Anyone else’s Facebook & Instagram feeds been clogged up with photographs of children standing outside front doors in their school uniform? It’s that time of year – summer is coming to a close, the leaves are starting to turn and the dogs are starting to really notice the squirrels in the park which is proving to be a great workout for me.
With the return to school and business hopefully going back to normal (please no more out of offices!) it got me thinking about educational venues and also hotels that were once used as schools. Check out my top five picks below;
De Vere Beaumont Estate
With a staggering 75 event spaces and 40 acres of parkland this venue can host up to 700 delegates. It has a long and intriguing history but for the purposes of this blog we’ll concentrate on the education piece – it was a Public School from 1854 – 1967. The school had a very fine reputation with Queen Elizabeth II visiting the school in 1961 and famous students including a Spanish Prince and Coco Chanel’s nephew.
Warwick Conferences
Based at the University of Warwick, in the heart of the UK, Warwick Conferences has it all, meeting rooms, auditoriums and a world leading arts centre – they can accommodate numbers between 2 and 1200. The team really pride themselves on being flexible and working really closely with event organisers and planners. It’s definitely not your usual Conference Centre.
Denham Grove
Originally built as a BP training centre, Denham Grove is now a privately owned residential conference centre in the Buckinghamshire Countryside that’s just undergone a massive refurb! With fabulously flexible event space, 100 bedrooms and 42 acres this venue adds tranquility and a touch of luxury to any training event.
The Old School Hotel
Indulge me here – it’s not a hotel for conferences but it’s where they film Doc Martin and I love that show! Based in the beautiful Port Isaac in Cornwall The Old School Hotel was turned into a hotel in the 1980s after being built as a school by Silvanus Trevail in 1875. They do offer exclusive use (12 bedrooms in total) and dogs are welcome in some of the rooms so perfect for those smaller events and team offsites.
Felsted School
Still a running school, Felsted is based on a rural 80 acre village campus in North Essex. Offering beautiful countryside grounds, historical buildings, a chapel, auditoriums and meeting rooms Felsted can host awards dinners, conferences and exhibitions for up to 450. On top of all this great event space they also have swimming pools, sports fields, a theatre and concert hall.
Be sure to come back next month to check out the most haunted hotels and venues for a Halloween special.
For the time being, enjoy September and let’s get back to work!
TTFN,
CdB