The rat
sees everything....
A living wall, captured not my soul or sight
but the very me. I could get into all the little details of how easy it is get
to, or what a great location it is (being only 15 minutes away from major East
Midlands cities), or even what a contemporary looking build, but that is all
commercial which you can read about on the websites and other marketing
material. What the brochures will not tell you is what a great service as a
person I received.
For group of 20 people we checked in less than
5 minutes! From getting off the bus to opening the doors to our rooms took not
more than 10 minutes. I believe every place has its uniqueness, whether it’s a good
uniqueness or a bad one it does not really matter; what we need to appreciate
in my opinion is that it is unique. More over you have to try and find that
uniqueness other wise every where is the same. In little nooks and corners,
Radisson Blu shows off its unique designs very boldly.
Spacious rooms with floor to ceiling windows are
getting very common, what caught the eye was the wall size canvas behind the
bed which was a nice artistic touch. Radisson Blu has bench marked sustainability
& worked hard on reducing carbon foot prints in the leisure industry, some
of the new things I learnt was that they collect the rain water and then use it
to flush the loos and the irons would turn them selves off in 15 seconds if not
used.
An interesting feature was the ice machine on
every floor for public use, right next to the elevators. The elevators have the
common feature of using your room key card to identify the guests’ floor. The main
lobby is very open plan, with all around glass panelling so during the day time
the whole place is flooded with light. The main bar is very contemporary and
beyond it is the ‘Runway Restaurant’ which gives you runway views. You can
watch planes land and take off almost every where in the hotel. I suppose that
is the point of staying at an airport hotel? Unless you decide to sit in the
single chair hidden away in a wall next to the reception desks and enjoy a cup
of coffee in solace undisturbed by the guests checking in and checking out.
Meeting spaces are purpose built and the space
is very cleverly utilized. The main ball room can seamlessly be divided into 4
independent conference spaces with pre-reception area. Interestingly for
evening receptions in summers you can also open up the attached patio. All the
rooms have plenty of natural day-light and are fully air conditioned. Like a
blank canvas each room can be transformed into the theme of your choice if
required. For our party it looked like we were in a Caribbean cruise. Standard facilities in all
conference rooms but disappointing that none of the rooms had pre-installed
screens & projectors but easily supplied so no biggie. If you are thinking
of a very private wine tasting session (12-16 people) don’t forget the wine
cellar close to the main bar. Enjoy canapés or tapas style food and try the
wines and cocktails that you like nor openly neither in completely privacy.
Highlight of the trip was the great staff that were happy to look after our
needs unsaid. Hats off to Radisson Blu for arranging a great trip!
If planning your next meeting , do give me a shout and I can check the best rates for you...
