Mini Bars @ Windermere

At today's team meeting we had a bit of a discussion around adding some "mini bar" type items into our guest rooms and suites. We would add items such as mini bottles of wine, trail mix, granola bars, bottled mineral water etc...
This could be a great service addition for our guests as well as a new revenue source, let me know what you think of this idea...............

 

 

 

 

 

Weekly Team Meeting 5

Alumni Relations in for a food, wine and beer tasting on Friday, March 7th.
Wedding on Saturday, March 8th.
We have 4 weddings this March, last March we had zero weddings.
Can we do Cupcakes in house ? lot of weddings switching to Cupcakes from wedding cakes.
Our bridal show has moved to March 30th, all managers will be required in house that day.
Kitchen has some plans and ideas for the outside garden boxes, have to stop deer eating everything !
New food and beverage server Tom, starting in Banquets tonight.
Easter menus have gone to Janet for printing.
Andrea looking into having mini bar type food and beverage in rooms - great opportunity to grow revenue.
Hotel is sold out tonight and tomorrow night, Woo Hoo - Hotel at #13 on Tripadvisor
Water will be shut down in hotel on March 5th at 11am for pipe and heater upgrades.
Christina getting calls already for Easter brunch, we are now taking credit card numbers for groups over 8.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to Heather Saxby, that's Café Heather !

 

Hope you have a great day

 

It's Time to Tango

Did you know that on the first Sunday of every month we have Tango classes in the Grand hall ?
If your done with disco, passed by punk rock, too rickety to rap, then perhaps Tango is the dance for you !

Come in and give it a try sometime, goes 7.30pm to 10.30pm in our very own Grand Hall, first Sunday of the month - next one is this coming Sunday, March 2nd. Newbies to Tango are welcome, cost is $10 for a night of lessons and fun.

How hard can it be ? I'll be here this Sunday to give it a shot...

Favourite Recipe Time

 

 

"Favourite Recipe Time"

 

This section of the Manor Blog is dedicated to favourite recipes, anyone want's to share a recipe, drop me an email and I'll post to the blog........

 

 

I've tried these cookies, they're outstanding, just lose the cinnamon.

 

 

These cookies taste best with a glass of chilled milk rather than a diet soda !

 

Enjoy



Our Regulars

As we all know, life in a hotel changes daily, no two days are ever the same, our guests come and go constantly.

 

We do however have quite a few groups and guests that are a constant, "our regulars", I think I take it for granted that we all know who these people are, what they do, and why they're here. I've come to realise that different departments have their different regulars that they get to know - could be regular Café guests, so the Café staff all know them. Could be regular overnight stays, so the front desk and housekeeping staff know them. Could be regular meeting groups so our sales and banquet staff know them..... you get the picture....

 

 

What I'm going to do is ask these departments to share with the rest of us who these important people are, I'll call the stories "Our Regulars" - Brenda is going to start us off with info on one of her groups:

 

PS. Spot the Dragon 

 

 

This regular group is called the SPIN group, this group meets and enjoys dinner in the Café on the second and fourth Monday of every month, they are approaching their third year with us - I'll let Brenda explain who they are and what they do !

SPIN – Sales Professional Interactive Networkers

 

 

 Criteria for joining – Sales Professional that calls upon companies that retain 25 employees or more.  Heading into our 3^rd year.  Meet the 2^nd and 4^th Monday of each month in the Windermere’s Cafe to brainstorm and share sales techniques,  failures, etc., and have a members spotlight at each meeting.  Guests are encouraged.   Currently have 14 members and our goal is to grow to 20 by the end of 2014. Only one member per category. 

 Current Chair – Courtney Hance, Hall Marketing  and I fill the seat of Co-Chair.  I will be stepping up to Chair in May when Courtney commences her mat leave

 

 

We attend many networking events as a group,  One of the hi-lights was booking a table for the Jim Treliving Luncheon at the LCC and the cancer fundraiser “Reach for the Beach” held last summer in Grand Bend. 

 Incredible group of people that I am proud to call my friends!!



Snow Forts and Deer

Look what showed up over the weekend, it's on the bridge just down from the Café, very cool and worth checking out.

 

 

Our deer are curious about it too..



Joint Health & Safety Committee meeting

 

 

Reminder that our Joint Health & Safety Committee meeting is tomorrow, Tuesday February 25th at 2pm in Smallman's room.

 

If you would like to be a part of this important team, let me know or come along to a meeting and learn more, meetings are the 4th Tuesday of every month at 2pm.

Amanda's accident

Best Wishes to Amanda who has had a little cross country ski accident, get well soon Amanda, we miss your smiling face in the Café @ breakfast time every morning.

Meanwhile, we do have Andrea's smiling face today to cover for you this morning.

 

Hotel Funnies

My favourite cartoon strip if you haven't already guessed - Dilbert, here's some hotel related funnies (you can click on comic strips to enlarge)

Check In

Early Morning Call

 

Room Service Breakfast

 

Check Out

 

 



Lucky Gold for Canada Today

I see Canada got lucky against Great Britain in today's curling final. I didn't see the match but I suspect the score was a result of a bad call on the ice by a biased ref or a Russian or American judge who had it in for the good guys !!
Anyway, congrats Canada on Gold.

Since Great Britain decided not to bother entering a hockey team in this year's Olympics, the path is easier for Canada or the US to get to the finals. I hear the two teams face each other today with the Canadian men being urged to "play like girls" (in reference to the girl's Gold medal yesterday I assume) - this is nice but would never happen in a real sport like soccer ! 

 

Weekly Team Meeting 3

Janette Fertile from housekeeping joined us for the meeting this week, Janette got through the meeting even with baby kicking throughout the meeting ! due date is May 10th.

We are hosting the "Harmonics of Healing" event this weekend - a retreat for women to rest, reflect and retreat !! quite a few of the guests for this event have already made Cafe reservations.

No weddings this weekend, one of the few this year without a wedding.

Tuesday & Thursday lunch in Cafe is very busy with in house groups.

President's office in Wednesday and Thursday evenings.

Susan Grindrod event booked for Friday, for 5 guests

Neil off site on Friday 28th, at a "London Food Roundtable Talk"

Izabela to provide quotes for kitchen door window.

Chef is looking for a full time Cook for the Windermere's Cafe

Chef has Easter menus done, will be going to Janet for printing once we determine a selling price, also require a Good Friday menu.

Good Friday, the Cafe will be open for breakfast and dinner, closed for lunch.

Chef Kristian will be participating in a cooking contest in Niagara Falls on June 27th, more details to follow....

Windermere's Cafe will be participating in the Signatures cook off event on June 16th, again, more details to follow......

Cafe still at # 6 on Tripadvisor, Hotel is at # 13

We will be having our Joint Health & Safety Comm meeting on Tuesday at 2pm, anyone is welcome to attend, remember to check the H & S board in the staff room for updates.

Jazz night went very well, will do another one, will be starting Friday night Jazz in the Cafe in March.

Ended meeting with Cupcakes in honour of Hannah's 40th birthday.

Great Reviews From This Morning's Function

Great feedback from the organizer of today's function, thanks so much to all involved, and if they're still there, feel free to grab a blueberry pancake and sausage to celebrate, I know I will !

Neil

 

 

Good morning Brenda,

 I just wanted to THANK you and your team for an AWESOME morning! We definitely received the service we know and love this morning and I’m very thankful for that as were our guests!

-          The room was lovely and warm

-          The food was FANTASTIC!

-          The coffee on the table our guests absolutely loved

-          The screen was in a much better place

It was an all around great morning!

Have a great day!

 Dan

 
Dan Knight
Manager, Community Development

The Arthritis Society
400 York Street, Suite 204
London, ON N6B 3N2
TEL: 519.433.2191 ext. 1226 
www.arthritis.ca

Weekly Team Meeting 3

This week's meeting has been moved to Thursday

Starts at 2pm sharpish in the staff lounge....

GUEST BLOG POST - Christina

This past Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to help out at the community breakfast served at All Saints Church on Hamilton Road near Adelaide.

Did you know that for over 7 years now Windermere Manor has participated in this worthy cause? On the third Saturday of every month, our kitchen staff cook and prepare breakfast sausages, beans, and eggs for around 200 people. We then deliver the hot breakfast food to the kitchens at All Saints Church where it is served from 9am to 11am.

This breakfast food along with cereals, juices, oatmeal etc.. provided by other donors is served free of charge to anyone or any family in need.

My thanks to all the Windermere staff who prepare the food every month, I can tell you from first hand experience that it is greatly appreciated by everyone who comes through the doors on the day of the breakfast.

If you're interested in helping out, please let me know, volunteers are always welcome - next breakfast is on Saturday, March 15th at 9am.

 

P.S. - Neil always buys us breakfast afterwards !!

 

 

 

 

Christina

Erin and the Blue Jays

Erin's gone and ding dang done it..... Laser Eye surgery all done, glasses gone, all so she can keep a good eye on her Jays



 

 

I didn't know Erin was into ornithology but now that I do, here's a Blue Jay for you !

 

Our New First Aid Squad

Missing in action today and tomorrow are:
Andrea
Izabela
Robert
Shawn
Blake

All are off site participating in first aid training, if you would like to participate in first aid training in the future, let me know.

The Big 4 0

Happy Birthday Hannah

Your gonna catch up to me at this rate..

Sarah & Berlin

Great to catch up with Sarah today, Hannah and I enjoyed lunch with Sarah in the Café today while planning her return to work on June 2nd.

Sarah has been off on maternity leave lately, but the countdown for her return is on.... only 3 months to go....

Sarah and Eric's daughter Berlin

Guest Feedback - Union Gas Event

Thanks to all who worked on the recent Union Gas event held over the past few days, we do follow up with every client after their event.

Here's what Union Gas had to say:

Hi Hannah,

 Thank you.  Mark is in Milton today but Joe Gregorio will drop by and pick it up.

Everyone really enjoyed the venue.  I’ve been arranging meetings for this group of men for fourteen years now and this was the first time we’ve booked such a facility.  It was a huge success.  Everyone commented on how quiet it was for sleeping and said that the food was fabulous.  All of the staff are very accommodating and friendly too.  We tend to have our meetings in various areas throughout the Union Gas franchise area (although I haven’t been able to convince them to go to Thunder Bay yet) but The Windermere Manor will definitely be under consideration the next time we meet here in London.

 Please forward your invoice to me when it’s ready and I’ll process it for payment.

 Again, thank you and all the staff for your hospitality.

 

Noreen

Gwen and the Chocolates

Today I’m happy to announce the return of Gwen !! Gwen has had a tough time with the flu this past week and is back to work today...

Gwen’s absence has been particularly tough on me – check out this photo from Gwen’s desk

This box of chocolates has been sitting on her desk for almost a week, it’s been cruel and unusual punishment every time I’ve passed them,  I’m so glad Gwen’s feeling better and back with us to at last open the damn chocolates !!!!!

Mystery Cook

Can you spot the mystery cook in this picture ? he works here at the Windermere now...

A bit of a clue.....

When this pic was taken there was no internet, no emails, no cell phones, no fancy coffee machines, no GPS, Apples and Blackberries meant a fruit salad..............  you get the picture

Heartfelt jazz on menu Friday | The London Free Press

Heartfelt jazz on menu Friday | The London Free Press

Weekly Team Meeting 2

Second live blog from our weekly team meeting, reminder to let me know if you'd like to join us for the meeting sometime.

The Jazz night this Friday will be a sell out, Cafe will be full both Friday and Saturday night too.

We have a wedding this Saturday night in the Grand Hall, this wedding includes a "trash the dress" video - some new fangled custom that Hannah can explain if you care to know more!

This coming Monday is Family Day holiday, the Cafe will be open for breakfast but closed for lunch and dinner. The kitchen will prepare snack meals for our in house guests.

Next weekend we are hosting the "Harmonics of Healing Event" this event is a retreat for women only, to rest, reflect and revive ! with dynamic speakers, engaging sessions and great fun all round !

We have staff going on first aid training and food safety training next week. You know who you are.....

Izabela purchasing new seat cushions for Cafe patio chairs.

Robert and Hannah still working on updating the new and improved employee handbook, anything you'd like to suggest for the handbook, just let Hannah or Robert know.

We are looking to hire a new Banquet Porter, I will post more details in a separate blog on this position.

Teresa will be issuing T4's next week.... It's tax time....

Tripadvisor, the hotel is #13 and the Cafe is #6

Room sales are around 80 ahead of February last year.

Pat shared that he's received a great deal of positive feedback from his guests on the duck dish that was featured on LondonLicious menu, should we look at making this dish a permanent menu item ??

Pat feels that our higher ranking on Tripadvisor is leading to more walk in business and we have to schedule accordingly.

Will do a Good Friday Fish n Chips night in the Cafe this year. menu to follow soon.

Andrea shared that we sold a total of 299 LondonLicious dinners. Will review if we will participate again next year.

All servers must be Smart Serve certified by February 25th.

That's about it for today's meeting, as always, any questions or comments drop me a line at nkelloc2@uwo.ca

The Blog's a Week Old !

Well, we're just over a week into our new blog site, thanks for all the visits and feedback.
We will be featuring more "guest bloggers", if you have anything you want to share just let me know and you too can be a blogger !

I've had a few requests for more info on the Bee Village and Honey Operation here at Windermere, I'd lost site of the fact that we've now had the bees for 4 years and in that time we've had a lot of new staff come on board who weren't around at the start of construction !

When I have some time I will do a blog explaining how we got into beekeeping, why we got into beekeeping and what it means for our business.

Until I get that blog written, here's the very first hive we ever had:

 

I must confess, I did make that little girl pose for these pics just to prove that it was perfectly safe to be around the bees !!!

Minus 27 at 5.30am this morning

A shout out to our colleagues, who had to brave the chills early this morning, not sure that we appreciate enough that 365 days a year we rely on our early risers:

Our kitchen and server staff to cook and serve breakfast in the Café and at early events and functions.
Our night auditor is just coming to the end of his overnight shift.
Our caretakers and housekeeping staff are starting their shifts in the hotel, as well as the Stiller, Mogenson and Convergence Centre buildings.

I thank you all for your early mornings and hard work and hopefully minus 27 remains the record for a while !

GUEST BLOG POST - Amanda

Robert the deer is a wee little lad who frequents Winderemere quite often as he has a taste for our hedges.

 

 

Weddings at Windermere

Since Julie-Ann is currently off being a full time Mum we have made a few changes in our wedding arrangement & planning.
Brenda has been handling the wedding inquiries, tours and sales, while Hannah has taken over the wedding planning.
Brenda spends most Saturdays now performing wedding tours, it's the best day to showcase our Grand Hall and is proving to have excellent results so far.
We are currently at 49 weddings booked for 2014 and 22 booked for 2015.

On Sunday, March 30th, we will be hosting our Bridal Open House, on this day we invite around 40 couples plus 2 guests per couple that have their special day booked at Windermere.
Our guests will sample our food, table set ups and meet the employees involved in their wedding day at Windermere.
Our key partners and suppliers will also be here showcasing their talents.

Saturday Night in the Cafe

Congratulations to the Windermere's Café team on a great Saturday night on February 8th - cooked and served for a total of 99 covers for dinner that night. My thanks to the kitchen and front of house crews for pulling off a great night, juggling opera dinners, LondonLisicious goers and hockey team dinners for a terrific busy night.

Lunch Visit

It's always neat when we get a chance to catch up with the lives of past colleagues and workmates. Today, Tania Holm our previous Sales/Front Office Manager popped in to Windermere's Café for lunch with her youngest daughter Addison.

Photo Booth @ Our Party

Heather & Gordi

Was great to see Heather & Gordi in the Café today,

Heather worked at the Manor back in the 70's before moving out West and we're looking forward to welcoming both her and Gordi back for the BIG DAY on June 28th.

Sold Out Hotel This Weekend

This weekend the hotel is sold out both Friday and Saturday nights, breakfast will be served in the Grand Hall both Saturday & Sunday mornings.
Most hotels in London are sold out this weekend as London is home to one of the biggest hockey tournaments in North America - The London Devilettes Girls Hockey Tournament taking place Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
Please join me in welcoming the Oakville Hornets Girls Hockey Team to the Windermere Manor this weekend and wish them the best of luck in this year's tournament, just not against my daughter's team !!
Tournament and team details can be found at:
www.londondevilettes.ca

Blackfriars Spa at Windermere

Please join me in welcoming Tara Landon to our team at Windermere Manor. Tara joins us as the new Blackfriars Spa manager, as well as providing top quality spa services, Tara will play a key role in promoting our spa services to all of our guests and clients.

A reminder that all Windermere Manor employees receive a 20% discount off most spa services, including:

Manicure
Pedicure
Facials
Microdermabrasion (no idea what the heck that is)
Eyelash extensions

Call Tara at 226 781 0865 to set up an appointment

Guest Feedback

I will use this blog to share any guest feedback and comments we receive, the great, the good, the bad and the ugly !

First post is feedback from the memorial reception we hosted on Jan 31st:

Hi Christina,

 What a FABULOUS  job you and your staff did in helping to honour our Mom.

 Everything from the set up, to the food (rave reviews) and of course accommodating Wayne's chair

Please pass on our thanks to all those involved and should you ever need a referral, I'd love to provide one

 Thank you again and again!

 

Thanks to our kitchen and banquet crew for your great work on this event

Tripadvisor Ratings, 5th out of over 800 London Restaurants

Congratulations to the team in Windermere's Café, today we reached the 5th spot in restaurant ratings for London, highest we've ever been. We now have over 100 reviews for the Café, for the past few months we have forgone the traditional paper comment cards and instead, asked our guests to share their thoughts on the Tripadvisor website.
When you have a minute check us out, read all about what our guests are saying about us at www.tripadvisor.com

Short video remembering how things are at Windermere without the snow !

There's still a few days left to catch the LondonLicious menu in Windermere's Café, a great deal for a three course dinner, an even better deal when you apply the Windermere employee discount for food in the Café, ask Andrea for details.

A few examples of the dishes featured on the menu are posted below: