Site inspections: Mercure Burford Bridge Hotel
Several members of the team recently visited Mercure Burford Bridge Hotel – this is Catherine’s blog.
A few weeks ago, we took a trip over to Dorking to have a site inspection and dinner at the Mercure Box Hill Burford Bridge Hotel.
Luckily the traffic was light on the M25 so we arrived early to enjoy an al fresco glass of bubbly and a selection of delicious canapés. It was lovely to enjoy the hotels gardens and surroundings.
The hotel has had a full refurbishment over the last year or so, as they were severely affected by the floods back in December 2013 and had to close their doors to guests.
The public areas are adorned with natural daylight and the jade green, slate grey and warm gold colours are bang on trend. The reception area is welcoming and unimposing, and the bar / lounge has comfy seating with a small courtyard space for those warmer evenings.
The 57 bedrooms have all been refurbished to a very high standard and incorporate the local North downs landscape with prints on the walls and the colours in the décor. There are a number of different categories ranging from classic to Privilege Rooms, with some overlooking the gardens having balconies or patios.
There is a selection of meeting rooms available within the hotel for those smaller board meetings. The Garden Room is a lovely, light room which can accommodate up to 70 people. It has its own private outdoor space for refreshment breaks, pre-dinner drinks or even small-scale activities. This room would work really well for private dinners too. The Tithe Barn is their largest space which can accommodate up to 200 people theatre style. The ceilings are high with timber beams so the room is very airy & versatile, but please note there are pillars in the room.
The Tithe Barn at Burford Bridge
The hotel gardens can be used for Team Building Activities, at an additional charge, and would also be ideal for drinks receptions & of course is very popular with weddings. Situated within the grounds too is a lovely outdoor, heated swimming pool which is available to use between May – October. We couldn’t believe how many people were using it!
After our show round, we were invited to have dinner in the Emlyn Restaurant. The food was great and presented so elegantly. Nick Sinclair, their Head Chef, has re-designed the menu to use the best locally sourced ingredients serving up modern, British cuisine. Little touches like flavoured butters with the bread (the marmite butter was scrumptious) and stylish / unusually shaped crockery added to the experience.
All in all the hotel is looking great now and the service is second to none. We would highly recommend this venue to all our clients for both accommodation and conferences.
Thank you so much to our hosts, Jane Clement and John Swift, we had such an enjoyable evening and can’t wait to place lots more business at the hotel
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