Four Pillars Hotels is pleased to announce its designated charity of the year supporting CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young).  The Oxfordshire based hotel group has drawn up a full programme of activity for 2013 to support this worthy cause and to raise as much money and awareness as possible.

As well as group wide charitable events, each of the six Four Pillars hotels will host a range of activities in which they can individually raise money for the charity. These include participation in the Run to the Beat half marathon and Bristol 10km runs and everything from family fun days and craft fairs to quiz nights and clairvoyance evenings.

Katherine Swingler, HR Director and Head of the Fundraising Committee at Four Pillars Hotels says, “Every year our employees are given the opportunity to nominate a “Charity of the Year” and CRY was our most popular choice. We were deeply touched by the stories of people touched by sudden arrhythmic death and tragically we have employees who have recently been affected by this.  In addition, the testimonials provided by CRY prompted us to choose this very deserving charity.”

Alison Cox MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of CRY says, “We are very grateful to Four Pillars Hotels and, in particular, the fundraising committee for its hard work in putting together a programme of events throughout the year in support of CRY.  Thanks to the continued efforts of supporters across the UK, CRY is able to raise huge levels of awareness of young sudden cardiac death, as well as running a pioneering screening programme to identify young people at risk and providing support to those affected.  We wish Four Pillars every success with their fundraising and awareness events throughout the year.”

CRY was founded in 1995 to provide support and information on cardiac risk in young people. CRY operates cardiac screening programmes, funds cardiac research, provides a support network to young people who have been diagnosed with cardiac conditions and also a bereavement support service to families who have suffered a loss of someone young with a cardiac condition.

Four Pillars Hotels is keen to raise as much money as possible in support of this worthy cause and this year has already raised over £1,500 through merchandise sales and hotel events alone.

For more information on Four Pillars Hotels, please visit www.four-pillars.co.uk

For more information on CRY, please visit www.c-r-y.org.uk

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Four Pillars Hotels is pleased to announce its continued commitment to local sports through the sponsorship of North Leigh FC U15s main kit.  As an Oxford-based company with four hotels in Oxfordshire, North Leigh FC is one of Four Pillars’ local teams.

Chris Green, Group Marketing Manager at Four Pillars Hotels, says “We are delighted and very proud to be the sponsors for North Leigh U15s main kit.  With Oxford Witney Four Pillars Hotel just around the corner from North Leigh FC, it is extremely important for us to support the local community.  Our sponsorship and support will ensure that the U15s team will be the best turned out in their league.”

The Four Pillars Hotel group has six hotels across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.  These include four hotels in and around Oxford – the Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel; Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel; Oxford Abingdon Four Pillars Hotel  and Oxford Witney Four Pillars Hotel.  To complete the Four Pillars Hotels portfolio is the Victorian Grade II listed mansion Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel in Gloucestershire and Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel, a lakeside property in the heart of the Cotswold Water Park.

North Leigh Football Club was formed in 1908 and has been an active and dominant part of the local football scene ever since.  The newest addition, in 2012, was an Under 15 Team which began its first season by soundly beating one of the favourites for the 2012/13 Witney and District Youth League U15 ‘A’ League.

For more information on North Leigh Football Club click here

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Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel, has won Bronze in the Large Hotel of the Year category in this year’s Cotswolds Tourism Awards.   In announcing the award, the organisers particularly highlighted the four star hotel’s excellent value for money.

Cotswold Water Park Four Pillars Hotel opened in 2007 and is a contemporary property set in a stunning position on the edge of ‘Lake 6’ in the Cotswold Water Park, offering the perfect base from which to explore this picturesque area and its local attractions.  Owned by independent, hotel group, Four Pillars Hotels, the hotel features 318 luxury rooms and stylish self-catering apartments, a range of indoor and al fresco dining options – including The Brasserie and Old Boathouse pub – and the luxurious Spa 6.  The 55-acre conservation parkland area and neighbouring lakes offer great fishing and provide a huge range of outdoor pursuits for all the family to enjoy.

Judging was based on visits, secret shopper reports and the views of a various experts and tourism enthusiasts.  The Awards are organised by Cotswolds Tourism – a partnership of tourism businesses and destinations – and cover a broad span of categories reflecting the fantastic range of tourism experiences and services in the local area from accommodation and attractions to information providers and pubs.

Charles Holmes, CEO of Four Pillars Hotels comments: “We are delighted with this award and thrilled to be recognised as one of the leaders in the highly competitive Large Hotel of the Year category.  This recognition is testament to the team at the hotel and their dedication to delivering an exceptional guest experience alongside great value and the friendly, personal service for which Four Pillars Hotels is renowned.”

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22 new ‘Garden Rooms’ and The Conservatory

Over the coming months we will be investing £2 million on new and upgraded bedrooms along with a multi-function Conservatory for dining and events at our Oxford Thames Hotel. Due to open in May 2013, the new bedrooms will increase the capacity to 84 rooms and The Conservatory will add 135m² of space to their current choice of 9 rooms for private events.

The 22 new ‘Garden Rooms’ will have views of the beautiful gardens with many benefiting from views of the River Thames, and will feature a contemporary style to complement the rest of the hotel. Additionally, 22 bedrooms in Sandford House have recently been refurbished with new décor, seating and furniture, drapery, soft furnishings and bathroom upgrades to give them a fresh new look.

At the same time, we are converting the existing courtyard area adjacent to the River Room Restaurant into a bright and airy Conservatory for Sunday lunch, afternoon tea and other dining, as well as private events. New car parking will be added to support the new facilities.

There will be minimal inconvenience to guests during the work and the majority of the bedrooms and public areas of the hotel, will be unaffected.

For bookings and further details visit www.four-pillars.co.uk/thames or call 01865 334444

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As part of their Charity of the Year partnership Four Pillars Hotels invited patients and their families from Bristol Royal Hospital for Children to spend the afternoon decorating cakes and biscuits at their Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel

It was a wonderful afternoon providing a break for over 16 children and their families from hospital.  There were sticky fingers and big smiles all round, let alone some amazingly decorated cakes and biscuits which would give Mary Berry a run for her money!

Tortworth Court had thought of every detail from providing chef whites and hats to chef’s Ben and Nigel being on hand to help make rocky road and rice crispy cakes and every flavour of icing imaginable!  There was no stopping the creativity as hats and jackets were also decorated!

But this was more than an afternoon of creativity.

Elaine Eastman of the Play Department at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children explains:

“For a child to be able to come out of hospital for half a day and be able to forget about hospital and do normal things is just priceless.  It was lovely to be able to involve siblings and parents because often when you have a sick child in hospital there are very few occasions when the family is all together. Some of the children have life-limiting conditions – so these good memories are so very important for the whole family.”

Liz Heneghan, Human Resources Manager, Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel said:

 “It’s been heart warming to see everyone happy and enjoying themselves.  We’re so pleased to be able to make a small difference to the children and their families by bringing them out of hospital and into our world for the afternoon.” 

Charlotte Williams, age 12 who left with a bag of delicious goodies and beaming from ear to ear said:

“It was amazing!”

The Bristol Royal Hospital for Children cares for over 60,000 children from across the South West each year. We are incredibly grateful for the support companies like Four Pillars Hotels who help us to make a very real difference to patients and their families.   In addition to the cake decorating, the teams at Tortworth Court and Cotswold Water Park have been busy fundraising throughout the year.  There have been cabaret nights, raffles, zumbathons, half marathons and General Managers trading places with housekeeping for the day!

To find out about how your company can help support Bristol’s hospitals please contact Lorna Clarke, Head of Corporate Partnerships on 0117 370 0842 or lorna.clarke@aboveandbeyond.org.uk

For further details on Four Pillars Hotels and their charity work visit www.four-pillars.co.uk/charity

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Independent hotel group, Four Pillars Hotels, is maintaining its partnership with Oxford United Football Club (OUFC) for a second season.  With four hotels in Oxfordshire, including the Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel just one mile from the stadium, OUFC is Four Pillars’ local team and as well as being the club’s new Official Hotel Partner, the company will also be the match sponsor for the games against Bradford City on 22 September 2012 and Bristol Rovers on 09 February 2013.

Chris Green, Group Marketing Manager at Four Pillars Hotels, says “We place great importance on supporting our local community and are very proud to continue our partnership with Oxford United.  Our hotels are great places to meet and share in the excitement of supporting our local team, so we look forward to welcoming friends old and new to Four Pillars Hotels during the coming season.”

Owen Clark, Business Development Manager of OUFC says, “We are delighted that Four Pillars Hotels have decided to continue with their sponsorship for a second year.    As a local company with strong community values, they are a great partner for OUFC and we value their continued support”. 

Four Pillars Hotels has six properties across Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds, ranging from a Victorian Grade II listed mansion, to the stunning lakeside property in the heart of the Cotswold Water Park.  The four hotels in Oxfordshire include the Oxford Spires Four Pillars Hotel, just half a mile from the city centre; the Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel, just a mile from the OUFC stadium in Sandford-on-Thames; the Oxford Witney Four Pillars Hotel and the Oxford Abingdon Four Pillars Hotel.

For more information on Four Pillars Hotels visit www.four-pillars.co.uk or call 0800 374 692.

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We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with Bluestorm Solutions & Tablet Rentals Ltd to offer iPad streaming software for events, conferences, and summits. They are able to provide FULL 360 solution to our costumers, including the software, full setup, support onsite and even the actual iPads, as they rent iPads for the event through Tablet Rentals Ltd.

The iPad streaming software works by giving each delegates at your event an iPad while you hold your presentation. While you go through your different slides, those following the presentation will get the same images on their iPad screens and even more so, it gives new possibilities of interacting with those listening throughout your presentations.

Some of the features of the iPad streaming technology include the possibility of:

Streaming the presentation to an unlimited amount of iPads

LIVE ability to submit comments and questions on individual iPads throughout the presentation that can be viewed after

LIVE iPad voting in polls that can be added into the presentation

LIVE voting results submitted within the presentation

Ability to save voting results, questions, comments and other interaction captured from the audience

Branded iPads with corporate or event logo

The iPads will be set up, configured, and delivered ready-to-use to your event on the day, and this exclusive new iPad technology for events will give your audience a new innovative way to interact with your presentation like never before!

So what are you waiting for? If you have a presentation coming up at your next event, conference, meeting, or any other place you can see this great new iPad streaming technology work, just contact 0203 551 9997 / 0207 749 7242.

Plus, hire iPads from Bluestorm Solutions as part of your event at a Four Pillars Hotel and get a 10% discount. Quote Four Pillars 2012 when booking.

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Here you’ll find out about what’s going on at the hotels and what’s coming up on the calendar.

We all have busy lives, so we’ve tried to make life a bit easier by creating a place that you can come to find everything you need – so, if it’s worth knowing, you’ll find it here!

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