Make the most of it · 2010-01-30 · EVENT MANAGEMENT Keele’s event organisers provide a single point of contact to make sure that each event runs without a hitch be it the smallest

Make the most of it...

Press Pack 2003Press Pack 2003

Keele A4 Pack 5/9/03 12:24 pm Page 1

www.keele-conference.com

CONTENT


1.0 Introduction to Keele Conference Park

2.0 The Services

• Event Management

• Wedding Planning

• Media and Communications

3.0 The Facilities

3.1 Keele Hall

• Terrace Restaurant

• Banqueting Suite

• The Ground

3.2 Keele Management Centre

• Hawthorns Restaurant

• Michelin Room

3.3 Chancellor’s Building

• Westminster Lecture Theatre

• Dorothy Hodgkin Lecture Theatre

• Exhibition Suite

• Comus Restaurant

• Le Café

3.4 Leisure Facilities

• Leisure Centre

• Sports Hall

• Fitness Centre

• Sports Field

3.5 Additional Campus Facilities

4.0 The People

5.0 The Promise

• Customer Charter

• Endorsements

6.0 Facts and Figures

7.0 Photography

8.0 Contact Details



1.0 KEELE CONFERENCE PARK

Keele Conference Park is located in the magnificent parkland of Keele University, at the heart of rural England.With one of the most experienced event management teams in the country Keele Conference Park hasbecome the first choice venue for both corporate events and private functions.

Just minutes from the M6, Keele Conference Park is easily accessible and can cater for groups from 2 to over2,200. Facilities include modern lecture theatres for audiences of up to 600, a stunning new £11.5m medicalcentre complete with lecture theatre and in-theatre video links, 110 syndicate rooms and over 2,500sq ft ofexhibition space.

Set in 617 acres of beautiful countryside, Keele Conference Park is far more than just a superb venue forlarge-scale conferences and meetings. Keele Hall plays host to weddings and private functions as well asconferences and meetings whilst the modern facilities at Keele Management Centre offer the best in meetingand training accommodation throughout the year. Then there’s the experience of some of the best chefs inthe country. The team has trained at the Dorchester and Savoy, which means that the catering at KeeleConference Park is second to none.

Keele Conference Park really comes into its own during Easter and Summer vacation when the majority ofstudents are off campus and the full range of facilities and accommodation become available for the largerevents. Across the campus there are over 3200 beds, many of which are en-suite, with the flexibility toprovide as much additional accommodation as is required

It is Keele Conference Park’s aim to meet every client’s requirements, no matter how challenging they maybe. In fact, the team’s philosophy is to provide an extraordinary customer experience, which is firmlyunderpinned by a commitment to quality service through continuous improvement and ongoing staffdevelopment. National accolades confirm Keele Conference Park as a leader in its field and the quality ofservice further acknowledges that it really is setting the standard for the 21st century.

2.0 THE SERVICES

EVENT MANAGEMENT

Keele’s event organisers provide a single point of contact to make sure that each event runs without a hitchbe it the smallest family function or the biggest corporate event. With experience in organising hundreds ofweddings, exhibitions and conferences the team can match the facilities at Keele to suit each customer’sneeds and budget. The event team can also oversee every aspect of an event including sourcing localsuppliers, planning catering, making travel arrangements, managing individual delegate registrations andinvoicing groups for their conference attendance.



WEDDING PLANNINGA personal organiser is dedicated to each bride and groom to help the couple in planning their special day.With experience of organizing over 100 weddings per year, the event team are able to source suppliers forany occasion. Additional services include: complimentary overnight accommodation for the Bride andGroom, personalised menus, flowers and table plans plus special rates for guests. Keele Hall is licensed tohold civil weddings in three locations: the Great Hall, the Old Library and the Banqueting Suite and is availableseven days a week throughout the year.

MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONSKeele Conference Park has a comprehensive state-of-the-art media and communications service, which canoffer: equipment hire, technical support, multi-media production, tape copying, video production andtraining.

3.0 THE FACILITIES

3.1 KEELE HALL

SYNDICATE ROOMSBuilt in 1860 as the home of the Sneyd family, Keele Hall is one of Staffordshire’s most magnificent statelyhomes, set amongst beautiful landscaped lakeland. Its ornate rooms are ideal for smaller meetings,conferences, exhibitions, parties, private dining and weddings. The rooms boast many original featuresincluding a 14 foot mirror that rolls back to reveal a beautiful window view of the Italian Gardens.

The Salvin room, the Old Library and the Sneyd rooms are beautifully styled with stunning views across thegardens and lakes of Keele Hall, the perfect venue for providing inspiration.

TERRACE RESTAURANTA private dining room adjoining the Banqueting Suite, the Terrace Restaurant performs perfectly as a venuefor small banquets and VIP dinners for up to 35 guests. Remove the dining tables and this area doubles as anexcellent syndicate room for a board meeting or lecture presentation.

THE BANQUETING SUITEThe impressive upper and lower banqueting suite can accommodate larger parties of up to 450 guests for adinner dance; alternatively a theatre-style conference for 250 can be housed in one area with a buffet lunchin the other. The two distinct areas also lend themselves perfectly to holding an exhibition in one half andconference in the other.



THE GROUNDSThe landscaped gardens not only provide a beautiful panorama from the windows of Keele Hall, but alsomake an excellent backdrop for outside functions. Events have included - Barbecues, dinner in a marqueeand an open-air concert with stage.

3.2 KEELE MANAGEMENT CENTRE

Keele Management Centre is located in the heart of Keele Village. The self-contained facilities are availablethroughout the year and comprise:

• 70 bedrooms (en-suite doubles, twins and singles)

• Direct dial telephones, TV, radio alarms and tea/coffee making facilities

• 13 seminar and syndicate rooms accommodating groups from 4 to 150

• A highly skilled technology department is on-hand to assist with all AV equipment

• Hawthornes Restaurant and bar

• Michelin private dining room

3.3 CHANCELLOR’S BUILDING

The Chancellor’s Building is located at the heart of the campus and is available during vacations. It combinesstate-of-the-art lecture theatres with a host of meeting rooms and contemporary dining facilities. Each of themain lecture theatres is supported by syndicate rooms which allows large groups to break up easily intosmaller workshops whilst remaining under one roof.

WESTMINSTER LECTURE THEATREAt the heart of the Chancellor’s Building is the state-of-the-art Westminster Lecture Theatre with a seatingcapacity of 400. It is video-linked to an adjacent theatre, providing the facility to address up to 600 people atone time.

DOROTHY HODGKIN LECTURE THEATREA short walk from the Chancellor’s Building this high-tiered theatre seats 250 and is an excellent centrepiecefor any medium-sized event. AV technologies can be controlled from the rear projection box or by thespeaker, and the room features full blackout capability and a rear entrance for latecomers.



EXHIBITION SUITEThe Exhibition Suite in the Chancellor’s Building provides 400 sq m of flat floor space and offers excellenttechnical support through superior under-floor cabling and also supplies extensive power capabilities, ISDNlines and data cabling.

COMUS RESTAURANTA stunning restaurant of contemporary design, Comus Restaurant can seat 250 for corporate and privatedining functions. It is especially popular for wedding parties and family celebrations and is also suitable forexhibitions.

With a glass roofed atrium at its centre and surrounded by windows, Comus restaurant is a beautifully lightroom with modern decorations and furniture. A large foyer area can provide the perfect venue for drinks onarrival or registration.

LE CAFÉLe Café, a Seattle-style lounge bar which can provide award-winning coffee and snacks for any event.

3.4 LEISURE FACILITIES

At Keele Conference Park guests can make use of the extensive facilities at the leisure centre which can alsobe transformed into a superb conference venue for up to 1000 guests. With the addition of marquees onthe adjacent sports fields conferences for up to 2000 people have been hosted at the leisure centre.

LEISURE CENTREThe centre boasts 2 national standard Sports Halls, a single court gymnasium, a computerised fitness centrewith an extensive range of equipment, squash courts, a dance studio with sprung floor and a climbing wall.

SPORTS HALLThe gym, dance studio, and the two large and adaptable sports halls are perfect for conference and exhibitionuse during vacation periods. Whether the need is for a lecture presentation to 700 delegates, a team buildingexercise, or a shell scheme exhibition area, the Leisure Centre can find a solution.

FITNESS CENTREFeatures a 14-station circuit training suite, a well-furnished cardiovascular suite with treadmills, cycles, rowingmachines and stair climbers, a large Olympic free-weights area and 16-station multi-gym.



SPORTS FIELDSThe extensive playing field areas accommodate three full-size rugby pitches, up to thirteen football pitchesand a lacrosse area, with room for cricket, softball, volleyball, and rounders in the summer. The quality ofthese grass areas is of such a high standard that they are regularly used by FA Premier League and NationwideDivision football clubs. Keele also plays host to professional national teams in rugby, hockey and lacrosse, andvisiting international teams from the worlds of cricket, football, and rugby. The floodlit Astroturf pitch providesan excellent additional all-weather surface and compliments the adjacent tennis courts.

In addition to catering for traditional sporting conference needs, outdoor areas can also be used for team-building exercises such as bridge-building, raft-building, and paper-chases, with room still for laser clay pigeonshooting, go-kart and off-road racing, archery, and much more.

3.5 ADDITIONAL CAMPUS FACILITIES

Keele Conference Park is like a self-contained ‘village’ with a wide range of facilities on site. These include:

• A stunning new £11.5m medical centre complete with lecture theatre and in-theatre video links, 110syndicate rooms and over 2,500sq ft of exhibition space.

• Additional tiered theatres are available in various academic buildings around the campus ranging incapacity from 60-300.

• Syndicate rooms range in size from 10-100+ and are located around campus. All have white boards orchalkboards as standard.

• Also at Keele Conference Park are a: Chapel, newsagent, grocery shop, Waterstones bookshop,NatWest bank and cash dispenser, Endsleigh Insurance, launderette, post office, day nursery, hairdresser,pizza takeaways and pub.



4.0 THE PEOPLE

Jenny Deaville, DirectorJenny joined Keele Conference Park having spent 10 years as a conference buyer with the Institute ofPersonnel and Development where she held the position of Head of Business Development. Herbackground has led her to assess Keele’s offer from a customer perspective and she has pioneered thedevelopment of Comus, a 250-cover restaurant and significantly improved the catering and accommodationfacilities at Keele. Jenny has also led a campaign, in the trade and media, for University venues to berecognised as equal to, or better than, hotels. Jenny joined Keele Conference Park in 1994 as Head ofCommercial Development and took over as General Manager in 1998. Jenny now heads a department inexcess of 350.

Sally Stedman, Head of Residential OperationsIn 1998 Sally joined Keele Conference Park with 22 years experience in training, consultancy, sales andmarketing. Sally is a member of the Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management Association.

David Oldham, Head of CateringDavid has been with Keele Conference Park for the past five years having previously worked as GeneralManager at Shrigley Hall Hotel in Cheshire and has also almost 20 years experience as GM with De VereHotels across the country. David trained at the Dorchester and Savoy Hotels in London. The chefs workingwith David include:

Executive Chef, Peter Walters who trained at The Dorchester on Park Lane and Bellevue Palace in Berne,Switzerland.

Deputy Executive Chef, Bernd Wolf who trained in restaurants across Europe and America including theLangham Hilton Hotel, London, the Michelin starred Andresens Gasthof Restaurant in Germany and CaféBerlin on Capitol Hill, Washington, USA.

Ken Walshaw, Head of Customer RelationsKen has been with Keele for over 30 years and is responsible for maintaining customer relations for Keele.

Claire Hancock, Events & Sales ManagerClaire joined Keele Conference Park as Assistant Business Organisation Manager, after graduating in 1994with a BSc in Hospitality Management. Claire is responsible for the event management of all conference,wedding, one-day and banqueting functions at Keele Conference Park, together with managing all repeatsales.

Sue Underwood, Sales ManagerSue manages the sales team and is responsible for all new-to-business enquiries.



5.0 THE PROMISE

Building on a national profile for quality facilities, Keele Conference Park has set a new benchmark in serviceexcellence. The strategy for continuous improvement aims to provide an extraordinary customer experiencetime and again – delivered through dedicated professionals across the business.

CUSTOMER CHARTER

• Accreditation to Investors in People

• ISO9001:2000 approved quality systems

• Best UK Academic Conference Venue for three consecutive years

ENDORSEMENTS

“I have nothing but praise for Keele and have always found the staff excellent.”Bill Jamieson, Head of Communication and Recruitment, Home office – Board of Visitors

“We were delighted to find an organisation that really understood what excellence in training facilities reallymeant and who put the customer first.”Gerry Lynch, Recruitment and Training Manager, Phone 4u

“It’s an excellent venue for our purposes, the staff are efficient and the conference stewards superb.”British Training Society

“I was impressed by the willingness of Keele staff to put themselves out to help wherever possible.”Jill Tolson, Business Manager, UK Serials



6.0 FACTS AND FIGURES

In one summer period Keele will produce over 200,000 conference meals

In the summer of 2003 alone:

50,000 bed spaces were sold

40,000 bread rolls were eaten

1556 kilos of baked beans were cooked

8784 pts of milk were drunk

5325 chicken breasts were cooked

8136 portions of profitroles with choc. Sauce were made

1500 salmon steaks were cooked

5000 potatoes were baked

2000 sirloin steaks were grilled

7.0 PHOTOGRAPHY

A wide range of photography, of all of the facilities and the team, is available at www.keele-conference.com



8.0 CONTACT DETAILS

Press Contact:Clare Coyne, 47 Ivy lane, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 8NUOffice Tel: 01625 268464 Mobile: 0794 7735060 e-mail:[email protected]

Keele Contact:Marcus Wilson, Keele Conference Park, Darwin Building, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG

Tel: +44 (0)1782 584023 Fax: +44 (0)1782 713058e-mail: [email protected] web: www.keele-conference.com

Additional Information available

Organiser’s Fact Pack

Banqueting Selector Pack

Keele Weddings


Documents

Make the most of it · 2010-01-30 · EVENT MANAGEMENT Keele’s event organisers provide a single point of contact to make sure that each event runs without a hitch be it the smallest