The trip was arranged by the LDHA’s Clive Wilson so that a contingent from the Managers’ Club could attend The Art of Hospitality Conference at the Tree House Hotel and sandwich it between visits to a few other iconic hotels to give the managers a flavour of city hospitality.
They first went to the luxury 263-bedroom Edwardian Hotel, which was the winner of Leading Hotel of the Year 2019. It is based in the multi-million-pound refurbished Grade II-listed Free Trade Hall, and has award-winning contemporary Japanese and Mexican small plates at Peter Street Kitchen and a Parisian-inspired menu at The Library. They also visited the roof top bar of the Hotel Gotham where they were welcomed by general manager Jenny Ho.
Clive Wilson said: “The conference welcomes hundreds of guests and is building a growing community of hospitality professionals, entrepreneurs, and supporters. ​It gave us the chance to ask questions, seek advice, and engage directly with the speakers, leaders in the industry.”
For Ashley Wood, chef patron at Windermere’s Lindeth Fell Country House Hotel, the day was an “eye opener”.
“It was so worthwhile to meet managers with different perspectives, and fascinating to realise that big hotels with 200+ bedrooms are talking about exactly the same sort of problems that we face here in the Lakes,” he said.
Ashley, who has lived in Cumbria all his adult life, previously worked at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal, Linthwaite House at Windermere, and the ground-breaking Miller Howe, gaining experience across the board.
“Talking to the Manchester hoteliers, who operate in a very different environment, we realised that we share the same experiences and difficulties. For me, spending most of my time in a hotel kitchen, it was good to develop networking skills, and to see the bigger picture, to get a better understand of the whole hospitality industry.”