February 2006
HAPPIER NEW YEAR
You only have to see the beaming smile of Margaret Cutlan, of Adamsdown, Cardiff, to tell how happy she was last New Year’s Eve at Club Tahiti. In fact, she even wrote and told us so - and Seasons are delighted that we could provide such a joyful start to our member’s 2006, after some trying times:
‘My son Stephen and I had a wonderful holiday at Club Tahiti. I’ve got only praise for all the staff at this resort. The entertainment was exceptional, with Chris Smith – and all the special meals paid for were excellent! We couldn’t praise all this enough. We had a very stressful year in 2005, so we said farewell to the old year good and proper. Thank you very much. I’ve enclosed a photo and my face says it all. My son said I was in a different part of the world and so I relaxed and enjoyed all of the holiday with him. Thanks to Club Tahiti.’
LOOK OUT FOR THE LATEST UPDATE
ON MIRISSA VILLAGE, SRI LANKA
in our special eNews edition, to be despatched in mid-March.
Remember the story of how last January, Seasons paid for their Group Operations Manager, Jane Thompson, to be sent out to Sri Lanka to offer practical help to the victims of the Boxing Day tsunami? Regular readers will know from our special eNews edition last April that even then, things were moving apace on the construction of 104 houses and providing funds for new boats for the village fishermen and other small businesses, to help them earn a living to keep their families. Seasons Holidays also provided the funds for a pre-school and general social centre, and our next special edition will give all the latest news with pictures, following Jane’s latest trip to Sri Lanka.
POPULAR NEW RESTAURATEURS AT LAUGHARNE
According to many members’ comment sheets, the arrival of Ian and Liz Mutch at the beginning of December 2005 as the new managers of the bar and restaurant at Laugharne Park has been a great success.
Despite boasting two very impressive individual C.V.’s, including their most recent positions at a top hotel in Guernsey for the past two years, the couple had never run their own business before. So it is a particular feather in their caps that their first two months with Seasons should have seen such a positive response.
Commenting on the results of their labours, Ian said: “We are delighted to hear such favourable reports, as this is a completely new environment and experience for us, compared to always being employees. It is all very well having theories about running a business, but we are finding that it is a matter of being very flexible, in order to try and keep everyone happy.”
The restaurant is now open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, and the couple feature a popular weekly special ‘Welsh Evening’, with tasty dishes such as local goats cheese and leek tartlets, followed by succulent local lamb or the cockles for which the area is justly famous. Plus, of course, the local beer from the Tomos Watkin brewery, just 10 miles down the road from the resort.
“We have tried to style the restaurant around a French ‘brasserie’, with a relaxed and informal atmosphere, which is family orientated,” explained Liz.
“We serve all the usual favourites, including lamb shanks and steaks, along with fresh local seafood from the Taf Estuary and vegetarian options. We also feature a kid’s menu, with a choice of main courses at £3.50 each, along with a special range of children’s desserts.”
The bar serves a wide range of delicious light meals and snacks – also for lunch and dinner, every day of the week.
Ian and Liz can also be justly proud of their wine cellar, which is supplied by a Welsh-based international wine importer. Indeed, Ian reports that lots of members have commented on the quality and variety of the wines – which are almost all available both by the glass and the bottle.
And talking of drinks, Ian tells us he once created a cocktail for Prince Phillip, when he opened the Royal Corinthians Yacht Club in Edinburgh, the couple’s home city.
JobRotation scheme ‘great success’ at Brunston
Brunston Castle resort manager, Norma Docherty, has given us an inspirational story this month connected with ‘JobRotation’, a government-funded scheme designed to help people back into the workforce.
“The scheme lasts for six months and then you either say ‘thanks and goodbye’ or you can take them on full time,” explained Norma. “We took Kevan Brittain on to help with the maintenance side and we have now employed him full time, as he has proved to be a very good worker. The scheme required the participation of myself as manager and a member of our staff (called a mentor) to look after Kevan, which in this case was Lawrence Megraw.”
She went on to say that there were also various training schemes available in conjunction with the scheme, and the following staff from Seasons Brunston Castle went on some of these courses: Norma Docherty, Lawrence Megraw, Emma Docherty, Catriona McBride, Clive McCreadie, Chris McCreadie, Ron Turnbull. Then, just before Christmas, they were all invited to a lunch for the final presentation, where the photograph (above) was taken.
We understand that the JobRotation scheme has been operating successfully in the Girvan and surrounding area for the last two years and one of the scheme’s aims is to support small to medium enterprises through training, whilst helping tackle unemployment through the creation of new jobs. Last year, the project delivered over £92,000 worth of training to participating companies in the area.
RUBY WEDDING CELEBRATIONS IN VIENNA
From the sound of things, Dennis and Maureen Pope, of Rainham, Kent, could cheerfully have stayed on a bit longer in the city of their dreams.
‘This is just to thank you for your help in making the exchange arrangements for my wife and I at Seasons affiliate resort, Cordial Theaterhotel in Vienna, to help us celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Vienna has been on our list of special places to visit for many years, and to accomplish the visit on our Ruby Wedding Anniversary has made it into a memorable occasion. The city exceeded our expectations, its architecture and history, aided in this case by warm autumn sunshine and mild evenings. We experienced a Mozart concert in the ‘Golden Hall’ of the Musikverein, the place where the new Year’s Day concert from Vienna comes from on TV, and we had a guided tour of the State Opera House, as well as visiting the Schönbrunn Palace (pictured above) and seeing the Spanish Riding School.
Regarding the exchange facilities, they were very good, and were situated only about 20 minutes walk from the centre of Vienna – or even less if you went by tube or train. Extra information should any Seasons guests wanting to exchange have disabilities, there is a lift to all apartment access levels but some apartments have two floors with stairs to the main bedroom and bathroom. The restaurant was a cold buffet type in the evening, but there were many places to eat within about 10 minutes walk. Thank you once again for all your help.’
SHORT BREAK WINNER
Following our questionnaire in the November issue of Seasons eNews Update, when we asked readers if they would be interested in a new Spanish resort without a kitchen, but offering the option of very tempting half board rates, we are now happy to announce the winner of the short break holiday.
This is Robert Bishop, from Wiltshire (above), who is entitled to a FREE three night weekend break or a four night midweek break, either at Whitbarrow Village or Brunston Castle, during 2006. When he heard he had won, he said: “Thanks for much needed lovely news, as my partner Cathy has fractured her back and we haven’t visited either Brunston or Whitbarrow yet. The picture shows us at Club Tahiti in June 2005.”
Based on the results of the survey, which showed that 80% of respondents indicated that they would be happy to stay at resorts without kitchens, provided that there was an option for half board for at least 3-4 nights, Seasons is now looking into the viability of offering optional half board arrangements for members at some of our current resorts. So watch this space!
OTE SURVEY
Your chance to win one of 3 fabulous prizes.
Organisation for Timeshare in Europe, the timeshare trade body to which Seasons belongs, is carrying out research amongst British timeshare owners in order to establish what you like best about your timeshare, how timeshare compares with other holidays, where you own and why you bought in the first place.
Your views are of vital importance to everyone in the industry, as you are helping to conduct research, and it will only take a few minutes of your time to click on the relevant boxes.
To thank you for participating, you can enter a prize draw to win one of three holidays, as long as you complete the survey by 14th April. OTE members Seasons Holidays plc, Club La Costa and Clowance Estates are each offering a week’s free accommodation, subject to availability*, for up to four persons at one of their resorts in the UK, Spain and the Canaries, Austria, Portugal or Turkey. To take part, simply click here.
(* excluding school holidays and to be taken within 12 months of notification of winning)
STEADY BOOKINGS FOR NEW TURKISH RESORT
Following the recent scare about a couple of remote incidents of bird flu being recorded in Turkey, Seasons Marketing Director, Leslie McCann, commented: “Speaking for myself, my own son and daughter are due to visit Gemini Park later this year and I have no intention whatever of cancelling their booking because of such a vague possibility! And whilst some members have chosen to cancel, the fact is that the couple of known cases in Turkey are many miles away from the Aegean coast.”
He went on to say that Seasons is confident that members choosing to holiday at Gemini Park in 2006 will be delighted with their overall vacation experience and that they have nothing to fear. He went on to say that bookings for September in particular are coming in thick and fast, and that other times of year are being booked up steadily.
“Generally, Seasons choice of Turkey as our latest resort destination seems to have met with great enthusiasm by most of our members,” said Mr. McCann.
The picture above shows how advanced construction already is on Gemini Park, with the pool ready to fill.
£25 WINNING LETTER
THAILAND DREAM DESTINATIONS
When Michael & Connie Hippisley of Arbroath, Scotland, went off on their dream holiday to Thailand, they found it exceeded their expectations.
‘Season’s affiliated resorts do it again – and it was all excellent, with super locations, inexpensive food, lovely people, and brilliant accommodations. Having spent five days in Bangkok on the 34th floor of the Sofitel Silom on our own initiative, Connie and I couldn’t have been more happy to arrive at the cooler Royal Bella Vista Club, nestling in the hills. Here there was clean clear air, it was sunny all day and there were brilliant stars at night. The grounds are like Japanese gardens (pictured above), with waterfalls, bridges and little lakes. During our stay, we enjoyed elephant rides, ox cart riding, bamboo rafting, and orchid gardens - all great fun and well organised by the resort. Individual villas were of teak wood, and were very well appointed.
We moved to Royal Lighthouse Villas at Phuket at the ‘Boat Lagoon’ for our second week (above), where the Villas overlook the waterways which lead out to sea. This location is part of a much larger yachting complex. There was an open air barbecue every night, with very good food, and at 160 Bahts (£2.50) to eat as much as you like – you can’t go wrong! We enjoyed daily speedboat trips from the lagoon to some of the other islands and beautiful beaches, again organised efficiently by the resort. Everything in Thailand is very good value for money and both resorts organised private taxis for us that would take us where ever we wanted, for all the trips and even our own shopping trips. These taxis would be with us all day for a charge of approximately £8. Aren’t we both lucky being members of Seasons?’
Have YOU got a story about your Seasons holiday or short break that you would like to share? Simply email it to insight@seasonsholidays.com and you could win £25 if your entry is chosen as the winning letter in a future edition of Seasons eNews Update! And remember that attaching a photograph will give you a much better chance of catching the Editor’s eye.
WHERE THERE’S A WILL
One of Europe’s largest specialist timeshare trustees, Hutchinson and Co. Trust Company Limited, has recently diversified into will writing and estate planning services, with the establishment of a company called WillPlan Ltd. This specialist service has proved so popular in their local area around Camberley that links have now been established with a network of professional will writers, in order to offer a nationwide personal service.
Commenting on the new company, Seasons Managing Director, Michael Foundly, said: “Seasons has been dealing with Hutchinsons for the past 10 years, and I would be happy to recommend this service to any of our members, as I am confident that it will be provided to the same very high degree of professionalism that we have come to expect from this company.”
WillPlan’s products are: * Single Wills * Mirror Wills (for partners) * Discretionary Will Trusts (a trust mechanism that can save up to £110,000 in Inheritance Tax) * Bespoke Estate Planning to minimise Inheritance Tax, using bonds, re-mortgaging, joint life insurance policies and lifetime interest trusts, working with Independent Financial Advisors * Spanish Wills (to cover Spanish assets) * Enduring Powers of Attorney * Probate.
Ray Hutchings, a spokesman for Hutchinsons, explained: “We visit the customer at their home, in order to take their instructions. We write the Wills in Camberley and send a draft copy to the customer for checking, which they return to us. We then send off the final bound Will, which the client signs, gets witnessed and sends a copy to us as evidence that it has been completed correctly.”
Further details can be found on www.willplan.co.uk or by phoning 0800 093 5273.
Please remember to mention the fact that you are a Seasons member when contacting the company, in order to receive maximum benefit from the scheme.
SEASONS ‘NO SMOKING’ POLICY
As announced in the January issue of eNews, members are reminded that, as from February 1st 2006, there has been a strict ‘no smoking’ policy in the clubhouses and restaurants of Burn Park, Laugharne Park and Whitbarrow Village. In addition, at Brunston Castle and Knocktopher, the current legislation in those countries extends to the resort reception areas and to the holiday cottages and apartments themselves.
We will be placing suitable ashtrays near the units at all affected resorts for members who wish to smoke.
Seasons Owners Consultative Committee (SOCC)
If you have anything you would like to refer to SOCC, you may contact the committee in confidence by email on mail@socc.org.uk, or by writing to SOCC, c/o Seasons Holidays plc, Rowan House, Brotherswood Court, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 4QW (mail is forwarded to SOCC unopened).
ONE NUMBER FOR ALL BOOKINGS
Will members please note that, for your added convenience, you now only need to dial a single number for both Reservations and Membership Services.
ALL BOOKING ENQUIRIES should be directed to 0870 429 8844, including Seasons member resorts, short breaks, affiliate bookings and exchange requests. Reservation/Membership Services hours are Monday to Friday, 9 am to 7 pm.
Once bookings are confirmed, we can transfer you to the Travel Club, or if you have any travel only enquiries, please call on their new telephone number, 0870 429 8666.
SEASONS IMPORTANT EMAIL ADDRESSES
- To make bookings at any of the 5 Seasons UK or 4 sunshine resorts, or to book value for money Seasons midweek or weekend breaks email reservations@seasonsholidays.com
- For any general enquiries about your membership and to make bookings at Seasons affiliated resorts worldwide email memservices@seasonsholidays.com
- For advice on every aspect of your holiday, with all tickets fully ATOL protected through our association with Vacation Travel Seasons Travel Club email travelclub@seasonsholidays.com. The Travel Club online enquiry/booking service is open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. For more details click here.
- Generous offers are always available for friends and relations of members to come and experience Seasons for themselves - plus incentives for members! For the current special offers email referrals@seasonsholidays.com
- If any members wish to contact Seasons Owners Consultative Committee email mail@socc.org.uk
BACK ISSUES OF eNEWS
Members wishing to read previous issues of Seasons eNews Update should visit www.seasonsholidays.com, go to the Members page and click on ‘Members News’.
Please note that this is an unmanaged mailing address. To reply to this message please email insight@seasonsholidays.com