Welcome to the very first Delegate Wranglers Destination Spotlight. We are VERY pleased to be bring you a whole bunch of information and facts that you perhaps didn't know about the wonderful county of Staffordshire and the amazing business venues they have, right in the heart of the country.
From stunning historical buildings like Keele University right through to quirky venues like Trentham Monkey Forest and the World of Wedgwood, Staffordshire has a world of amazing opportunities right on your doorstep.
In this report, we visited seven stunning and totally different venues in the county to showcase what they have to offer. We'll also bring you a crib sheet giving you all the information you might need to know and a case study from a recent event that was held there, to give you a real flavour of this glorious destination.
Find the perfect conference and meeting venue in Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent has a fantastic range of unique and quirky venues perfect for incentive experiences and partner programmes and
Staffordshire Conference Bureau are here to help!
All venues here are unique in their own way, from pottery museums to theme parks, we really have it all, not to mention the fantastic range of free services we offer; including our free venue finding service (with 5 hour turnaround for full proposal) and accommodation booking, as well as help and advice with suggestions for partner programmes.
Find out why Staffordshire really is just your cup of tea...
For enquiries contact: Staffordshire Conference Bureau
Website: www.conferencestaffordshire.co.uk
Email: conference@stoke.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1782 232 076
What’s new for Staffordshire...
Courtyard by Marriott Keele Staffordshire, is a new, purpose-built hotel located at Keele University’s Science and Innovation Park.
The 150-bedroom hotel, which opened in early 2021, created 20 jobs for the local area. Opening during the national lockdown, the hotel initially welcomed key workers to stay and once restrictions eased, Courtyard by Marriott Keele Staffordshire opened a new Scholars Restaurant and Bar along with a coffee shop which now offers Starbucks for residents and the general public. The hotel has two meeting rooms for up to 30 people, and a fitness suite. 180 new parking spaces have also been created to accommodate guests.
The hotel is located near to the main entrance of campus on the Science and Innovation Park and now provides much-needed accommodation for visiting parents, conference delegates, Keele Hall wedding guests and visitors to graduation ceremonies and open days.
The new Hilton Garden Inn Stoke-on-Trent, opened its doors in Autumn 2020. Located in the City Centre, close to the Cultural Quarter and with free parking the hotel is a short drive from Junction 15 and 16 of the M6 motorway and a convenient travel distance for Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands airports. By rail the hotel is 1.5 hours from London.
Each of the first-floor meeting rooms benefit from natural light which floods through large windows and complimentary Wi-Fi. Refreshments are served adjacent to the meeting rooms and lunch can be enjoyed in the meeting room or restaurant.
All three meeting rooms provide bright and flexible space and two of the rooms have a partition which, when removed, transforms into the Wedgwood Suite – the largest space.
For 24-hour conferences all 140 bedrooms have complimentary Wi-Fi, fridge, iron and ironing board, and space to relax and to work
The former Best Western Moat House Hotel on Festival Park underwent a major re-brand throughout 2020 and is now proud to be the DoubleTree by Hilton Stoke-on-Trent. With 147 bedrooms, the Ballroom can accommodate numbers up to 650 in a theatre style set-up and provides a private bar and reception area.
Location:
Centrally located, Staffordshire is easily accessible and is less than one hour’s drive time from Manchester, Birmingham International and East Midlands Airports.
Flanked either side by the M6 and M1 Motorways with the M54 and M42 to the South and with a direct rail link from London Euston to Stoke-on-Trent taking just over an hour and a half
By Train:
90 minutes by train from London Euston
20 minutes by train from Birmingham
58 minutes by train from Liverpool
40 by train from Manchester
40 by train from Nottingham
Largest venue in the region:
Alton Towers
How many bedrooms in the region:
Over 6,500
Interesting facts:
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in the Cultural Quarter of the City Centre is the proud home to the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest ever ‘find’ of Anglo Saxon gold treasure in the UK worth over £3million
National Memorial Arboretum - business event for 70–100 guests (Spring 2019)
In Spring 2019, we received an enquiry from Staffordshire Conference Bureau who we work with closely to promote Staffordshire as a conference destination. The Bureau are not only proactive and enthusiastic about promoting the multitude of gems hidden in this expansive region but also have a brilliant knowledge of their member venues which absolutely benefits their clients.
The enquiry was to host a business event for 70 – 100 guests and was to take the format of a business breakfast with a main plenary session.
Having responded to the enquiry, the Bureau team organised a show round for the client to come and see the facilities. When we meet a new client here at the Arboretum we are interested to know what the client wants their guests to think and feel and this is essential to us when creating and delivering their event. For this event, we understood that the informal breakfast networking element was of equal importance to the main plenary itself and that the management and production of AV was key. From here we were able to best make suggestions for their event; using Oak Room 2 & 3 for their main plenary session, while using the beautiful corner room Oak 1 and the Aspects Lounge; with panoramic views of the Armed Forces Memorial and The Beat as a networking and breakfast space; conducive to feeling relaxed and inspired by their surroundings
The client was curious to know more about the Arboretum and we explained further about the memorials that can be seen from Aspects; from the iconic Armed Forces Memorial which bears the names of 16,000 men and women who have died in service and on duty since the end of the Second World War through to the striking Polar Bear Memorial who pays tribute to the 49th Infantry, West Riding Division who were often nicknamed the Polar Bears. Many of the memorials on site are symbolic in design or significant in stories and can offer a positive inspiration, an opportunity to shift perspective, make space to think differently, spark creativity and foster feelings of inspiration, awe and gratitude.
From the client’s site visit, we ascertained their needs and went forward planning their event. Our in-house events team plan and deliver all of our on-site events both inside and outside of Aspects. This over-arching view, allows us to carefully brief teams working across all areas of the site from the grounds team who mow the grass through to our visitor services supervisors who welcome the guests at the front door.
The client chose to set up the afternoon before the main event. This is something we highly recommend as it ensures our clients walk into a space on the morning of their event prepared and knowing that their venue is ready, presentations are loaded and everything is as they expect.
On the day guests were greeted at reception within our impressive Remembrance Centre and guided down to Aspects by our visitor services team. They were registered in the Aspects Lounge before enjoying a hearty breakfast which included Staffordshire Oatcakes and our unique Arboretum sausage made from free range Packington Pork, Nottingham Bramley Apples and secret spices.
Delegates moved through into Oak 2 & 3 and seated cabaret where they heard presentations from speakers using our state-of-the-art AV facilities and after closing remarks they were encouraged to stay for further refreshments and networking. The event was a huge success and feedback from delegates was good, with the organiser commenting that they felt really well looked after.
Following all events we contact the client for feedback and take the opportunity to say thank you to our clients as all of the revenue they spend in Aspects goes towards supporting the Arboretum, a registered charity. It helps to keep this unique site free to enter, beautifully maintained and most importantly here for families, friends and comrades to commemorate and remember.
* To read a full detailed venue show case report for the National Memorial Arboretum click HERE
