Last Sunday, Tonbridge Rotary Club arranged a very special outing for local pensioners. A group of volunteers from the Rotary collected the groups and took them on a picturesque country drive around the Kent countryside finishing off with an afternoon tea laid on by local independent hotel, Hadlow Manor.

This is an annual event usually taking place at a different venue each year but last year Hadlow Manor heard about it and offered to host the afternoon tea. As it was such a success the Rotary were more than happy to take them up on their offer of hosting it for a second year running. This time as well as a sumptuous tea of sandwiches, homemade cakes, scones and a birthday celebration the group were treated to some live music by Mike Golding and his band which was very well received.

Giles Thomas, Operations Director of The Manor Collection hotel group which Hadlow Manor belongs to said “We were delighted to get involved with such a worthy cause and treat the local pensioners to a delicious afternoon tea. It’s a great thing the Rotary does by getting those who may not see anyone for days on end out of the house for a change of scene and for a chance to mingle with other local residents all whilst enjoying a cuppa and a scone!”.

Sonia Williams, President of Tonbridge Rotary Club, said: “The Rotary Club of Tonbridge enjoyed its annual Country Drive and cream tea for the elderly. We are grateful to the Rotarians and especial thanks to Hadlow Manor Hotel for the wonderful afternoon tea they so generously provided.”

The Garden Room at Hadlow Manor was a hive of activity with around 50 locals enjoying the drive and with the rain holding off it really was a perfect afternoon.

For upcoming events at Hadlow Manor please check www.hadlowmanor.co.uk

Last Thursday evening Reigate Manor played host to a curry and quiz night to raise funds for the Christmas lights put on by The Reigate Business Guild. The evening was extremely well attended with quiz goers joining in from many of Reigate’s local businesses including teams from Run Reigate, Lewis Charles, Willows, White & Sons and many more. The ballroom at Reigate Manor was packed with over 100 guests enjoying a curry in between 8 rounds of a fairly challenging quiz. The quiz was put together by the team at Reigate Manor however it assumed a professional quiz company had been involved as it was such a good evening! Lewis Charles came away with the winners trophy and a case of prosecco with White & son’s following on in second place by just one point!

Reigate Business Guild was set up in 1991. The Guild enjoys the support of one hundred organisations from in and around Reigate town centre, ranging from large corporate businesses to sole trader shops and restaurants, all individuals who care about Reigate and its surroundings. The Guild are responsible for the hugely successful Reigate Christmas Fair held on Church Street each year and fundraising events such as these are vital to allow the guild to put the event on.

Jes Chandler, Chair of the guild said “What a fantastic evening, every single person I have spoken to has been gushing about what a lovely evening it was. It was a very professionally run event, with great food and a lovely atmosphere in the room, well done and thanks to all involved.”

Reigate Manor frequently host events for local charities, the next event to raise money for George and the Giant Pledge is a ‘Back to the 90’s club night’ taking place on May 24h and tickets usually sell out so advanced booking is recommended by checking www.reigatemanor.co.uk or calling the events team on 01737 240125.

On Friday 29th March the Hadlow Suite at Hadlow Manor was packed with quiz goers all eager to win the trophy for 1st place at a charity quiz night. With the quiz written and hosted by the hotels Head Receptionist and the scores tallied up by other members of the hotel staff it was a real team effort!

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the chosen charity for the hotel and following on from recent successful charity quiz nights at their sister hotel in Reigate the staff at Hadlow knew it would be a great chance to engage with the local community as well as raising money for a great cause!

Giles Thomas, Operations Director of the hotel group said “We really enjoy getting involved in the local community and hosting our quiz nights. The Hadlow Suite came alive with nearly 100 locals enjoying fish and chips and getting competitive over the questions all whilst generously helping us raise a fantastic £800 for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust. We also get a lot of support from local businesses who kindly donate raffle prizes, it’s a real community effort!”.

With a line up of future events already being organised including a family fun day in the pipleline it’s well worth keeping an eye on the website www.hadlowmanor.co.uk.

On Thursday 21st March Reigate Manor hosted another of their fantastic quiz and curry nights to raise funds for local charity Stripey Stork. Tickets were in demand and the event was a sell out with 120 quiz goers all fighting to win the coveted trophy! Stripey Stork is a small charity based in Reigate established […]

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The recently rebranded Manor Collection hotel group has managed to raise just shy of £12,000 for local Redhill based charity George and The Giant Pledge. Reigate Manor and Hartsfield Manor, both whom belong to the Manor Collection have supported the charity for nearly two years. George and The Giant Pledge was set up by a […]

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Giles Thomas, Operations Director of The Manor Collection hotel group is an Enterprise Advisor for The Priory School in Dorking. This involves encouraging year 11 students to think about what career they would like to go into. Giles encouraged the students to consider a career in hospitality by inviting them into one of the groups […]

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After 37 years Reigate Manor on Reigate Hill has parted ways from marketing brand Best Western. Although always privately owned, Reigate Manor held the Best Western franchise and is part of a group of three hotels. Back in 2001 Reigate Manor was joined by a smaller, Georgian property in Kent, Hadlow Manor and just over […]

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The Surrey and Kent based hotel group, The Manor Collection have been shortlisted for two awards.

Firstly, the recently launched Surrey Business Awards launched by The Surrey Chambers have shortlisted the hotel group for the category ‘Business in The Community’. The hotels have done an extensive amount of fundraising for local charities as well as being involved in local community initiatives and business groups. The awards ceremony takes place next Thursday 4th October at Epsom Racecourse.

The hotel group have also been shortlisted for a National SME Business Award which is a nationwide business award ceremony taking place at Wembley in December. Again this is for the category of ‘Community Business of the Year’.
Giles Thomas, Operations Director of the hotel group said “we’re thrilled to be finalists in not one but two business awards and to have our efforts recognised for the work we put into our community efforts is fantastic. We’d obviously be delighted to win the awards but we’re delighted to be finalists and look forward to meeting fellow finalists on the evenings”.

To find out more about the National SME Business Awards and to check out who else has been nominated for an award visit their website at www.smenationalbusinessawards.co.uk/finalists-2018

Hartsfield Manor in Betchworth is supporting a fantastic cause and at the same time making use of the 5,000 bars of barely used soaps left by guests every year!

The housekeeping team got so fed up with the wastage of the gorgeous Molton Brown soaps that are literally used once and then left on the side that they decided to do something about it. One of the housekeepers’ daughters is involved with the charity ‘Go Make a Difference in Tanzania’ via her school St Bedes and she found out that they are desperate for soap. The Housekeeping team have a box in the office where all the partly used soaps get stored and once there is a substantial amount they are boxed up and sent on to Tanzania to be used to help with keeping both children and adults clean and preventing fungal infections.

Jan King, head Housekeeper at Hartsfield Manor said “we can all make a difference by re-cycling and at Hartsfield we are actively trying to reduce our waste, which helps our business and often helps charities too.”
Giles Thomas, Operations Director said “The first we heard about this was in our monthly management meeting where Jan presented her teams initiative. What a great idea! it’s fantastic knowing we are doing something in a small way to help and saving waste at the same time”.

For further information on the charity of if you fancy getting involved have a look at www.gomakeadifference.co.uk

The local business group, Reigate Business Guild are putting the wheels in motion to raise funds to provide Reigate town centre with the most impressive Christmas lights to date. With fundraising events taking place throughout the year and a generous donation from Reigate & Banstead Council and headline sponsor Bell Street based household appliance shop Keymex, the total amount of £26,220 to pay for the lights is within reach. The annual Christmas Fayre which takes place in early December every year on Church Street is always very well attended and is organised by volunteers from the Guild each year. The event is great for the town and really does create a magical Christmas atmosphere incorporating local businesses with stalls as well as entertainment from local dance and music schools as well as street food and Children’s entertainment.

Jes Chandler, Chair of the guild said “We have been fundraising for the past six years to replace the existing scheme which very obviously has a shelf life both in impact and maintenance. The new scheme is unique to Reigate and is the result of some serious hard work by the guild members. The Fayre attracts thousands to the town, and with the new lighting scheme set to be switched on during the closing hours of the Fayre on the 1st December 2018, we are all looking forward to a sparkling day to set the 2018 Christmas Festivities in motion”

The Reigate Business Guild was set up in 1991. The Guild enjoys the support of one hundred organisations from in and around Reigate town centre, ranging from large corporate businesses to sole trader shops and restaurants, all individuals who care about Reigate and its surroundings. The Guild are responsible for the hugely successful Reigate Christmas Fair held on Church Street each year. For further information and to join the guild please look at www.reigatebusinessguild.co.uk