Posts Tagged ‘Christmas 2010 in Swansea’

Last Sunday the big tent was bustling with revellers in their circus themed costumes for The Dragon’s Staff Christmas Party – traditionally held on the last Sunday of January as we’re all too busy with Christmas itself to party in December.

With plenty of bunting, popcorn and colourful balloons (courtesy of Balloon Occasions – thanks Denise and team) the ring was set for a night of fun.  

 Local band Silver kick started the evening as everyone enjoyed the dubiously coloured yet delicious welcome cocktail before the buffet was served.  A big thanks to the Kitchen team for supplying much needed sustenance.

Nisha and Jaidon: Fancy Dress Winners

 After a second set from Silver came the announcement that brother and sister team Tanisha and Jaidon were victorious in the fancy dress competition in their colourful home-made ‘jack in the box’ outfits.   A big congratulations to them!

 The raffle was next with a mixture of prizes including kind donations from Castell Howell; Donnington Valley Hotel, Newbury; Howells Butchers; SA3 Bistro, Mumbles; Abbey Hotel, Birmingham; Virgin Atlantic; Monks Health Club and Spa, Machynys and Fine Wines.  Many thanks to all who contributed and to Lou who co-ordinated not only the raffle but the entire party (although failing to sell me a winning raffle ticket…).  It is with regret however that I must stress that there wasn’t a ticket to Australia in the Virgin Atlantic bag Beth – maybe next time?

 Finally the dance floor was open to resident DJ Steve to work his magic.  A huge thanks to you Steve for being, as always, willing to give of your time and talent to entertain us.  I am also eternally grateful to you for not bringing the karaoke machine into action as previously offered!!

For more photos click here

The whole team at The Dragon wish Chef Sam Thomas, who’s served us well for the last 6 years, the best of luck and success with his new venture – the kitchen certainly won’t be the same without him! But there’s no fear as long suffering Chef Steve Williams is stepping up to spearhead the culinary operations with support from Chefs Kevin Wingrave and Hayley James.

Local lad Chef Steve is no stranger to life at The Dragon Hotel having been here for well over a decade masterminding thousands of Christmas Parties, Weddings and Dinner Dances. Not easily flustered, Steve takes everything in his stride and likes nothing better than to unwind with a few cans of cider over a fishing rod.

Kevin Wingrave could easily have been lost to the culinary world if he had stuck to his first career choice of carpentry. A few too many splinters made Kevlar decide to swap his wood chips for potato chips and Swansea Bay has now sampled his cooking at both Morgans Hotel and 698 prior to his arrival at The Dragon in 2005.

Chef Hayley James is by far the prettiest of The Dragon Hotel’s culinary team and has known Kevin since they attended Neath Port Talbot College together. Deserving a medal for working alongside him for so many years, Hayley is not only our Desserts and Pastry specialist but also manages to stay on top of the dreaded paperwork – a skill seldom found in chefs!

The motley crew that makes up the rest of the team includes:

James Hallett, who also worked with Kevin and Hayley at Morgans and 698, and has once been told he’s a young Heston, a fact that is often repeated…

Adam ‘Ducky’ Harris who waddles around the kitchen busy being Kev’s Golden Boy

Ben Kerward, the wittiest member of the team who knows exactly how to press Chef Steve’s buttons!

There are, of course, a few others who do not wish to be mentioned in this blog and shall therefore remain faceless: Liam, Mark, Bernard, Chris, Ashley, Roy and Liam – you know who you are!

Well this week it’s all snow, snow and more snow!! But that hasn’t bothered any of our beauty clients. Whether it’s party glamour or beauty maintenance, it is not something that the snow can get in the way of, OH NO!! It is essential and whether our clients have had to walk, hike, ski or slide their way to us, they’ve made it!!

We also know there will be some very special gifts underneath the Christmas tree. Husbands and boyfriends have done well this year buying gift vouchers for their loved ones. A real luxurious treat and perfect Christmas surprise.

Michelle’s top tip for your beauty regime in this harsh cold weather is:

Make sure you moisturise daily, use a heavier moisturiser at night and use a gentle exfoliator once a week. Also, when inside with the heating on, keep skin well hydrated by drinking plenty of hot or cold drinks!

For more information on your skin care or for FREE Dermalogica face mapping call us now to book your appointment!

Merry Christmas and a Happy & Beautiful New Year

Michelle & Harley
xx

It gives us great pleasure to award the prestigious Team Member of the Month award for November to the lovely Tanisha, who has elf-lessly gone above and beyond to ensure that the Hotel was trimmed up to perfection ready for Christmas!

Like a shining star she tirelessly ‘Decked the Halls’ and made sure that every tree was worthy of ‘Rockin’ around’ in preparation for the seasonal festivities and with five trees to trim it was ‘snow’ mean feat!

With all the effort she has put in whilst continuing to deliver excellent customer service and high standards it’s no surprise to learn that this year Tanisha can be found on Santa’s NICE list (and we’ve checked it twice!) and her one Christmas wish this year is to find Taylor Lauter in her stocking!!

 Some interesting facts that you never knew about Tanisha:

1. Her most favourite food is Chicken Fried Rice (Turkey for Christmas Day!)
2. She is a big fan of the TV show Glee!
3. Her most embarrassing moment ever was when she went to school and discovered that she was wearing odd shoes!! Talk about having two left feet or the boot being on the other foot!!
4. She has worked at the Dragon Hotel for six and a half years and still loves her job.

 Well done Tanisha and thank you for all your hard work!

That time of year is here again!! (Too quickly may I add)…. The Reservations department tends to be quieter this time of year, but the hotel is buzzing with people for their Christmas Parties, the sound of crackers and blowers and the good old Christmas songs…(Which I love to sing badly too!) We have been very busy preparing for the descent of the Irish fans for the Rugby match of Ospreys V Munster, we will show the Irish how to have a good Welsh Christmas!! Tracey and I have managed to stay injury free during the Baltic conditions that we have all been experiencing, although we have been Dancing on Ice most mornings. We have been very good girls this year and we have asked Santa for: A British Bulldog – for me (Squire may disapprove!) and enough bling to sink the Cruise ships that she resides on every summer for Tracey!! We would like to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

It’s the day after Beaujolais Day and already the Christmas decorations are going up!  The Conference Office is asking when will we get a break?!!  Although to be honest it’s been feeling like Christmas since September with the bookings coming in followed by deposits, full payments and menu orders.  There truly is no rest for the wicked…

Having said that though, Gethyn has still managed to find time to gallivant on his travels since we last spoke, fitting not one but two jaunts away.  He is forgiven though because he did bring us all some rock back from Minehead!  He’s also looking rather distinguished with his new spectacles. As trendy as they are though Gethyn, you can’t deny that old age is catching up with you!

We had a bit of a panic when Take That announced their impending tour since ARGH! Sian could not get them to pick up the phone to purchase her tickets.  A collective breath of relief could be heard when eventually news came through that at least someone in her circle of friends had managed to get a ticket for her – phew!

Cath’s still on her campaign to lose a stone in weight before Christmas – at 8lb loss so far it’s still on track but she can’t honestly say that its going well and that’s before there’s an advent calendar to be opened each day!

Well, we’d better sign off now as much thought and consideration must be given to the Office Secret Santa…

Have a Cool Yule!

Big changes have occurred in the Conference Sales Office with Suzanne leaving for pastures new. Cath is now spending more time with the team and slowly but surely is getting used to working a desk job! We wish Suzanne the best of luck in her new job and are confident that she will never forget The Dragon Hotel!

Meanwhile, we’ve all been busy enjoying our Summer Holidays here, with Sian starting the ball rolling back in May when she went with fiancé Russell to Cyprus for a friend’s wedding. The hotel was lovely, right on the beach, the weather was boiling and the wedding was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends.

Cath, Antonio and Maya went to Croatia with some of the extended family the very next day after the ladies of the family completed The Race for Life. Maya took a dislike to the sea after falling in on the first day and Cath managed to get a legful of sea urchin needles having challenged her nephews to jump off a pier…

Gethyn was altogether more sensible and stayed in the UK. However he made up his mileage by visiting Manchester to party with friends, Builth Wells for The Royal Welsh Show – where he is a cattle steward, and London to catch Priscilla Queen of the Desert. He also managed to find time to dye his hair (both orange and blonde), pierce his ear and organise his next adventure!

Having had a great summer we are now all back in the office fastening our seatbelts for the forthcoming Christmas season, yes folks, it starts now! Our feet won’t touch the ground again until January when we’ll all be ready for another round of holidays!

The Dragon Hotel entertained guests to an early Christmas last Thursday when we hosted our Christmas in July party.

Guests were invited to celebrate the festive season early where they were greeted by Santa and the falling of snow! A mulled wine drinks reception was hosted in the lounge followed by Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings and our resident DJ with his tunes.

Magician Phil Jay had us all hooked with his magic including the amazing trick of making money out of scraps of paper…he must come out with me on a Saturday night! 

The Wave hosted a music quiz to ensure we were all on our toes and introduced Kayla Mackenzie who took the Christmas theme in her stride and made sure we were all on our toes in a different sense!  …….A big thank you also to Alberto Culver for supplying the Christmas presents, my hair has never been in such good condition. I hope everyone is wearing their Dragon Hotel socks!

The event was organised to promote our Christmas parties so if you would like further information please contact our events team on 01792 657125/126 or view our Christmas page. Don’t forget we have extended our superb offer ‘Organiser goes free’ if you book you party before 31st July 2010 – as long as there’s still availability of course!
Check out the rest of the pictures on our Facebook page!

Thank you all once again for a great night.
See you all soon Sarah and the team – Ho Ho Ho ?

Suzanne Spiller has been Conference Sales Manager at The Dragon Hotel for the past 3 years. Suzanne’s background has always been within the Hotel Industry and since joining an independent hotel in 2007 has found Swansea a very friendly and rewarding place to work. Outside of work Suzanne’s keen interest is running and raising money for some fantastic charities.

Let’s now introduce you to Suzanne’s team:

Sian Owen, Conference Sales Co-ordinator, also joined the team in 2007 and is the Wedding Co-ordinator. Sian herself got engaged in New York in January and has a sparkling rock on her left hand. But the love of her life is her beloved dog Lottie!

Last but certainly not least, Gethyn John, Conference Sales Co-ordinator, has worked at The Dragon Hotel for the past 5 years, where he began his role as Operations Manager. He then made the transition to the Conference Sales Office in 2008. Gethyn is the most green fingered amongst us and when he isn’t working he is in the garden.