Posts Tagged ‘Swansea’

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!

Thursday 18th November 2010

Take advantage of this occasion to finish work early and enjoy a sumptuous lunch soaked in the joyous atmosphere of the day.

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Hi Everyone!

My name is Helen and I am the Finance Manager of The Dragon Hotel. I’ve been here now for 4 years, coping with the demands that are involved with a busy four star hotel. I didn’t have a single grey hair before I started working here – and now my roots get done every four weeks!!! I am also the treasurer of Port Talbot Operatic Society, and our next production is Guys & Dolls – Auditions take place in September! In my spare time I enjoy going to different restaurants, and have recently dined at Casamia in Bristol, which has a Michelin Star, and Jamie Oliver’s newly opened restaurant in Cardiff. I would highly recommend both restaurants, but obviously not above our very own Brasserie!!!

My first Accounts Assistant is Kelly, originally from Grimsby has only recently started with me, having previously been at Comyn Ching & Co (Solray) Ltd . She has a very busy role within the business, including making sure everyone gets their pay packet,  but has taken it all in her stride. When she is not in work she is playing mum to ten year old Louise and wife to Mark, and when she can she enjoys going to the cinema and socializing with friends.

My second Accounts Assistant is Hazel. Hazel is originally from Dublin on the Emerald Isle. She has lived in Wales for nine years and has been at The Dragon Hotel for five years. Hazel is mum to five year old Kacey and also is glowing with pride as she is six months pregnant. She’s chosen not to find out if it’s a boy or a girl, and doesn’t mind which one it is, but currently likes Cillian for a boy or if it’s a girl she likes Kiera – two strong irish names!

Finally, I share my office with The Hotel Administrative Manager.  Owen has been with us for three years but has recently secured a position within The Civil Service, which he joins next week. His replacement is Sarah, who has only been here for three days coming directly from Bassetts Citroen in Landore, but is picking everything up very quickly. Unusually, both Owen and Sarah lived oppposite each other in the small village of Penclawdd when they were just little children, have both moved around the entire country between the them and have been joined together for one last time at The Dragon. Penclawdd, of course, is world famous for it’s production of Cockles, Laverbread and Donkeys.

We are all going to miss Owen when he leaves next week. He has brought invaluable knowledge and assistance to the hotel, both operationally and in the back office departments. You can see the pictures of Owen as Santa Claus for our Christmas In July party on our Facebook page.

This week we’re all excited for the launch of the Brand New Jessica Gel Nails! Gel nails are proving very popular for those ladies that like to keep well maintained nails, but lead a busy ‘hands on’ lifestyle as they last longer and resist chipping!

Michelle and Harley are looking forward to the new colours arriving soon and we’ll keep you posted on when they arrive!

Also, Andrew (our Senior Lifestyle Consultant) is in France cycling hard on the Tour De France. He left on Wednesday 14th July and we’ve heard back that the weather is hot and the route is hard…but we’re proud to learn that he came first amoungst his group in the first part!

Good Luck Andrew..we’ll keep you posted on the rest of his incredible journey!!

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 ?

Mark Edwards, Dragon Hotel Swansea’s Breakfast Chef has been awarded the Team Member Of The Month for his efforts in May 2010.

Being able to accomodate up to 250 residents at the Dragon, and also being open to non-residents, Breakfast is the time of day when things need to run with precision control. It is often the first contact that many guests have with the dining experiences that we have to offer, so nothing but the best is acceptable!

May 2010 was extremely busy for the hotel, with almost 100% Occupancy for the entire month. With this in mind, Mark took to the occupancy with delight and revelled in being constantly under more pressure than usual. Almost single-handedly he managed to cook for and feed up to 160 guests on a daily basis, without problem or delay. The feedback from the guests staying at the Hotel has been phenomenal, with every one saying that it is possibly the best Breakfast they have ever had!

Mark Edwards, 33, started working at the Holiday Inn in Swansea in 1997 as a Kitchen Porter and quickly climbed the ranks to Commis Chef. From there, Holiday Inn appointed him as Breakfast Chef, a role in which he continued as Hoilday Inn departed and The Dragon Hotel returned, and has now been in the position for 8 years. It’s a tough role, working 6 days a week, starting at 5am everyday.

When Mark isn’t feeding the masses ready for their day ahead he thoroughly enjoys his role as Dad to Jack and Shona and utilising his mechanical skills to buy, improve and sell-on cars and motorbikes. His refurbished vehicles have been in Ripspeed Car Shows and he has previously been the proud owner of a Kowasaki Ninja ZX-6R.

From the Whitsun Bank Holiday to the August Bank holiday the ever popular Sunday Carvery at The Dragon Hotel will abandon tradition and incorporate Salads and cold items to its offering.  Not that we’ll lose the classic carvery dishes of course – there’ll still be plenty of roast potatoes for all, but for the Summer months why not build up your Sunday Lunch plate with classic favourites such as Caesar or Nicoise Salads alongside your roast meat?  As always fish and vegetarian options will be available prepared to order from the kitchen and the prices stay the same as well! 

 Sunday Lunches at The Dragon Hotel

From 12:30 – 2:30pm

Starters: £4.95

Main Course: £7.95

Desserts: £4.25

Children under 12 years: half price

For Reservation call 01792 657159

My name is Louise and I have been at The Dragon Hotel, Swansea for 5 years, but I have worked in the hotel industry for nearly 9 years. I started as a Receptionist and then moved into the Reservations Office as a Co-Ordinator and then was successfully promoted to Reservations Manager.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my beloved boy (Squire the dog! See Left!) and I am a keen D-I-Y-er. I am very partial to animal print in every aspect of my life!

My colleague Tracey who is the Reservations Co-Ordinator has been part of the team for nearly 2 years and has never worked in the hotel industry before,  but wishes she had started earlier. Tracey loves to sit opposite me and listen to me singing when I am not on the telephone!
Tracey enjoys spending her spare time with her family and has recently had a new addition, Jewel the Siamese cat (Top Right with Gemma the Dog).

This week the health club staff have been practicing what they preach and putting their knowledge and fitness to the test!!

Rob (our Deputy Manager) will be taking part in the Llanelli Waterside Triathlon on Sunday. He’s been working hard on his training (and we’ve been laughing at his tight outfits!), so we wish him the best of luck with his challenge and will keep you posted on his success.

Andrew (Senior Lifestyle Consultant) has been covering the whole of Swansea and Gower on his bike, clocking up his mileage for the 6 phases of the Tour de France in July. His hamstrings have been a bit tight recently, but Tara has been working her Sports Massage Magic on him and he’s keeping in tip top shape (Yeah, he’s also wearing tight outfits!!)

Dan is off to Chester this weekend to add to his Sports Science knowledge and is completing his final part of the Personal Training Qualification. Dan has been working hard on his qualification for the last 18 months and is looking forward to completing the course and getting even more people in Swansea fit and fabulous!

Tara has been back outside pounding the pavements with her clients and is back up and running after a knee injury so will be working hard ready for the 1/2 Marathon in Cardiff in October. Tara’s also been busy in the gym with her Personal Training clients and congratulations to Hugh for losing 6lbs in a week!

Michelle and Harley are looking forward to completing training with Jessica Nails on the brand new natural everlasting polish and have been busy with lots of Manicures and Pedicures this week as Jessica have launched their Spring Daydream collection! So call in to the club for discounts and offers on our manicures and pedicures!

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.