Kents Hill Park Training & Conference Centre, Milton Keynes
Website: www.accenturehotelconferencing.com
Capacity: More than70 training and syndicate rooms. The largest can accommodate up to 250 peopletheatre-style.
Training facilities: Extensive range of audio visual equipment available.
Parking: 900 spaces.
Accommodation: 330 en–suite bedrooms.
Dinner menu: Options include roasted topside of beef, breaded pork spice burger and chargrilled tuna with roast asparagus.
Extras: Include a swimming pool, gym and squash courts.
Costs: The day delegate rate is£48per person on weekdays, and£40at weekends. The 24–hour delegate rate is £149.50 per person on weekdaysand £111at weekends, including breakfast and dinner. All prices are exclusive of VAT.
Staverton Park, Daventry, Northamptonshire
Website: www.devere.co.uk/venues/staverton-park
Capacity: Overall the property can hold up to 1,000 delegates.
Training facilities: Video conferencing is widely available. Standalone lecterns thatprovide DVD, TV, video and LCDare all included in the price. There is free Wi-fiaccess throughout the building.
Parking: 420 spaces, free of charge.
Accommodation: 244 en–suite bedrooms.
Dinner menu: Includes a braised rump of lamb in a cumin sauce and breast of chicken wrapped in smoked bacon.
Extras: The property is set in an 18-hole championship golf course, and it also has a health and beauty facility. Guests can also use the indoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms.
Cost: Prices range from a 7-hour rate of between £45–£64 (excl. VAT) to a 24-hour rate of between £120-£178 (excl. VAT).
Peckforton Castle, near Chester
Website: www.peckfortoncastle.co.uk
Capacity: 350 in total, with up to 200 in the biggest room.
Training facilities: All rooms include data projection screens, Wi-fi internet connections, range of teambuilding activities, and flip charts.
Parking: 400 spaces
Accommodation: 38 rooms including five executive rooms.
Dinner menu: Àla carte menus include rib–eye steak, lamb dish and mushroom risotto. For a dinner event with a twist, medieval banquets can be organised in the Great Hall, which seats 120 people.
Extras: Peckforton is the only Grade 1 listed medieval–style castle in the UK and its vast grounds can hold virtually any type of event. Outdoor teambuilding activities that can be organised include: Land Rover 4×4, archery and falconry.
Costs: The 24–hour rate is £155 (inc. VAT) per person, and the day rate is£55 (inc. VAT) per person.
Wokefield Park, near Reading
Website:www.devere.co.uk/venues/wokefield
Capacity: Total capacity is 800, with the largest room holding 350 people theatre-style.
Training facilities: All main meeting rooms have natural daylight, and wired and wireless high-speed internet access. There are 240 acres of land for outdoor teambuilding/training events.
Parking: 400 cars.
Accommodation: The site offers a variety of 302 bedrooms, all en–suit.
Dinner menu: Includes: pan-fried calves‘ liver, roast loin of pork, and fresh grilledsalmon.
Extras: With a championship 18-hole golf course, Wokefield recently received the CondéNast Johansens award for Most Excellent Conference Centre in the UK.
Cost: The 24–hour rate is £198(excl. VAT) per delegate, including breakfast and dinner.
Wyboston Lakes, St Neots, Cambridgeshire
Website: www.wybostonlakes.co.uk
Capacity: Comprises different venues: for example, the Robinson Executive Centre holds 300 people theatre-style, while the Waterfront Centre has capacity for120 people.
Training facilities: Free Wi-fi is available throughout the venues, as are the services of an in house AV support team.
Parking: 1,000 spaces.
Accommodation: There are a total of 400 bedrooms on site.
Dinner menu: Includes: sesame roasted fillet of Scottish beef,roasted maize-fed chicken, grilled marinated tuna steak
Extras: Set in 350 acres of rural countryside, Wyboston Lakes claims to be the largest independentlyowned, single site residential conference and training venue in northern Europe.
Cost: A 24-hour rate for the Robinson Executive Centre is £168 per delegate. For the Waterfront Centre, the 24-hour rate is £135 per delegate.
Ashorne Hill, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
Website: www.ashornehill.co.uk
Capacity: There are 12 main training rooms and 30 syndicate rooms. The largest room holds 120 delegates.
Training facilities available: Extensive range of audio visual equipment available.
Parking: “Ample” parking is available.
Accommodation:118 bedrooms.
Dinner menu: Includes sautéed tiger prawns, wild saffron mushrooms and grilled swordfish.
Extras: Free internet access is available, as is a gym and snooker table.
Cost: The residential 24-hour rate is £159 per person.
Whittlebury Hall, Towcester, Northamptonshire
Website: www.whittleburyhall.co.uk
Capacity: The main exhibition hall can hold up to 500 people. In all, the venue can accommodate more than2,000 delegates.
Training facilities: There are 14 principal training suites, 35 syndicate rooms, six meeting rooms and an executive boardroom. All rooms have natural daylight and include integrated LCD projectors and screens.
Parking: More than 400 spaces.
Accommodation: 211 bedrooms, all en–suites.
Dinner menu: There are three restaurants on site offering anything from contemporary cooking to pizza and pasta dishes.
Extras: The property offers spa packages for delegates. There are also four nine-hole golf courses to choose from.
Cost: The 24–hour rates start from £145 (excl. VAT) per delegate.
