Posts Tagged ‘christmas’

After 6 fabulous years, Rob has finally taken the jump and is moving on to pastures new! So Rob leaves Tara and Andy to take on the Personal Training in The Dragon Hotel in Swansea to the next level and look forward to welcoming Natalie and Louise to the Team!!

As with any celebration (we are sad that rob is leaving us….honest!), there has to be some celebratory drinks.

Many of the staff from The Dragon Health Club and Hotel met up on Saturday for a day of Sport and Socialising. Naturally, some of the boys had to start celebrations after a large cooked breakfast so the partying started at 12pm. Then it was a few drinks whilst watching Swansea vs Arsenal (we lost L ) and then a few more to watch Wales vs England! Woo Hoo!!! We won!!!

So there was more celebrating! This lasted into the early hours of the morning. Needless to say, after a shift of partying in excess of 12 hours (Rob struggles putting hard work in for 8 hours) Rob was a little sleepy, and managed a bit of shut eye before actually getting to bed!!

We all partied hard to make sure Rob had a good send off and we wish him all the very best of luck in his new job!!

Good Luck Rob, We’ll miss you!!

From everyone at The Dragon Hotel

xx

Shrove Tuesday will be upon us so we thought we’d get in really early and make sure that not only are you prepared for some flipping good fun, but you’re also having a healthy pancake day this year!

Tara Hammett, our Health Club Manager and one of Swansea and South Wales’ top Personal Trainers (Did we mention finalist in the National Fitness Awards Personal Trainer of the Year 2012?) has shared her healthy pancake recipe that will keep your mid week healthy nutrition in check! It’s gluten free, high in fibre and massive on taste!

Ingredients: (for one pancake, increase ingredients accordingly)

For the pancake:

1 Tablespoon Coconut Flour

2 Egg Whites

¼ Cup Coconut Milk

For cooking in the pan:

Coconut Oil

For adding at the end (optional):

¼ teaspoon Truvia

Lemon

Mix all your pancake ingredients together. Firstly I whisked my egg whites up, then I added the flour and milk to a nice little batter.

Add ½ teaspoon of coconut oil to the pan and swish it around.

Add your pancake batter to the pan and cook on one side for about a minute whilst swishing (said that twice now) the batter evenly around the edges.

Then…..the next move is your shout….what will it be??

A Flip????

Or

Risk a toss???

Well…..I’m gonna put it out there – I flipped!! Which I must say is medium on the adventurous scale, because sometimes I totally bail out and cook the other side under the grill (top tip).

Cook the other side for about another 30 seconds, then slide it out onto your plate, sprinkle with a bit of truvia and squeeze some fresh lemon and tuck in!!

NOM!!

So, you’ve had fun, you feel like you’ve indulged and you can enjoy the rest of your evening guilt free!!

Macros per pancake:

139 kCals

9g Protein

6g Carbs

3g Fibre

9g Fat

Enjoy!!!

Tara x

Well it has been a very coooold one in Swansea!

The snow certainly came and made its mark and it’s been getting to the health club staff as outdoor training has been a no go and it’s been quiet as many of the team’s personal training clients from Swansea have been snowed in, even though Swansea City Centre was still moving.  Although residential areas certainly resembled more of a winter wonderland!

Andrew hasn’t been out on his bike for a week – which is unheard of! Tara had to sleep in the hotel (not that she’s moaning) on Thursday night. Rob has put on a few pounds as he’s not been able to go out running and believes ‘comfort eating’ will protect him from the cold. James has also missed a few gym sessions but luckily, we all have Tara’s home HIIT workout video’s to follow to make sure the snow doesn’t sabotage our fitness to much!

But…we’re hopeful that the big melt is on its way and getting back to fitness and healthy eating is high on the agenda!

Tara has kicked off the Diet Tribe with Badger & Claire on 96.4fm The Wave and we’re all looking forward to seeing how much weight the tribe will lose over the next 6 weeks! Listen out to Tara on air for all her top fitness and nutrition tips.

You can also download her FREE E-book and join in with the journey on Facebook.

We hope you’re keeping safe & warm and continuing with your healthy 2013 goals!!

The Festive Season is drawing to a close… and we all here at The Dragon Hotel heave a collective sigh of relief!

We have served hundreds of Festive meals… opened countless bottles of wine…  rocked around the Christmas tree – and kissed under the Mistletoe!

Thank you for your support throughout 2012, a year which saw some big changes at The Dragon Hotel, we very much look forward to seeing you again in 2013. We would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Want a change from the normal Advent calendar?

Need some motivation to keep in shape in December and burn off the Christmas party buffet & the celebratory drink or two?

Then join in with Tara Hammett, one of the Top Personal Trainers in Swansea and The Dragon Hotel Health Club Manager as she kicks off her FREE ‘Merry Fitmas – Advent Workouts’

Tara will be kicking off the festive fitness on Saturday 1^st December and will be helping keep everyone fit & fab with 12 minute home workouts that you can do every morning. You can join in too for free and receive your short workouts every morning in your inbox. Take part with hundreds of others and stay in shape for your party outfits and sign up with your email on www.taransformation.com

So get ready to open the Advent workout doors and make December 2012 the most fittest, fabulous and festive yet!

Merry Fitmas from The Dragon Team!!

Once again, it’s time for us to honour a Team Member whose actions and efforts have impressed and inspired us.  There was no hesitation or debate within the team that the very special and deserving person to take the title Team Member of the Month for August was the lovely Tanisha Williams – Conference & Banqueting Supervisor.  Tanisha has been the recipient of this award on a number of occasions now which goes to show how valued she is.

Tanisha has been with us at the Dragon Hotel for 8 years and has worked her way up through the ranks to her most recent promotion to full time Conference & Banqueting Supervisor.  Her dedication to the role and to providing first class customer service is inspirational.

Tanisha is also the Queen of Christmas tree decorating which was beautifully demonstrated at our recent ‘Christmas in September’ event.

T-aking the initiative, you never do complain,

A-lways happy, never glum, in sunshine or in rain

N-ever do you quibble when tasks are big or small

I-nspiring all around you, you’re a credit to us all!

S-miling as you work, with quiet grace you serve,

H-elpful to guests and staff alike, this honour you deserve

A-n inspiration to us all, and also you are really tall!!

The Dragon Hotel , Swansea entertained guests to an early Christmas last night when we hosted our Christmas in September party.

Guests were invited to celebrate the festive season early where they were greeted by Santa in the lovely hot sunshine! 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. Santa gave out festive gifts early where everyone received a gift voucher to spend in the hotel.

The Christmas Quiz got everybody in the festive swing with 3 tables calling it a draw!

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.

Thank you all once again for a great night.

See you all soon, Sarah, Cath, Gethyn, Sian, Cheryl, Helen & Tara

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the Dragon Hotel delighful! The Brasserie is the place to go…please don’t snow, please don’t snow, please don’t snow!

With the Christmas party season now in full swing, the hotel is buzzing with activity.. the trees are trimmed, the lights are flashing and the kitchen is place of oganised chaos and beautiful aromas!

Head Chef Steve is doing his best Gordon Ramsey impersonation as he barks orders out to his ’little helpers’ and Pastry chef Hayley is concocting the most delicious desserts you could imagine, from your traditional Christmas pud to Orange Parfait with Clementine Compote with Chestnut shortbread! Mouthwateringly good!

So if you fancy some festive fun, or just a traditional Christmas dinner, come along to the hotel and sample the delights we have to offer!

Black Friday in The Pembrey Suite

Festive Greetings avid readers!!

We are once again honouring a team member..the one person that has stood out as contributing that little bit extra, and I am delighted to announce that the winner of this pretegious accolade is once again the lovely Tanisha Williams – Conference & Banqueting Supervisor!

Tanisha is one of our long serving employees and works tirelessly along side the Conference & Banqueting Manager Antonio, making sure that everyone attending functions, be it Birthday party, wedding reception, hen night etc has the very best of service.  Her attention to detail is seconf to none!  Her favourite time of the year at the hotel is trimming up ready for Christmas and it’s fair to say that there is never a bauble out of place or a piece of tinsel trailing!  So once again join me in a celebratory toast to Tanisha…may your Christmas lights glow brightly and your festive functions go with a bang!

T’was the night before Monday and all through the house,a creature was stirring, and it wasn’t a mouse.

His treat stick was finished and hung up with care, and he hoped that she’d notice and more would appear,

but mummy was nestled all snug in her bed, while visions of Starbucks did dance in her head.

Cwtched in her duvet, alarm stuck on snooze,

she tried to fend off the old Monday blues.

In a house in Bridgend another was waking, and three little children had just started shaking,

A glare from her eyes and a shake of her head, was enough to fill them with horror and dread,

She shouted instructions and gripes from the kitchen,

Oh come on, get moving your bedrooms need blitzen,

So up to the house tops in fear they flew, to tidy and dress and be ready for school.

From a house set in Swansea, another did stir, still half asleep and eyes all a blur,

She sipped on a cuppa and then pulled a face, to the bus stop she legged it at quite a fast pace,

Her thoughts filled with figures and numbers to crunch and dreading the milkshake for breakfast and lunch,

the pressure was on to process the wages, her PC was poorly and loading took ages,

her brow was all furrowed from the effort she made, but proudly announced that we all would be paid!!

So you readers I give you this gift of insight, into the lives of us workers on site,

As we forge ever onward to finish each task, in the shadow of this mighty building we bask, with figures and paperwork bravely we fight, happy Monday to all and to all a goodnight!!