NEWS: February 2012
As the snowdrops peak we await the yellow blast of the
daffodils....enough already. I am not Wordsworth and do not aspire to
be. So instead of poetry (was that what it was? - Ed) let's tell you
what's been going on.
Business has been quite good, thank you, despite the woes we
hear on the news all the time. I hope you all continue to have the need
to be cheered up!
Spend spend spend....
Room 21 (hot tub, lake view, ground floor) has been a
rip-roaring success in 20111 with a very high occupancy. The newly
refurbished rooms behind 21 have also gone down well so we now have a
total of seven great ground floor rooms, three with direct external
access. But only one with its own outdoor hot tub!
We have been continuing our improvements to
Linthwaite......R7, The Garden Suite, has had a makeover. Now you can
lie in bed and watch a big screen TV but of course the real view is
straight out of the window looking South West. Fabulous.
The hall has also had a makeover, with a lovely new
wallpaper and desk being the main changes. For those I spoke to
threatening to change the fireplace; don't worry, I haven't. Soon we'll
be tucking in to the Old Bar with a gentle makeover so it doesn't look
tired like me.
John, our brilliant maintenance man, will be working up
to some external painting in the summer....don't worry we have the
Health & Safety covered, Colin will have John standing on his
shoulders. That'll keep him quiet.
And talking about Colin, he's been amazingly productive
building a new lower terrace in front of the existing one, where
residents will be able to enjoy some new loungers we are about to order.
We are optimists; sunshine comes to Linthwaite. The big question is:
will Andy have a member of staff coming round handing out chilled melon
and strawberries on a stick, cleaning your sunglasses and spraying you
with Evian on a hot day?
We have just had visits from the AA and Enjoy England
inspectors and are delighted to maintain our 4 star status. Not just any
4 stars either; the AA's are Red ones (very special) and the EE's are
Gold. There's gold in them there hills at Linthwaite (I wish - Ed).
Staff-wise all our reception team continue to be even
more experienced at making sure we get your reservations right, AND
provide a Very Warm and Unstuffy Welcome. Andy, Sarah and Iain are
joined by a new manager, James Conway, who worked for a number of years
with the previous owners at Holbeck Ghyll. In the restaurant there have
been one or two departures, but Ben's holding it all together! Last but
not least we must mention Margaret, Elaine, and the brilliant
housekeeping team who do such sterling work. In the AA's report
housekeeping scored the highest marks of any department; no mean feat.
For myself I must confess I have been out on the hills more this winter (see http://www.lakeland-enterprise.co.uk/bootboys/)
for you, dear reader, to research the best walks for your use. It used
to be I tested the wines, now I test the walks. The manager's prefer it
if I'm out of the place and not drinking the wine. They tell me it's
more profitable.
I have also been having fun this winter at Kirkby
Lonsdale Golf Club. My course and I love it. More space than Windermere
(I am a wild golfer) but great views as well. I'd recommend these
courses as well: Ulverston, Grange, and Carus Green. All different.
Now don't be like me and say they're for old people.
That's what I thought and pride wouldn't have let me have a go. But for
professional reasons I tried one. Wow. Amazing fun. It's a perfectly
normal bike, plus a control to turn the electric assist on when and if
you want it. It doesn't move unless you are pedalling. It just makes it
go loads faster when you do pedal. So you can zoom up hills. Range 40
miles roughly. We hope to have a couple available at the hotel, but
until then they are available for hire around the lakes. More fun than a
Segway.
And lastly to fun back inside. Andy and his team have
now got the ultimate luxury. As you know we have a dvd film library and
we lend you dvd's that I've passed on for no charge (all rooms have a
dvd player). Well now we can organise the popcorn, chocs and ice cream
to arrive when you want them whilst watching the film. What about that
for the ultimate luxury?
Twitter? We now have three feeds: @LinthwaiteHotel (which is me and Alex), @LinthwaiteScoop
which is Sally who is doing the information for guests, and Iain who
will be @Linthwaiteuncorked. Iain will tweet about new wines, local
beers, cocktails. Our new Head Chef Chris is constantly tweeting
pictures of his great new menu, so follow him too @chezchristof. Don't forget about our Facebook Page too!
What the Press say
"You could easily imagine spending hours curled up on the sofa in the sitting room reading the Sunday papers." Kate Simon, Independent on Sunday, December 1999.
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What our Guests say
"Communications between staff appeared to be seamless and outcome with calm, friendly, but outstanding service in call departments. Special thanks to Stephen who made us very welcome." PG, Hamps, April 2013