Southern Dash!

When I accepted the role as Chairman of Pride of Britain Hotels i suggested that i ought to follow my predecessor and visit all the members. On the basis that i had already seen many of the members this seemed like an easy offer. However given it is some time since I was in some of the hotels and the changes they have all made and the fact that the consortium is changing too it has seemed like an endless task.

However yesterday after a quick zip round the south of England I have managed to chalk off the last 4 members. In reality i made te simple touristy mistake of consulting the map rather than the hotels and then simply setting off. I was however accompanied by Peter Hancock our Chief Executive who nobly took on the driving and sped me between the stops. Well at least next time I stand in front of the membership I can speak with knowledge of the members and although I may not have stayed in every property I do believe that I have a pretty good impression of them all. Whilst some are more glitzy than other some alrger some smaller and all different it is also true to say that all have a warmth of welcome and wonderful service that stands them apart from many of their competitors.

Anyway as I flew homee last night, in time to help with Dinner service I could relax in the knowledge that in the last 30 hours I had managed to eat two lunches, one breakfast and an excellent dinner, clock up 14 hours in a car and had seen over 40 bedrooms, several restaurants and some wonderful gardens. Whilst they are all interesting in terms of evaluatinging Pride of Britain they are also interesting in terms of benchmarking Eriska and pinching ideas! I know whilst many at Eriska may enjoy my absence they do also await my return with more ideas and developments so it is really a double edged sword.