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Dunwood Conference and Awards hailed a success

By Graham Yandell 2023-01-17T17:03:00+00:00

Dunwood Travel held its first Conference and Awards since 2019 at the new Potters Five Lakes resort in Essex at the start of January.

Colin Dunwood speaking at the Awards evening. 

The three-day event attracted almost 400 people, including many leading group travel organisers. Guests arrived on Wednesday 4th January for a fully inclusive experience and were treated to an excellent dinner plus entertainment.

The morning conference on 5th January welcomed the MD of Potters Resorts, John Potter, who gave an entertaining and insightful talk about how the new Five Lakes resort in Essex was created, and revealed the culture and philosophy of the business.

He also explained Potters Resorts’ all-inclusive approach to holiday packages which received a warm response from GTOs.

Enjoying a spot of bowls at the new Five Lakes Resort in Essex.

Phil Westwood and Colin Duncan of Dunwood Travel talked openly about the company, its history and how it dealt with Covid, including its transparent policy of giving full refunds (around £1.3m) to those who wanted them having booked trips that were affected by the pandemic.

They also covered the future expansion of the Dunwood coach fleet and outlined a new programme of trips and holidays for 2023 into 2024. A mini-exhibition followed the conference featuring Dunwood suppliers and then an afternoon of activities was enjoyed by many.

Phil Westwood (left) and Colin Duncan (right) of Dunwood Travel, recognise Zoe Poston who won The Excellence Award as part of the Group Leisure & Travel Awards 2022.

Later, an Awards evening recognised a variety of GTOs and there were also awards for Dunwood coach drivers who were clearly very popular with guests.

Graham Yandell from Group Leisure & Travel re-presented Dunwood with their 2022 GLT Awards trophy for the Best Coach or Tour Operator – UK Tours, Zoe Poston with her trophy for winning The Excellence Award, and Potters Resorts with its award for Best Accommodation for Groups.

Guests enjoyed a variety of entertainment after the awards, courtesy of Potters Resorts in the impressive Glade Theatre.

Commenting on the occasion, Colin Duncan of Dunwood Travel said: “It’s been fantastic to be back following the interruption created by Covid and staging the event at the impressive Potters Five Lakes and meeting so many friends has been marvellous.

“We had a great year in 2022 and are really looking forward to 2023.”

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Dunwood Travel (Dudley , West Midlands)

Started by James4368, July 13, 2015, 05:48:03 PM

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Quote On their website fleet size is now 7. 2 new Scania Touring 53 seater triaxle coaches, delivered Sat 05 March 2022. See http://www.dunwoodtravel.co.uk/news---info/

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Dunwood Travel - Dudley take this hotel out of your brochure before it ruins your reputatio - Review of Grand Hotel Scarborough

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• Grand Hotel Scarborough

Dunwood Travel - Dudley take this hotel out of your brochure before it ruins your reputatio

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Premier Inn Scarborough (North Bay) hotel

The Clifton Hotel - Scarborough

I am usually looking to give people positive vibes on places where I stay but can't with this place. On positive side hotel in nice position on top of cliff with lovely views of the sea and harbour. Well situated for the town centre. Towels werel ovely white and fluffy Now the negatives. This would have been a magnificent hotel in its day but not now. Our room had stains on carpet and window frame and tiles in shower had black on them Didn't enjoy the food. Signs of what looks like damp about. Didn't see one smile from the staff especially the reception as we queued with loads of others waiting to check in. Wish someone would throw money at this hotel and bring it back to its former glories as the building itself could be made magnificent again.

Dear James b I’d like to send my sincere apologies following your review you completed about your recent stay. We’re really sorry it wasn’t up to scratch but it’s great that you told us, as your feedback will help us get things spot on next time. We really hope we can show you how we usually do things on your next stay with us

Big old building in need of a masive refit. We had a groupon for one night which made it a good deal. B&B (Help yourself breakfast buffet .As full an English as you want to make it)) the 3 course buffet evening meal and a bottle of house wine. £75 total for the two of us. The good deal made up for most of the short falls that this hotel has. Check in is time consuming .Get in line at least 30 mins before you are due to check in .Ours was check in at 3 out at 10. Parking is first come first served £3 per 24 hours. All had gone when we arrived by 10 am. If their are two of you drop one person off first with your heavy bags (loading bays at the front of the hotel) and drive to YO11 1LU on your sat nav as they have a deal with this NCP car park. 50 % discount. Its £10 per 24 hours but its your best bet with 50% off £5 a night. Meal times are quite busy and the times are :Breakfast 7.30 to 9.30 so no long sleep. Dinner 5.30 to 8pm.. Rooms are small but OK . WIFI Did not work in our room. Not all rooms have a window but ours did. But the windows looked as if they had not been washed for years. We were in a lower floor room more like a dungeon corridor. Very shabby with dirty carpets. Now Not a 5 star hotel that the place possibly was 40 years ago.

• Cleanliness

Dear Petersun55 Thank you for your review and we are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time in the hotel and it sounds like you made the most of everything we have on offer. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

I was worried about booking this hotel having read the reviews but I was determined to stay here as it is such a beautiful building. However, there was no need to fret! The check in was slightly slow, but we arrived bank holiday Saturday so 20 minutes seemed acceptable. Once we got to the desk it took less than 5 minutes to get our key. The interior décor of the public areas could do with some help, a bit of decorating and the carpets have seen better days but they are working on this bit by bit. The room was lovely, clean, big comfortable bed, high ceilings, huge windows and a sea view. We had made sure that we booked carefully to get the sea view room. There are lots of options of room to choose from on the booking sites, just make sure you read them carefully if you have specific requirements. Some people seemed to be surprised that their rooms didn't have a window, but that is made clear on the room descriptions before booking. My advice is pay a bit more to get the specific type of room you want. We booked a double sea view room and that's what we got. The bathroom was fine with the most powerful hotel shower I have ever experienced. The shower head was even mounted high up on the wall so I didn't have to contort to get my head under as you do in lots of other supposedly higher end hotels. We spent the evening out and about and when we came back we were let in by a helpful night porter and had a pleasant drink in the lobby bar where the staff were very friendly. The hotel was quiet all night and we both slept really well. Being an old building the noise doesn't carry through the walls like in modern buildings so the room was peaceful and relaxing. The next morning we went to breakfast in the restaurant which has a fabulous view over the bay. It is a buffet breakfast and even though we arrived close to the end of the service time they were still replenishing the food. Fried eggs came out regularly, and there was loads of choice of things to have from fruit to all the fried breakfast items you could think of. I was very impressed and my partner had seconds! All in all, we loved staying at this hotel, it's got so much faded grandure and for the room prices I don't think you can do at all badly here. Just make sure you choose your room carefully at the booking stage. I would also recommend parking at the NCP in town which is only a short walk to the hotel as at busy time the street parking around the hotel was very busy. We booked our parking in advance but it seems that the hotel can stamp your NCP ticket and reduce the cost of the parking. I would recommend anyone try this hotel.

Dear Clova T Thank you for your review and we are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time in the hotel and it sounds like you made the most of everything we have on offer. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

I have given my recent stay at The Grand full marks because I loved my experience of staying in a turret. We had panoramic views of the beach, harbour, spa etc. Interesting views at that height. Magical at night. Slept well, clean comfortable rooms. Enjoyed the bingo and cabaret. Good "happy hour" drinks prices. I've stayed here a few times and can honestly say I have always had a good time here so try it and be happy!

Dear sevebtiesgirl500 Thank you for your review and we are pleased to hear that you enjoyed your time in the hotel and it sounds like you made the most of everything we have on offer. We look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.

It took two hours to check in, the queue was unbelievable. The overall appearance of the reception/lounge is shabby. Our room although spacious was dusty, cobwebs on radiators . There had been obvious damp on the ceiling, mildew all around the window frames, long hairs (not mine) around the bath, dust also on the bath edges. Extremely thin pillows and two small towels. The location of the hotel is good but that's were anything positive endss

Dear Deborah b I’d like to send my sincere apologies following your review you completed about your recent stay. We’re really sorry it wasn’t up to scratch but it’s great that you told us, as your feedback will help us get things spot on next time. We really hope we can show you how we usually do things on your next stay with us