Press Releases
Friday 14 May 2010
St Michael’s Hotel & Spa sign up to support New Work project
An award-winning hotel in Falmouth has agreed to lend its support to a project which aims to help people affected by redundancy in Cornwall.
The St Michael’s Hotel & Spa has joined forces with Dott Cornwall to help raise the profile of the organisation’s New Work scheme.
New Work, which is managed by Dott Cornwall and sponsored by the Skills Funding Agency, aims to enhance the skills of people in Cornwall so they can achieve better paid jobs that are relevant to the county’s future economy.
Robert Woolf of Penryn-based SEA Communications, who is delivering the project, said: “We’re really excited by the support that the team at St Michael’s have given us and the New Work project.
“We’re keen to partner with businesses who have deep roots here and who are trusted by the people of Cornwall to reinforce the fact that employers care about the workforce.
“We know the St Michael’s team put a lot of time and effort into supporting the local community and we’re grateful that they agreed to back the campaign.”
As part of its support St Michael’s, which was Hotel of the Year in 2009, is providing the New Work project with a prize of a night’s accommodation, full Cornish breakfast in The Flying Fish Restaurant and full use of all the spa facilities.
Gemma Teague, marketing manager at St Michael’s, said: “I’m pleased that we’re able to support Dott Cornwall and the New Work project.
“The project offers an innovative approach to helping people affected by redundancy.
“It’s also really nice to know that someone who has been affected by these issues will enjoy a great time using the facilities here.
“I hope that by providing a prize and supporting the scheme we will encourage other businesses to come forward and pledge their support.”
Dott Cornwall's New Work Campervan www.newworkcornwall.co.uk
Friday 8th January 2010
Hotel Raise Money for ShelterBox
St Michael’s Hotel & Spa, Falmouth has helped to raise £309.87 for Cornwall based charity ShelterBox.
St Michael’s Spa Open Evening, held at the hotel on 1st Dec 2009 attracted members and non members to an evening of treatment demonstrations, offers, and a raffle in aid of ShelterBox. Prizes were donated by ESPA, Spiezia, Ocean BMW, The Flying Fish Restaurant and St Michael’s Hotel & Spa.
Tara Trethowan, Spa Front of House & Business Development Manager, said: “The evening was a very successful event and we are now in the exciting stages of organising our next event for early this year. I’d like to thank all those companies who had donated fantastic prizes for the raffle and helped to raise money for our chosen charity.”
ShelterBox respond instantly to natural and manmade disasters by delivering boxes of aid to those who are most in need. Each box supplies an extended family of up to10 people with a tent and essential equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless.
Angelina Lambourn, ShelterBox’s Press Officer, said: ‘We’re really grateful to everyone at St Michael’s Hotel & Spa for putting on this great event to raise money for ShelterBox. As a disaster relief charity we rely entirely on public donations and people’s generosity so we are deeply appreciative of fundraising efforts such as this.’
Peter Holgate, Hotel General Manager, said: “ShelterBox is an important charity to the hotel and one that we feel proud to be able to support. If anyone would like to organise their own event at the hotel to raise money for ShelterBox or any other charity, then please do get in touch.”
Tara Trethowan, of St Michael's presents Tom Henderson CEO/Founder of ShelterBox with cheque
11th Nov 2009
Short Listed for Excellence Awards
Falmouth hotel St Michael’s Hotel & Spa has been selected as a winner in the Large Hotel category in this year’s South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
The South West Tourism Excellence Awards celebrate the ‘best in the South West' and aim to promote and reward the leading businesses and individuals in the tourism industry.
“To gain recognition on a regional level is not only good for the hotel but for Cornwall as a whole,” said hotel owner Nigel Carpenter. “We strive to be one of the best hotels in the South West and to win an award at the Excellence ceremony would be a fantastic achievement for all the staff at the hotel.”
The news follows the hotels success at last months Cornwall Tourism Awards, where it lived up to its new four star status by scooping no less than three coveted titles; Gold Hotel of the Year, Gold Tourism Website of the Year and overall Winner of Winners.
Alistair Handyside, Chairman of South West Tourism, commenting on the award winners, said “Winning at the regional awards is a great achievement for any business especially more so in these economic times. These businesses have shown that customer care, staff training and continued investment have not faltered but have grown and they are committed to exceeding visitor expectations.”
The winners of the South West Tourism Excellence Awards ceremony will be announced on Monday 23rd November at the 4-star Saunton Sands Hotel in North Devon. Guest speaker and presenter at this year's event will be Gill Williams, Travel Editor of the Sunday Mirror, who will be adding her own anecdotes and comment on the region's winners.
The regional GOLD winners will be put forward for VisitEngland's, National Enjoy England Awards for Excellence 2010, where a staggering seven South West businesses received nationwide recognition in April 2009, making the South West the overall winning region.
Kirstie Allsopp presents St Michael's with the Hotel of the Year Award
at the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2009
28th May 2009
AA Four Star for St Michael's
St Michael’s Hotel & Spa has been recognised as one of the top hotels in the South West and awarded Four Stars by the AA Inspection team.
After seven years’ hard work and a £3.5 million makeover, St Michael’s Hotel & Spa in Falmouth has been awarded Four stars by the AA – the country’s official inspection body. The luxury hotel in Falmouth, privately owned by Nigel and Julie Carpenter, is the first hotel in Cornwall to achieve promotion to Four Stars this decade.
Nigel says: “We are absolutely delighted to receive 4 star accreditation from the AA. We have invested heavily in the hotel and spa over the last few years and built a winning team of staff delivering great customer service. Everyone has worked very hard to achieve this and I am very proud of them all.”
Malcolm Bell, Director of South West Tourism said: “This is excellent news and so well deserved. The team at St Michaels have dedicated themselves to providing a quality offering with first class service in a wonderful location - this is a four star accolade to a five star team."
The Four star accolade comes on the back of many other awards over the past couple of years – Silver, Best Hotel in the South West (2007); Gold – Cornish Distinctiveness (2007) Investors in People (2007) ; Restaurant of the Year – Bronze (2008); AA Rosette for Food ( 2005-2009). The environmental and green efforts of the hotel were recognised with a Silver Grade from the Green Tourism Business Scheme early this year, as well as the hotel being selected as a Coast Ambassador. The Flying Fish Restaurant was featured in this years Harden’s UK Restaurants and recommended by the Michelin Guide 2009.
Town Mayor, Councillor Varney, stated: “This is fantastic news for St Michaels Hotel, nothing more than they deserve. Nigel and his team have certainly put a lot of work in to raise the standard. It is imperative for the town to be able to offer top rate accommodation to our visitors.”
Over the past seven years the hotel has benefited from £3.5 million investment to transform the hotel into a distinctive, stylish and contemporary reflection of the “best of Cornwall”.
The 65 bedrooms have been reduced to 61 and all re-built with new bathrooms and facilities including new pocket sprung beds, large flat screen TV’s, new seating, sofas, soft furnishings, and solid ash furniture from sustainable forests.
The public areas have been transformed and totally re-designed. The Flying Fish Restaurant is renowned for serving some of the best food in the County at excellent value for money. Cornwall’s leading destination spa has been created with five treatment rooms, large heated pool, sauna, Jacuzzi, steam room and an extensive Fitness Suite. New air conditioned meeting rooms have been created and the Functions Suite is extremely popular for weddings and private parties.
Staff at St Michael’s are regarded as key ambassadors for the hotel and in recognition of all their hard work; they have been rewarded with celebration events. Just recently, all members of the 117 strong team were invited to a ‘Celebration of the Stars’ cruise with Pimms and Champagne followed by a meal at Castaways and teambuilding games. Some of the top achievers also enjoyed a celebration lunch at Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant!
Nigel Carpenter, Proprietor commented: “Our staff are at the heart of our success and everyone was delighted to celebrate our 4 star achievement! Over 25 of our staff are currently engaged in NVQ training and skill development programmes.”
St Michael’s has enjoyed continued sales growth for the past seven years and this year continues the trend. Nigel continued: “Sales are running at 10-12% up on last year, which is particularly encouraging in these more difficult times. We have invested in quality and continue to invest and this seems to be paying off for us.”
The local community has always been encouraged to use the hotel’s facilities, Peter Holgate, General Manager said: “We are a very friendly and welcoming hotel and love to see members of the local community using our facilities. Our Flying Fish, Health Club, and Spa are all great facilities for the local market, whether to have drinks after work, workout, relax or to hold an event. Our prices have also been kept sensible so that we can keep welcome locals coming in.”
Nigel Carpenter concluded: “The four star grade for St Michael’s Hotel & Spa is not just a reward for the team here but also for Falmouth. The hotel is very proud of its location, town, and sea views, and this is a major draw for all of its guests to visit the hotel.”
St Michael's staff celebrate at Rick Steins Restaurant
13th February 2009
Falmouth Green Tourism Leaders
St Michael's Hotel & Spa lead the way in Green Tourism with an accredited award.
St Michael’s Hotel & Spa has been awarded a Silver grading by The Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) and is the first large hotel in Falmouth to achieve such an award.
St Michael’s Hotel Green Team Leader, Helen Price said: “This is a huge achievement for the hotel and all of it’s’ staff. To be recognised for our green efforts is fantastic and we hope to continue along our green path and improve our environmental procedures even further this year.”
The GTBS is the leading sustainable tourism certification scheme in the UK. The aim of the scheme is to encourage a business to reduce their environmental impact by improving the management of any resources they use. The scheme also encourages guests to stay local, using local transport, local attractions and facilities.
Sustainability and green issues are now very much mainstream, with governments, businesses and individuals all involved. Tourism, as one of the main economic drivers in Cornwall, has its part to play. Nigel Carpenter, proprietor of St Michael’s Hotel & Spa said: “To achieve the Silver standard is a fantastic achievement and proves our commitment to environmental issues. Hopefully our success will lead the way and encourage other businesses to follow suit in the local area.”
St Michael’s Hotel & Spa’s Green Team was set up in 2007 and has since then implemented a ‘green way of thinking’ to all staff and guests that stay at the hotel. All staff are encouraged to use an alternative means to get to work: public transport, car sharing, cycling or walking. And all guests are encouraged to use the local network of ferries, boats, buses, trains and cycle routes that link to some of Cornwall’s best attractions.
All food served in The Flying Fish Restaurant is local and seasonal, cutting down food miles and reducing emissions and overcrowding on the roads. The Flying Fish kitchen team are also committed to sustainable fishing, selecting species of fish that are not threatened over those that have depleted stocks.
Energy efficiency throughout the hotel is achieved by actively encouraging reduced consumption; the installation of PIR lighting, improved staff initiatives and the renewal of old equipment with energy efficient equipment.
Double glazing now accounts for 62% of the hotel’s windows and guests self-select to have towels laundered. Measures have also been introduced to reduce the amount of water used including the fitting of water efficient toilet cisterns.
The amount of waste produced has been actively managed, measured and reduced with the promotion of recycling (glass, cardboard, printer cartridges, batteries, paper, metal and plastic) to guests and staff. In the past eighteen months St Michael’s Hotel & Spa have reduced their final waste by two-thirds.
Businesses opting to join the GTBS are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria. Businesses that meet the required standard, receive a Bronze, Silver, or Gold award based on their level of achievement.
By choosing a Green Tourism Business like St Michael’s Hotel & Spa, you are guaranteed that the business is committed to sustainable tourism, minimising its damage to the environment and is operating in accordance with the relevant environmental regulations.
Helen Price Green Team Leader
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20th October 2008
St Michael’s Hotel Oyster Festival Weekend
Falmouth hotel St Michael’s Hotel & Spa enjoyed a ‘foodie weekend’ full of tantalising delights during the Falmouth Oyster Festival. The hotel’s restaurant The Flying Fish has embraced the festival with a cookery demonstration, as well as hosting their very own Gourmet Weekend.
Head Chef Emma Barry created a delicious and diverse four-course menu for the Falmouth Oyster Festival, which is greatly becoming known as a must travel to event by many visitors and holiday makers from all over the country.
The event marked the beginning of the Oyster season and celebrates the diversity and quality of Cornish seafood, which was demonstrated in Emma’s menu; Mussels; Oyster Rockefeller; Poached Brill in Red Wine, Shallots and Wild Mushrooms; Tonka Bean Panna Cotta, Caramelised Pineapple, and Vanilla Ice Cream.
Emma Barry said “We are very keen to promote and use local and seasonal produce, and the Oyster Festival has been a great chance to demonstrate this to the local community and its visitors.”
The Flying Fish Head Sous Chef, Dan Gvaldi, cooked up a storm demonstrating Emma’s creations on Sunday 19th October. Dan kept the crowd entertained with his knowledge of Cornish seafood and seasonal produce.
The audience were not only able to see, learn and smell the food being created but were also lucky enough to taste it, with samples of each dish being handed out to audience members. The demonstration finished with specially made biscuits, marshmallows and chocolates offered to the audience, a great chance for all to sample the creations from the Flying Fish.
To coincide with the Falmouth Oyster Festival, St Michael’s Hotel & Spa hosted their annual Gourmet Weekend. Specially designed seven-course menus were put together with dishes such as; White Bean Veloute with Truffle Oil; Ham Hock Ballontine; Lemon Grass Crème Brulee; Chocolate Tart with blood orange sorbet. Guests were bowled over by the exquisite menu and the Gourmet Weekend is proving to be a popular and much loved event at the hotel.
The Oyster Festival and Gourmet Weekend have been a great end to what’s been a fantastic week for The Flying Fish restaurant at St Michael’s Hotel & Spa, which saw the restaurant winning Bronze in the ‘Restaurant of the Year’ at the Cornwall Tourism Awards.
Dan Gvaldi at the Oyster Festival 2008
20th October 2008
St Michaels Hotel Winners at ‘Tourism Oscars’
St Michael’s Hotel & Spa, Falmouth were winners in two categories in this year’s Cornwall Tourism Awards, which are known as the ‘Oscars’ of the tourism industry.
The hotel’s restaurant, the Flying Fish, and the hotel’s website both won bronze in the ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Website of the Year’ categories.
Comic genius Ruby Wax, who was the guest speaker at this years award ceremony and sent 300 attendees into fits of laughter, presented the hotel with their awards. Hotel owner Nigel Carpenter says: “Winning two awards at this year’s ceremony is fantastic, a great achievement for the hotel and having Ruby Wax present them is even better!”
The Flying Fish is a stylish and contemporary restaurant with stunning sea views across the hotel’s sub tropical gardens. Head Chef, Emma Barry is one of Cornwall’s top female chef’s. She and her team are producing some of the best food in Cornwall from local, fresh and seasonal produce.
Emma Barry said, “The Flying Fish continues to go from strength to strength. We see our role as showcasing great Cornish food, so our success is also a success for Cornwall.”
The Flying Fish is no stranger to awards; it has been awarded an AA Rosette every year since 2005 and is an Accredited Cornish Restaurant. It was highly commended in the 2006 Cornwall Tourism Awards and won Gold in the ‘Cornish Distinctiveness’ in 2007.
Mr Carpenter continues, “The Flying Fish restaurant is a real dining experience – great food, professional, warm and friendly service. It is no wonder that local people are a sizeable and very important part of our customer mix.”
St Michael’s website (www.stmichaelshotel.co.uk) was re-launched in 2007 and has become a major marketing tool for the hotel. It is an on going product which is continuously updated with news, events, availability and offers, giving local people as well as those further a field a great insight into the hotel, Falmouth and Cornwall.
St Michael’s Hotel & Spa are now automatically fast tracked into the judging for the 2008 South West Tourism Excellence Awards, giving them and the region the chance for yet more celebration.
This years ‘Awards Night’ will be on the 24th November at the Cadbury House Hotel, Health Club & Spa in Somerset.
7th October 2008
St Michael's Hotel Short Listed for Cornwall Tourism Oscars
Falmouth hotel St Michael’s Hotel & Spa has been short listed in two categories in this year’s Cornwall Tourism Awards, which are known as the ‘Oscars’ of the tourism industry.
The hotel’s restaurant, the Flying Fish, and the hotel’s website have been selected in the top 3 for the ‘Restaurant of the Year’ and ‘Website of the Year’.
Hotel owner Nigel Carpenter says: “We are delighted by the news. We have invested heavily in the hotel in the last 7 years as we want St Michaels to be famous as a world class hotel, leading the way in Cornwall. It is wonderful to get this vote of confidence in what we have achieved so far.”
The Flying Fish is a stylish, contemporary and friendly restaurant with stunning sea views across the hotel’s sub tropical gardens. Head Chef, Emma Barry and her team delight in creating exciting cuisine which utilises the very best that Cornwall has to offer, working closely with local producers, farmers and fishermen to buy food which is fresh, of the highest quality and low in food miles.
The restaurant is renowned for offering a good selection of fresh Cornish fish and seafood, with ‘Catch of the Day’ and Newlyn Crab Cakes regularly on the menu.
The Flying Fish is no stranger to awards; it has been awarded an AA Rosette every year since 2005 and is an Accredited Cornish Restaurant. It was highly commended in the 2006 Cornwall Tourism Awards and won Gold in the ‘Cornish Distinctiveness’ in 2007.
Emma Barry said, “The Flying Fish continues to go from strength to strength. We see our role as showcasing great Cornish food, so our success is also a success for Cornwall.”
St Michael’s website (www.stmichaelshotel.co.uk) was re-launched in 2007 and has won praise for it’s design and navigation. It allows visitors to have first hand experience of the hotel, with extensive galleries of images showcasing the rooms, views, and facilities. The site also has an up-to-date news page, with current news from the hotel, Falmouth and Cornwall.
St Michael’s website has become a major marketing tool for the hotel, giving potential customers and guests a real insight into staying at the hotel and the facilities it has to offer.
In addition to the glory which comes with winning the Cornwall Tourism Awards, this year the gold, silver and bronze winners in each category will automatically be entered for the South West Regional Awards and ultimately the National Excellence Awards.
The winners of the Cornwall Tourism Awards will be announced at the Headland Hotel, Newquay at a gala dinner on Thursday 16th October, with guest speaker Ruby Wax.
1st February 2008
St Michaels Hotel Management Achievement
The award winning St Michaels Hotel & Spa’s management team are focused on achievement and professionalism. Recently five of the management team have achieved qualification and accolade in achieving this degree level award.
Jack van der Hoeven, the hotels Purchasing & Operations Manager, Jo Shelton, Personnel & Training Manager, Amanda Griffiths, Sales Manager, Mel Franklin, Reception Manager and Jo Spargo, Health & Fitness Manager have completed seven management training days in sessions over 3 months, through the training provider ‘Newquay for Excellence Training’ (nfet).
The course included specialised subjects, including Effective Leadership & Management, Management legal obligations including Health & Safety and Employment legislation, Effective Planning & Team Communications, as well as promoting a pro-active Management team culture. This qualification is awarded by the governing body, The Chartered Management Institute, who promote membership to professional managers across the business spectrum.
The team needed to demonstrate their ability and understanding by undertaking 8 assignments throughout the duration of the course. Jo Shelton, the hotel’s Personnel & Training Manager said, “The course was extremely beneficial to all of us; we gained a clear concept of the management legal responsibilities to their employees, as well as to the business. Each session was exceptional, both fun and educational, and was professionally delivered by Trish Archer from nfet. The course was also an excellent team building event, which we view vital for positive cultural and business success.”
St Michaels Hotel & Spa, who last year achieved the ‘Investors in People’ status, encourages management development through their training & development plan, to promote both personal and professional achievement.
General manager Peter Holgate commented “The team constantly strive for professional excellence, demonstrating this throughout the management culture, and by using our training & development plan. Professionalism promotes great customer service, and increases morale and wellbeing within the team. I am extremely proud of what we now call Team St Michael’s. It’s a great achievement!”
28th August 2007
St Michael’s Hotel and Spa - Final three for Hotel of the Year
St Michael’s Hotel and Spa, Falmouth, has been shortlisted for Hotel of the Year in this year’s South West Tourism Excellence Awards. This contemporary, chic, seaside hotel and spa has been created over the past five years with a £3 million transformation programme.
The South West Tourism Awards seek to find the very best in their category across the wide South West judging area which extends as far as the North Cotswolds and Wiltshire. It would be a real coup for Cornwall, therefore, if St Michael’s won!
St Michael’s Hotel and Spa is accredited by the prestigious Johansens, holds an AA Rosette for fine dining and has scooped five Cornish Tourism Awards in the last two years. The hotel has also recently won the Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, which is a national award recognising businesses who put exceptional effort into involving, supporting and developing their people to improve performance.
St Michael’s has undergone a major refurbishment over the past five years which has seen the creation of The Flying Fish Restaurant , St Michael’s Spa and The Regatta Suite as well as a stylish new hotel which reflects the very best of coastal Cornwall.
The Flying Fish restaurant offers fresh exciting food and drink against a backdrop of stunning views of Falmouth Bay and tropical garden landscapes. The menus offer the very best in contemporary cuisine, using fresh, seasonal Cornish produce.
St Michael’s Spa is Cornwall’s leading Spa and was launched in 2005. Facilities include a large heated indoor pool , sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and a well equipped fitness suite. Luxury Spa treatments use the world renowned Espa, and the Cornish organic Spieza range. The treatments include a wide range of facials, massage, body wraps and stone therapy. In addition a full range of beauty treatments are available as well as St Tropez spray tanning.
Weddings and functions are extremely popular using The Regatta Suite which overlooks the gardens and sea. The Regatta is also ideal for conferences, events and exhibitions whilst smaller business meetings are well catered for with a range of four meeting rooms. facilities include, Wi Fi, Internet, projectors and large flat screen TV’s.
The inspiration for St Michael’s comes from the Cornish sea, Cornish blues and creams, with touches of beach house chic, and maritime influenced décor. Local wood, stone and artwork throughout the hotel and spa highlight the hotel’s synergy with its location.
Nigel Carpenter, Proprietor of St Michael’s, said “We are extremely honoured to be chosen as one of the Top Three Hotels in the whole South West. It is wonderful to be selected and to have our transformation recognised. The management and staff have worked extremely hard and it is very rewarding for everyone to be honoured in this way.”
The Awards will be presented at a special “Oscar Style” Awards Ceremony in Torquay on October 29th. Fingers crossed for St Michael’s!
