come complete with breakfast and a delicious three-course evening meals in award-winning stylish restaurants.

However, the breaks aren't just about dancing - they also offer Warner's full programme of indoor and outdoor leisure activities such as archery, rifle-shooting and fencing as well as heated pools and spa facilities where guests can treat themselves to a relaxing massage or facial.

About Warner Leisure Hotels:
Exclusively for adults, Warner Leisure Hotels enjoys an occupancy rate of 95% in its portfolio of 13 properties across the UK. Warner Leisure Hotels offers a wide choice and style of hotel breaks, each with its own personality. Renowned for its weekend breaks, short breaks and seasonal offers with Christmas Breaks and New Year Breaks the chain is also known for its wide range of experiences, offering more than 600 additional activities and UK breaks from hot air balloon trips and antiques with TV's Eric Knowles to trips on the Orient-Express and numerous dance breaks.

Warner Leisure Hotels takes historic Cricket St Thomas into a new era

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 16:35:49 GMT

The Warner Leisure Hotels owned historic grade-II Cricket St Thomas Hotel near Chard, Somerset, has formally opened its gardens following a major landscaping and restoration project.

£300,000 has already been invested in the project which has opened up the glorious vistas of one of Somerset's most beautiful valleys. Covering around 160 acres the gardens include designs by Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winner Kate Gould, and a rose garden maze in the shape of a rose bud.

The project forms part of a £3 million investment by UK Breaks specialist, Warner Leisure Hotels.

The formal opening of the gardens and lakes also sees the launch of an exciting new venture for the Cricket St Thomas Hotel with the introduction of an Italian style restaurant within the former walled gardens of the country house. Representing an investment of around £200,000 the new Fenocchi's restaurant will offer authentic Tuscan style cuisine prepared by award-winning chef Jason Eland for both hotel guests and visitors to the gardens.

Other major redevelopments at Cricket St Thomas include a stylish upgrade of the Tree Tops restaurant and refurbishment of the historic old house, with a new wing opening comprising 22 stylish new Signature rooms which are due in August.

The opening of the gardens and lakes marks a new era in the history of the estate, which dates back to the 12th century. Originally created in the 19th century by the second Lord Bridport the gardens feature a chain of lakes and cascades, as well as formal ornamental gardens. As part of the restoration the lakes have been drained and cleaned and a new water feature created at the entrance to the estate.

The lawns of the elegant Regency country mansion, which appeared in the TV sitcom 'To the Manor Born', still feature the large cedars under which Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton are believed to have spent many happy hours.

Work on the gardens is scheduled to continue over the next three years with visitors voting on how they want to see the project develop.

Ian Gyte, General Manager of Cricket St Thomas hotel, said: "The new Lakes and Gardens are a stunning testament to the long heritage of Cricket St Thomas whilst taking the gardens firmly into the 21st century. They offer a new opportunity for the thousands of visitors and local residents we are welcoming this year to enjoy one of Somerset's most glorious landscapes.

"The garden project will last a total of three years and it will be fascinating to see how they evolve as the work progresses. The opening of the new restaurant and the investment in the hotel are also hugely exciting and clearly demonstrate our continuing confidence in offering superb facilities for our guests and visitors to enjoy."

Gardener Kate Gould commented: "What Warner Leisure Hotels are doing is no small feat and it will be fascinating to see the gardens develop as the plans take shape."

The gardens are open daily until the end of September. Children under five go free and the gardens are free to hotel break guests.

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Warner Leisure Hotels crown first official Strictly Come Dancing break winners

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:40:05 GMT

Warner Leisure Hotels has announced that a couple from Abingdon has been crowned the winners of its first official Strictly Come Dancing holiday breaks.

Amanda McCabe and Julian Siret were presented with an engraved glass glitter ball trophy by stars of the BBC TV show Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova after winning the final of the event held at the Warner Leisure Hotels' Cricket St Thomas hotel in Somerset.

The couple, who began dancing only three years ago, won over the audience of more than 400 guests by performing an "absolutely superb" waltz to the song "To You I'm Born Again". Referring to the difference in height between 6ft 3ins Julian and Amanda, 5ft 2ins, Darren praised the couple for "going out there and moving beautifully".

He added: "It is really refreshing to see some real quality dancing, and great movement."

Fellow judge Ryan McShane, who provided dance instruction during the three-night UK Breaks at the Cricket St Thomas hotel near Chard, said: "That was absolutely superb. This couple have a height difference but I just think you moved so well together."

Lilia, also a judge, commended the couple for their "great achievement" and "very neat" footwork.

The victory, in which they beat eight other couples in a vote by the audience, was all the more remarkable after their first entry in a competition two years ago ended in calamity. Amanda told the audience how they had entered a contest at another Warner Leisure Hotel. When it came to the event nerves got the better of her and she froze on the dance floor and couldn't dance. She said: "We didn't come on the Cricket St Thomas break intending to enter the competition. But then we thought we'd give it a go. I can't believe we won the final, but this time I didn't feel nervous and really enjoyed it."

Julian, an engineer, won a number of dancing medals in his youth, but it was only the hit BBC TV show Strictly Come Dancing that got them out on the dance floor. Since then they have been on 19 dance breaks with Warner Leisure Hotels and perfect the routines they have learned by regularly hiring a hall near their home in Abingdon to practice with some fellow enthusiasts. "Everything we have learned from dancing is from Warners," said Amanda.

Now the couple will have the honour of presenting the winning trophy on the next Strictly Come Dancing holiday break later this month.

Warner Leisure Hotels has teamed up with BBC Worldwide to offer the official Strictly dancing breaks at five beautiful, historic UK Hotels. During the short breaks guests have the chance to meet and greet their favorite Strictly stars from Anton Du Beke to Vincent Simone.

Fans can also try on or even hire costumes worn by the professional dancers in the show and join in more than a dozen dance classes taught by professional dancers. Amanda admitted that one of the attractions was putting on nice dresses - in contrast to her job running her own gardening business.

About Warner Leisure Hotels:
Warner Leisure Hotels is part of Bourne Leisure Ltd who own Haven Holidays and Butlins Resorts and were awarded Best UK Operator 2009 by Travel Trade Gazette.

Warner Leisure Hotels offer 'adult only' leisure breaks at seven country and six coastal locations and include three four star properties, listed historic buildings and co

Warner Leisure Hotels Corton Coastal Village awarded 4 stars

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:14:12 GMT

The Warner Leisure Hotels owned Corton Coastal Village has been announced as receiving the coveted 4 Star Holiday Village award by The English Tourist Board.

While the receipt of this latest accolade has been thoroughly welcomed, it came as no surprise to Warner Leisure Hotels that it would be congratulating Corton Coastal Village, on winning the coveted 4 Star Enjoy England Quality Rose Award. The Warner Leisure Hotels village is set atop the Suffolk cliff-top, which provides panoramic views of the North Sea and direct access to the seafront via a Cliffside staircase.

The Enjoy England Quality Rose assessment scheme gives a clear indication of accommodation standard, cleanliness, ambience, hospitality, service and food. Corton Coastal Village now matches her sister site, Gunton Hall Coastal Village, also in Suffolk. This means they can jointly celebrate the recognition of their excellent high standards throughout both properties.

To add to this recognition of Corton's success, the coastal village resort was also awarded the David Urquhart Travel 'Premier Collection' and the 'Good Hospitality' 2009 awards achieving the highest ratings for food, friendliness, excellent décor and facilities; the result of continual monitoring through customer satisfaction questionnaires.

Petrina Simmons, General Manager of both Corton and Gunton Hall Coastal Villages said "We are still celebrating our great news. This is such a fantastic achievement for the exceptional teams working at both locations. It's a huge accolade and a tremendous recognition of what we offer our guests and visitors - Unique places to relax, with a range of optional daytime activities and evening live entertainment combining to offer exceptional holiday opportunities."

Notes to editors:

About Warner Leisure Hotels:
Exclusively for adults, Warner Leisure Hotels enjoys an occupancy rate of 95% in its portfolio of 13 properties across the UK. Warner Leisure Hotels offers a wide choice and style of accommodation, each with its own personality. Renowned for its weekend breaks and Easter breaks, the chain is also known for its wide range of experiences, offering more than 600 additional activities and UK breaks from hot air balloon trips and antiques with TV's Eric Knowles to trips on the Orient-Express and numerous dance breaks.

All of the Warner Leisure Hotels' Strictly Come Dancing breaks are inclusive of accommodation, hearty breakfasts, optional leisure activities, delicious three course dinners and Strictly Come Dancing experience.

Warner Leisure Hotels call centre joins UKs top ten

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:01:20 GMT

The Bourne Leisure group's three call centres based in Hemel Hempstead for Warner Leisure Hotels, Butlins and Haven have collectively reached the Top Ten in latest research from the Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service.

The combined achievements of Butlins Holiday Resorts, Haven Caravan Parks and Warner Leisure Hotels placed them seventh, with a score of 90.67%, and gave them the accolade of most improved member, moving up 16 places from last year. Bourne Leisure was also recognised as The Best Call Centre for Customer Service in the Entertainment and Travel sector.

The study was commissioned by the Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service and organised by Call Centre Focus magazine, which aims to raise customer service standards in the call centre industry. The research consisted of 17,000 mystery shopper enquiries to over 50 of the UK's leading call centres.

Overall the Top 50 Call Centres for Customer Service Initiative, sponsored by Genesys and Noble Systems, showed that call centres are getting the basics right: 96% of customers got through to the call centres on their first attempt and a staggering 94% of customer enquiries were resolved by the initial call. In addition, 86% of callers were either satisfied or extremely satisfied with their call experience, 68% said they were likely or extremely likely to recommend the organisation and 70% said they were likely to start or continue to use the organisation.

"This is absolutely right", said Julie Howe, call centre manager of Warner Leisure Hotels, stressing the importance of exceptional Customer Service. "For potential and existing guests, phoning our call centre is the beginning of their holiday journey. We offer friendly, efficient and knowledgeable support, delivered with a problem solving attitude, recognising that the guest experience is paramount to our success. I am delighted to share this accolade with my team."

Ends

About Warner Leisure Hotels:
Exclusively for adults, Warner Leisure Hotels enjoys an occupancy rate of 95% in its portfolio of 13 properties across the UK. Warner Leisure Hotels offers a wide choice and style of accommodation, each with its own personality. Renowned for its weekend breaks, Christmas breaks, New Year breaks and hotel breaks, the chain is also known for its wide range of experiences, offering more than 600 additional activities and UK breaks from hot air balloon trips and antiques with TV's Eric Knowles to a Mini Cooper Treasure Hunt and numerous dance breaks.

The group currently receives around half a million guests annually but is expecting even more this year as many people are choosing UK breaks and rediscovering beautiful Britain.

Warner Leisure Hotels is Awarded Four Stars and Rosettes by the AA

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:50:05 GMT

Three of the historic hotels in the Warner Leisure Hotels award-winning group have received recognition from the AA, by being awarded four-star ratings and several rosettes for the quality of service, accommodation and the dining experiences they provide.

Holme Lacy House in Herefordshire, a Grade 1 listed mansion, becomes the only AA Four Star hotel in the county. The hotel, which offers its guests a choice of three restaurants, also gained two rosettes for Gary Wheeler’s superb cuisine in The Orchard restaurant, which is also open to non-residents.

Thoresby Hall Hotel and Spa in Nottinghamshire, also a Grade 1 listed mansion, gained a rosette for master chef Warren Jones’ restaurant, the Blue Room, which is open to non-residents. The hotel also offers guests a wide choice of dining, from The Blue Room to Italian bistro Fenocchi’s and the atrium restaurant, The Pierrepont.

Nidd Hall in Yorkshire is a Grade ll listed stately home, situated at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales. The hotel also offers guests a choice of dining, from the Rawson Restaurant to fine dining in The Terrace, also open to non-residents.

Jim Forward, managing director of Warner Leisure Hotels, which has 13 properties throughout the UK, said: "This is a fantastic achievement and a huge accolade for our hotels. While we remain as friendly, relaxing and as welcoming as ever, the new ratings fully endorse our investment and commitment to improving and enhancing the experience of our guests. We are so incredibly proud of the amazing teams we have in all of our properties, who do everything to ensure that our guests have a wonderful Warner’s experience at whichever property they choose."

In all three hotels, the exceptional and friendly hospitality and the fabulous gardens were highlighted in the AA reports.

About Warner Leisure Hotels:
Exclusively for adults, Warner Leisure Hotels' enjoys an occupancy rate of 95% in its portfolio of 13 properties across the UK. As well as offering a wide choice and style of accommodation, each with its own personality. Renowned for its weekend breaks, hotel breaks and spa breaks, the hotel chain is also known for its wide range of experiences, offering more than 600 additional activities from hot air balloon trips and antiques with TV's Eric Knowles to a Mini Cooper Treasure Hunt and numerous dance breaks.

The group currently receives around half a million guests annually but is expecting even more this year as many people are choosing UK breaks and rediscovering beautiful Britain.

Warner Leisure Hotels launches Summer Photo Competition

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:33:03 GMT

Warner Leisure Hotels, the first UK hotel group to launch a digital photo competition via Flickr for its guests, has announced the completion of the final judging of the Warner Leisure Hotels Spring Photo Competition.

The competition began in March and guests were invited to submit spring images taken at any of the Warner Leisure Hotels locations, or around and about the locality. Entrants were then allowed to upload and share their photos on the Warner Leisure Hotels group within Flickr.com.

The judges were greatly impressed by the diversity of images, a selection of which is being shown online. Competition was fierce, and after much deliberation the winning image was chosen as a stunning scene of the Bembridge coast in the Isle of Wight, at low tide. A cheeky squirrel caught on the lawn at Bodelwyddan Castle stole second place, followed by the picturesque seaside view off the newly decked terrace at Norton Grange on the Isle of Wight.

Warner Leisure Hotels has thirteen locations, both country and coastal, ideal for lazy UK summer holidays and the perfect opportunity to capture some idyllic photos.

Following on from the success of the spring competition, and all the fantastic shots that were submitted, Warner Leisure Hotels is again challenging both hotel guests and the general public to enter their favourite summer images taken either at one of the locations, or indeed in the locality.

Adding to the available photo opportunities, four of the historic gardens owned by Warner Leisure Hotels - Thoresby Hall on Nottinghamshire, Holme Lacy House in Herefordshire, Cricket St Thomas in Somerset and Littlecote House in Berkshire are opening for The National Gardens Scheme.

About Warner Leisure Hotels
Exclusively for adults, Warner Leisure Hotels' enjoys an occupancy rate of 95% in its portfolio of 13 properties across the UK. As well as offering a wide choice and style of accommodation, each with its own personality. Renowned for its weekend breaks and spa breaks, the hotel chain is also known for its wide range of experience breaks, offering over 600 additional activities from hot air balloon trips and antiques with TV's Eric Knowles to a Mini Cooper Treasure Hunt and numerous dance breaks.

The group currently receives around half a million guests annually but is expecting even more this year as many people are choosing UK Breaks and rediscovering beautiful Britain.

For further media information contact:
Carol King
Warner Leisure Hotels
1 Park Lane
Hemel Hempstead
Hertfordshire
HP2 4YL
01442 203464
www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk

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