Posts Tagged ‘Dragon Hotel’

Tara’s Apple Cinnamon Protein Muffins

Don’t you just love those morning when you wake up at 04:45 and you go straight out the kitchen and bake some healthy muffins…..not happened to you? Ah, well it was a first for me too!
My hubby bought a new flavour whey protein (Apple Cinnamon Swirl) and I just HAD to make some muffins out of it because I NEEDED to try it!
And my recipe worked first time!!
HEEEEEAVEN!
Here’s a mini recipe and a few piccys of how these little apply, cinnamony, crazy time in the morning-y, little creations turned out!
Xxx

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I made 4 out of the ingredients so each muffin has the following:
Calories: 98
Carbs: 1.5g
Protein: 9.25g
Fat: 6g (only 1g saturated)
Fibre: 1.75g
Sugar: 1g

I cut mine in half and added a teaspoon of natural nut butter, so add that to your macros too!
Xx

Introducing the NEW Dragon Mini!

dragon

Can you believe that I actually agreed to a number plate with the number 13????

The Dragon Hotel Mini was delivered to the hotel on the 1st March so I was very excited to drive home that evening with only 5 miles on the mileage counter.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this new mini does not attract the speeding cameras and police cars on the M4 like the old one did!!!photo (2) (2)

Last week the Mini and I were busy playing the Easter bunny when we delivered Dragon Easter Eggs to companies in and around Swansea.  I thought it was nice to break the engine in slowly before the long journeys up to Derby and Manchester this month to drum business up for the hotel.

So if you see me at the traffic lights in the morning doing my lipstick give me a beep.

Question:- How many people can you fit in a Mini?

Answer:- If it’s a new BMW Mini and those people happen to be very flexible then the answer is 28 (5 if they’re all like me), as confirmed for a new Guiness World Record at Potters Field Park, London in 2012.

Spring Delegate Package

The Dragon Hotel, Swansea’s premier city centre hotel is offering this fantastic Spring Delegate Offer! For bookings up until the end of May 2013.

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The A Team is back….

The reservations department is now back to full steam!!

I (Louise – reservations manager) have been off for 7 weeks after having surgery on my shoulder. I was counting down the days to return however as there is only so much Jeremy Kyle and Loose Women you can watch!

Things have changed since I have been away with becoming an Associate Hotel with Macdonald Hotels & Resorts.  One of the changes is that we have a new breakfast menu to look forward to (Sean and I will be sampling this asap but don’t tell Chef!)  Sean is glad to have me back (I think!) and he managed well without me despite being thrown in at the deep end .

However, it feels like I have never been away - so much so that I have had to have my grey hairs covered already and it has only been 3 weeks!!

Bye Bye Rob!

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 photo (4)Training in The Dragon Hotel in Swansea to the next level and look forward to welcoming Natalie and Louise to the Team!!photo (6)

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

The Dragon Hotel Gift Cards

Looking for that unique gift for someone special who has everything?

Well look no further; The Dragon Hotel Gift Card is the perfect answer! Providing an opportunity to experience award winning dining, relaxing beauty treatments or just a break away from home, our Gift Cards can be used as full or part-payment against anything at The Dragon Hotel. (more…)

The Dragon Hotel’s Team Member of the Month: February

It’s once again that time where we proudly announce the member of staff who has stood out amongst all.  Our team member of the month for February goes to Jaidon Williams from Housekeeping who stands out amongst us all in more ways than one!

This is a photo of the many talented Williams family.

This is a photo of the many talented Williams family.

He was awarded employee of the month for 3 main reasons:

Reason 1: Organising the best Christmas party for our staff along with the help of sister Tanisha
Reason 2: Making our Valentine’s Package extra special by making the swans for our bedrooms
Reason 3: St David’s day event was a huge success and to make it even more special Jaidon was our photographer for the day.
Is there no end to his talents?

Cath’s Hoffully Big Adventure

When Antonio chose me as his plus one for the trip to Wembley to watch the Swans play for the Capital One Cup against Bradford City my sheer joy quickly turned to anxiety when I realised this was no ordinary trip – not only were we to attend the match but we were also invited to join the club for pre and post match hospitality! How delightful but what would I wear?!

At the advice of family, friends and colleagues (because of course I had to tell everyone where we were going) I WAG’d it up for the great day and was not even late for the 7:00am arrival at The Liberty Stadium.  Even at that early hour, the atmosphere was electric as hoards of fans made their way to the waiting buses.  Having been alerted to the fact that we were to travel on the first bus to leave the stadium anxiety once again set in as no one was able to identify which bus that would be.  We quickly met others in the same situation and soon had new BFFs in Steve and Debbie.  Not before Antonio had insulted the right honourable Geraint Davies MP we were ushered onto the correct bus and our journey got underway (not like others whose bus failed to even leave the stadium!).

The atmosphere at The Liberty was nothing compared with the mood at the Leigh Delamare services.  The whole rest stop was a sea of black and white with the sound of vuvuzelas echoing throughout.  In fact every other vehicle along the M4 appeared to be a Jack Army tank with flags, scarves and streamers wildly fluttering as they made the pilgrimage to Wembley.

The journey slowed to an agonizing crawl as we neared the famous arch but we finally arrived at our destination – The Hilton London Wembley Hotel.  During the drinks reception we lost sight of Steve and Debbie so when we were ushered into the dining hall we looked out for them so that we could join them for lunch.  Finally spotting them at a corner table Antonio and I made our way and settled down – me secretly delighted that my preferred position in any restaurant – a corner seat where I can view the whole room – was available.  Once settled, I looked up to meet the other couple at our table.  My smile froze.  Debbie, Steve, Antonio and I were sharing a table with none other than David Hasselhoff and Glynneath girlfriend Hayley Roberts.  ‘Hi, I’m David’ says The Hoff, shaking hands with us all.  I’m afraid I spluttered as the day took a decidedly surreal turn.The Hoff

The meal, as delicious as it was with a Chicken Liver Parfait to start followed by a Fillet of Beef that could be cut with a butter knife and a Lemon Tart for dessert (almost as nice as The Dragon Brasserie!), was not my main focus as we chatted about swimming with sharks, touring Australia and brining down the Berlin Wall – as you do.  To be fare, David admitted that he really couldn’t be credited with bringing the wall down singlehandedly as was reported at the time; he just happened to be there at the right time with the right song, the very apt Looking For Freedom.  ‘In fact’ he said, ‘I was only over in Europe because Knight Rider had recently come to an end and a friend had told me that I had some fans in Austria!’  Indeed, I finished lunch with a better opinion of The Hoff than when I started, especially after he was gracious enough to pose for photos despite earlier in the conversation detailing how grueling this could be.  My only regret was not following his advice on placing a bet (apparently his last remaining vice) on Swansea winning by a large margin.  Hindsight is a wonderful thing…

By the time we made our way to the stadium I was a little overwhelmed but once again the atmosphere was thrilling.  Mingling happily with the Claret and Amber of the Bradford fans we passed underneath Sir Bobby Moore’s statue and made our way to our seats, to the left of the half way line and just behind funny man Rob Brydon.  We watched in awe as the gymnast hooked to the hot air football balloon took flight with the Cup and sniggered what a heist it would be if the groundsmen released her to make a spectacular escape with the silverware – the wine was clearly kicking in.

Nothing untoward happened however and the game was on.  By now everyone knows how it panned out, with Swansea City outclassing their opponents both sides of the half time whistle.  No one wished to see a red card and it was most unfortunate that Bradford goalie Duke merited one.  For me, although Nathan Dyer won Man of the Match, if I could, I would have awarded this honour to the Bradford City fans – one and all.  What a performance!  From the very first whistle, and particularly in the last quarter of the game when their team was 4 or 5 nil and a man down, they were inspirational.  The flags never stilled and nothing got a bigger cheer the whole of the afternoon than Bradford’s only shot at goal in the 85th minute.  In the same way as the Swansea City team gave the Bradford City players a guard of honour after receiving their Runner Up medals, I salute the Bantam fans for their unwavering passion and resilience throughout the afternoon.Cath & Antonio at Wembley

Completely exhausted from the day’s activities we returned to the hotel for some afternoon tea and celebration.  Mixing with the players’ friends and families I quickly realized that my earlier angst about what to wear was completely unnecessary.  Swansea City may well be a Premier League team; it may also be a League Cup Winner and is heading for the Europa League next season however, Swansea City is as down to earth as it ever was.  We met a host of delightful people and even felt helpful as we (Ok, Antonio) chatted in Spanish with those not so comfortable with the English language.

Before we knew it, the evening had progressed into nighttime and it was time to leave London.  The drama, however, was not over yet as we learnt that one of the bus drivers had been knocked down during the day and was now recovering in hospital!  A quick reshuffle ensued and we were homeward bound by midnight and at the Liberty Stadium by 3:30am.  This is where Antonio and I called it a night although I’m confident that some continued to party until dawn.  I cannot relay how amazing the whole occasion had been and am more proud than ever before of being a Swansea Jack – till I die.

Swansea City Cup Parade

As you may now have learned, Swansea City Football Team were successful in their efforts to win the Capital One Cup.  As a result the city will be welcoming the team home with a celebration parade.  This event will be taking place on Tuesday, 26th February 2013. 

The parade will leave the Kingsway adjacent to The Dragon Hotel at 4:30pm and make its way via the Kingsway and St Helen’s Road to the Guildhall.  It is anticipated that the event will be over by 6:30pm.

The following roads will be closed on a rolling basis:

4:30pm – 7:30pm            The Kingsway
                                        St Helen’s Road
                                        Guild Hall Road South

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause

Karly Williams’ week away at Macdonald Berystede Hotel & Spa, Ascot


 

Karly

An opportunity to manage the housekeeping department in Ascot came my way, what a fantastic chance to further my career.

This was my first time working away from home which was an amazing experience, the hotel was more rural than what I’m used to, being in the city centre at The Dragon Hotel.

I looked after the housekeeping team for a week to make sure standards of cleanliness were high in the 126 bedroom hotel. I would like to thank all the staff at Macdonald Berystede Hotel & Spa, for welcoming me as  part of their team and look forward to working with them again should the opportunity arise.

(Also, on a lighter note I would welcome the opportunity of working at any of our sister hotels in Portugal or Spain too!)