As a venue finder and event organiser we obviously love seeing and experiencing venues. We were fortunate enough to be hosted for a recent offsite meeting at The Elvetham Hotel, courtesy of Matt Weaving from Casa Collina. The Elvetham is a venue nor far from our office so it was timely and very good to view and experience the changes which have been made to this venue.
The Elvetham Estate is steeped in over a century of English history. England’s tales are woven through its ancient oaks and parklands. It’s the site where the plot against William the Conqueror in the 11th Century was made, where King John gathered his nobles in readiness for war with France in 1205, and where King Henry VIII fell in love with Jane Seymour, his third wife and mother of his longed-for heir, just to name a few historical facts.
While only parts of the medieval house remain, its ancient spirit has been woven into the ‘modern’ trappings of a Country House Hotel.
The Elvetham Hotel is situated in 35 acres of grounds, surrounded by Hampshire countryside. It is located in close proximity to Reading, Basingstoke, and Farnborough and has excellent transport links and ample parking.
It has four meeting rooms, The Library, Oak Room, Morning Room and the Seymour Room and these would be suitable for corporate meetings, away days, training, offsite meetings and private dinners.
The Library features an ornate stone fireplace, original bookcases and plenty of natural light. It is, the largest of their function rooms, with a maximum capacity of 120 people theatre style and 100 people for private dining.
The Oak Room is ideal for any type of medium sized meeting and has a capacity of 60 theatre style or for a private dinner. As the name suggests, it has beautiful oak panelling, plus plenty of natural daylight and very high ceilings.
The Morning Room is the room in which we held our offsite and the room has an ornate, fully functioning open fireplace, which was lit and most welcome on the cool, windy day that it was! The views across the grounds are quite beautiful. The room has a maximum capacity of 45 people theatre style for meetings and private dinners and the nice feature, if you were using it for a dinner, is that there is a connecting door to the Gloriana Bar.
The Seymour Room is located on the first floor of the Main House and full of natural daylight, with a capacity of 45 people theatre style
All the 43 individually styled bedrooms have been refurbished and are looking nice. There are a variety of room types from standard double rooms to executive bedrooms and suites. A further 40 plus bedrooms will be coming online in the spring and these are being built where the former training rooms used to be.
The grounds are just stunning and not only provide a fab backdrop but also a great usable space. There is, for example, a sunken garden which would be just wonderful for a Summer Event and they also have grounds for all types of team building including motorised activities.
During the Christmas period, they put up a marquee alongside the restaurant area, hosting a large space for up to 320 people seated for Christmas Parties.
Turning to food, my favourite hobby, we had a 3-course lunch in Sylvanus Restaurant and the quality of the food and service was excellent. The menu was clearly labelled, clarifying which dishes were suitable for vegetarians, vegans, those who are gluten intolerant etc.
The Elvetham has installed Clenzair units within their Winter Conservatory, Oak Room, Library, Sylvanus Restaurant and Gloriana Bar to protect the health of guests. These state of the art units use Needlepoint Bipolar Ionisation technology, eliminating bacteria and viruses in the air.
Our View
A good 4 star venue providing a secluded space which would be most suitable for those wanting a quieter destination away from the bustle of a chain hotel. The grounds are magnificent for Summer and Christmas parties and outdoor teambuilding events.
What is particularly nice about it is that it has many different alcoves and spaces for small gatherings or informal meets, as well as the larger lounge area.
