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Winter
2002/03 has been particularly busy - and successful - for Chilworth
Manor, while on the human interest front, it has welcomed both the
winner of a St Valentine's draw run by the fitness and lifestyle
magazine, Shape, and ambitious amateur film-makers.
"We started with
an exceptionally good November, when revenues were up strongly
across all three sectors of the business - that is conferences,
accommodation and food and beverages - and that set the tone for the
festive season," said Gavin Elliott, director and general
manager of Chilworth Manor.
By the beginning of
December the hotel had booked 5,600 covers for Christmas lunches,
dinners and parties, some 40 per cent ahead of the previous year's
strong performance when a total of 4,000 celebration meals were
served. Further lunch business flowed in right up to December 20,
while conferences were much stronger in the first two weeks of the
month than they were in 2001.
Gavin Elliott
attributes the hotel's success to a year of hard work by the sales
and marketing team, and higher visibility as the business has built
up its reputation under new ownership. The result is that Chilworth
Manor is now attracting business from competitors in the Southampton
area. This goes hand in hand with a GBP2 million programme of ongoing
investment in facilities and services.
The latest phase,
completed towards the end of 2002, has been the refurbishment of the
hotel's largest conference facility, to create the Cedar Suite.
"We have been
very pleased with the way this has been received," Gavin
Elliott continued. "The new colour scheme, which replaced the
previous cool shades with a warm terracotta and soft purple, has
been a major success resulting in increased bookings," he
explained.
Facilities
in the Cedar Suite include retractable tiered seating for 130, dual
back projection, high tech A/V facilities with video recording and
replay for role play exercises and simultaneous A/V display options.
Like all meeting
rooms at the Manor, the Cedar Suite offers air conditioning and
natural daylight. Another important feature for companies organising
away-days and conferences is that the Manor is easily reached from
Southampton and other business centres in the south, with the M3/M27
interchange just a mile away. Yet it lies in peaceful countryside,
surrounded by it own 12 acres of classically landscaped grounds.
Not only do these
contain a venerable Cedar of Lebanon tree - deemed by enthusiasts to
be one of the most 'huggable' trees in Britain - they provide
elegant photographic settings for the many weddings that take place
at the hotel each year.
Recently, however,
they have attracted a group of ambitious amateur filmmakers, who are
working on a more sinister theme. Winchester based Trip Films, have
been using the grounds of Chilworth Manor as one of the settings for
a production that is intended for CineVegas '03 and other short film
competitions, and which will also be shown locally in Southampton.
In the words of
producer Pete Harvey, "We are aiming to explore the soft edges
between good and evil with a film about two people who try to rip
off their bosses. However the bosses in question are God and the
devil, and their scheme goes adrift."
"We were pleased
to welcome Trip Films and wish them every success," added Gavin
Elliott. "It's good to be part of the community on a human
level as well as by offering an excellent resource for the south's
high tech and mainstream businesses," he concluded.
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