Meet in Cheltenham hosted a superb PA Life Club FAM Trip

Our Media Manager, Lucy Gallivan, hosted our recent PA Life Club FAM Trip to Cheltenham, alongside Meet in Cheltenham’s Corporate Partnerships Manager Tara Sanchez. Our Club members enjoyed luxurious venues, incredible food, cocktails and afternoon tea in a place you will never want to leave, and this pretty much sums up this wonderful experience in a nutshell…

We started off by checking into the iconic Queens Hotel, one of the oldest hotels in Europe, and occupying a prime position overlooking the Imperial Square and Gardens. After a quick coffee and croissants we set off to explore Cheltenham and its splendid venues.

Our first stop was the Malmaison Hotel, a short walk through the town’s beautiful Regency streets,  to a surprise cocktail making masterclass. Their mixologist guided us on the secret of making a perfect Mojito and Espresso Martini. It was such a fun icebreaker to start our trip, and the competitive spirits definitely kicked in as we got mixing and shaking!

We were also treated to canapes and a tour of the hotel, with lovely roll topped baths in each room and a pretty, contemporary courtyard which is ideal for private gatherings and drinks receptions.

We continued on foot from Malmaison to see its sister hotel Hotel Du Vin, to enjoy a wonderful private lunch. The Hotel du Vin team hosting us, including their impressive sommelier, really made the whole experience a memorable occasion. Each PA Life Club member was each also treated to a very generous goody bag, with a bottle of the best house wine included.

Outside Cheltenham Regency centre

Next on our itinerary was a visit to the luxurious Ellenborough Park, a 5* country hotel and spa in the Cotswolds, a short taxi ride away from central Cheltenham.  The hotel is set in 90 acres of glorious grounds, surrounded by idyllic scenery and comes with rich history way before the current building was erected over 500 years ago.

Before settling down to the wonderful champagne afternoon tea, we enjoyed a grand tour of the facilities, taking in the indoor spa and the outdoor spa garden retreat. The wedding and conference facilities were fantastic too, as expected by this outstanding hotel and venue, and so were the sublime goody bags!

Dinner at the BAO & BBQ on Cheltenham’s Regent Street

We had time to go back to the Queens Hotel to freshen up and change before sampling the hotel’s catering over pre-dinner drinks and Canapes. We had dinner at the swanky BAO & BBQ on Regent Street. The ambience, decor and the extensive menu caters well for all taste buds. We loved their speciality bao buns with different toppings. If you are in a mood for something a bit more adventurous, you won’t be disappointed.

Overnight stay at the luxury Queens Hotel Cheltenham

We retired back to the luxury Queens Hotel, and had a restful sleep followed by a delicious hearty breakfast before our onward journey to Sudeley Castle. The castle is probably one of the prettiest ones I have ever been to. We had a behind the scenes private tour of the many individual and unique event spaces before being treated to a signed book by Lady Ashcombe, the Chatelaine of the castle. The castle brunch is definitely fit for a King and Queen, and it was served on a banqueting table that would certainly be fitting for Queen Katherine Parr, who is entombed in St Mary’s Church in the castle grounds. She was the last, sixth, surviving wife of King Henry VIII.

If you are looking for a destination that screams opulence, class, history, and glamour – with venues and hotels to match – then destination Cheltenham needs to be circled in red!

About Meet in Cheltenham

Meet in Cheltenham & the Cotswolds can help you with a range of services when planning your event. Whether you are looking to organise a large conference over a number of days, a one-off bespoke event or a small meeting we’re here to help. Working with a large number of hotels, unique venues and event suppliers in Cheltenham and the surrounding Cotswolds area we provide a free to use venue finding service and specialise in providing competitive venue options and practical destination support.

We can also negotiate bedroom rates at residential properties for bookings of 20 or more people. We can reserve the required accommodation and provide an easy to use link in order to manage delegate room bookings online.

About Cheltenham and the Cotswolds

Cheltenham is a large Regency spa town located on the edge of the Cotswolds and in the county of Gloucestershire, giving you easy access to Wales, the Midlands and London. We’re just an hour away from hubs like Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Oxford, and London is just over two hours’ away by train.

With direct access to major motorways, including the M4 and M5, plus mainline railway stations and
international airports, Cheltenham is easily accessible whether you’re travelling by road, rail or air.
As the home of GCHQ, Cheltenham is at the centre of the UK’s Cyber Tech industry. Cheltenham is also known as ‘The Festival Town’, testament to its vibrant cultural offer and year-round calendar of major festivals and events.

Enjoy discounted train travel with Great Western Railways

Meet in Cheltenham have a partnership with Great Western Railway (GWR) to provide clients with discounted travel fares on the GWR network making it even easier, cost effective and sustainable for conference delegates to travel to Cheltenham by train. Standard return travel between London Paddington and Cheltenham Spa is now available at a reduced rate of £36 on any service, including peak-time trains, whilst First Class travel between London and Cheltenham is just £70 return. Take a look here to find out more about this incredible offer.

If you would like to receive exclusive invitations to FAM Trips such as this, please register to join PA Life Club. The Club is free for Assistants to join, with no monthly fees to pay either.