The Grand Hotel's News Feed

Olympic Torch visits Torquay

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0100

As part of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route, torchbearers will carry the Olympic Flame through Paignton and Torquay on Sunday 20 May.

A special welcome will be hosted on behalf of the surrounding communities and everyone is invited to share in the excitement the relay will bring and celebrate the achievements of the Torchbearers on day two of its historic journey.

The Olympic Torch is due to land in Cornwall on Saturday 19th May 2012 and will travel around the UK for several weeks before arriving at the Olympic Stadium on 27th July 2012. Click HERE for a map of the route.

Radio 1 comes to the Riviera

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0100

As part of a fantastic local summer programme planned for the Olympic and Jubilee Celebrations, BBC Radio 1 is kick-starting the summer with a festival Live in Torbay.

Radio 1 and Radio 1xtra regulars Chris Moyles, Fearne Cotton, Zane Lowe, Pete Tong, Annie Mac, Mistajam and Danny Howard will be celebrating the beginning of the summer season with a live broadcast from Paignton, Torbay.

Alongside the Radio 1 team, there will be performances from Example, Jaguar Skills and Eric Prydz.

The event will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra from 4pm – 11pm.

8,000 tickets will be available for residents of Torbay and the surrounding areas. If you are local to Torbay and the surrounding areas keep listening to BBC Radio 1 on the 4 May for information on how you can obtain a ticket and check out updates HERE.

Grand Christmas Hamper Winner

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

One lucky Torbay local received a terrific Christmas Eve surprise when he discovered that he had won a Christmas Hamper, courtesy of The Grand Hotel.

Mr David Evans of Chelston, Torquay entered the hotel's festive prize draw, which ran from 1st - 23rd December, and was delighted when General Manager, Chris Jones, together with Executive Chef, Richard Hunt, turned up to deliver the seasonal goodies in person. Mr Evans said "My partner, Angela, and I come to The Grand regularly for morning coffees and lunches. I love the friendly, welcoming staff and the food is consistently excellent - a real asset to the hotel."

The hamper contained a number of festive items, including a turkey, christmas pudding, mince pies and wine.

Photo shows Chris Jones (R) and Richard Hunt (2nd from right) presenting hamper to David Evans (2nd from left) and his partner, Angela Bayliss, on Christmas Eve.

Grand Wedding Fair

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A fantastic wedding fair will take place at The Grand Hotel on Sunday, 5th February 2012.

Torquay's landmark hotel provides the perfect venue for that all-important day. Its superb location on the seafront, imposing architecture, award-winning food and dedicated wedding co-ordinators ensure that a 'Grand Day' will be had by couples tying the knot.

The Grand Wedding Fair, which will be held on Sunday, 5th February 2012, will be open from 11am to 4pm and entry is free. A range of specialist stalls will be set up with wedding experts at hand to offer help and advice. Confirmed stall holders, so far, include a dress sale, florists, car hire companies, photographer, cake company and a hair and beauty salon. Also showcased will be wedding decorations, chair covers and table decorations.

The Grand's team of wedding planners and event organisers will also be on hand, to discuss all the available options for wedding packages.

For more information, call our events team on 01803 296677.

Christmas Fair at The Grand

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Find those perfect Christmas gifts at The Grand's Christmas Fair on Sunday, 4th December. Open from 10am - 4pm, you will be able to browse a selection of stalls, selling a range of gift ideas, for family and friends. ENTRY IS FREE.

Wander round stalls offering handmade jewellery, organic beauty products, vintage gifts, home accessories, bags, homemade Christmas cookies, electronic gifts and much more... The Body Shop will also be there, with a selection of fabulous gift ideas and they will be offering a 20% discount throughout the day.

There will be plenty of opportunity to take time out from shopping to enjoy some delicious treats in The Compass Lounge. Our special Festive Fayre menu offers sandwiches, delicious home made cakes (including individual chocolate Yule logs, which can be topped with Devonshire Clotted Cream!), orange and Drambuie trifle, together with deliciously spiced Mulled Wine and freshly ground coffee laced with Cognac and topped with double cream. Click HERE for details!

McFly set to come to Torquay

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Chart topping stars McFly are set to come to Torquay next March! The date was announced as part of their Up Close and Personal UK Tour and will be McFly's first appearance at the town since 2007, when they played to a sell-out audience.

The gig will be hald on 25th March at the English Riviera International Conference Centre. The band has had seven number one hits and 18 consecutive top 20 singles, including Five Colours in her Hair and Obviously.

The Grand Hotel is just a 5 minute stroll along the seafront from the venue.

Grand party held for HMS Bulwark

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Mr and Mrs Keith Richardson sponsored and hosted a cocktail party at The Grand Hotel for the Captain and members of the crew of HMS Bulwark last Saturday, as part of the ship's official visit to The English Riviera.

HMS Bulwark is the Royal Navy's flaghip 'amphibious' vessel and acts as a carrier for helicopters, landing craft and other equipment - and also carries a contingent of Royal Marine Commandos. She arrived on Friday, 22nd July and was moored up in Torbay for 3 days. During her stay, Captain Alex Burton and his crew hosted various functions on board before attending the cocktail party at The Grand on Saturday evening.

Also attending the cocktail party at The Grand were members of Torbay Council, together with Captain Ricks Polk and 12 crew members from another visiting vessel, USS The Bobo, an 'on readiness' support ship from the United States Royal Navy.

Photo shows (L to R): Mr Keith Richardson, Captain Ricks Polk (US Navy), Captain Alex Burton (RN) and Mrs Keith Richardson.

Grand Chef at Plymouth Flavour Fest

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The Grand Hotel's executive chef, Richard Hunt, is to star at this year's Flavour Fest, due to be held in Plymouth on 19th - 21st August 2011.

Richard, who leads the brigade of talented chefs at the Torquay-based hotel's award-winning Gainsborough Restaurant, will be wowing the crowds in the special demo kitchen at 11.15am on Friday, 19th August and at 12 noon on Saturday, 20th August.

Acknowledged as the South West's largest food and drink festival, Plymouth’s local produce extravaganza is returning for its eighth year. A major part of the Plymouth Summer Festival, Flavour Fest takes place in the city centre Piazza and is a highlight of the south west’s food and drink calendar. Running from the Big Screen to Place de Brest, Flavour Fest 2011 will have more than 100 food stalls packed with tasty offerings from fine food producers all across the south west.

For more details on Flavour Fest 2011, click HERE.

Great Rail Journeys Award

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The Grand Hotel has been given a coveted Great Rail Journeys award for its accommodation and food.

The tour company presented the award during a recent tour to the English Riviera, which included a stay at the hotel, and it was accepted on behalf of The Grand by Duty Manager, Josh Randall.

Great Rail Journeys are specialists in escorted holidays by train. As the UK's largest rail based holiday company, they offer over 230 individual rail tours to over 40 countries. they have 30 years experience in knowing exactly what makes a holiday by train successful and the Tour Managers have an in-depth knowledge of their specialist region.

Giant scone makes world record attempt

Fri, 20 May 2011 00:00:00 +0100

The Grand Hotel's Executive Chef, Richard Hunt, drew fascinated crowds during his attempt to build the world's largest cream tea at the Big Devonshire Crea Tea stand at the Devon County Show this week.

The amazing creation consisted of a 2.5 metre (8 foot) wide scone, topped with 120kg (265lb) Devonshire clotted cream, 90kg (190lb) home made strawberry jam and hundreds of strawberries from the Tamar Valley. Weighing in at a whopping metric tonne, it was capable of feeding 1,000 people. Richard was helped in his endeavours by Paul Winterton of Langage Farm, who provided the cream. Slices were sold to raise money for the Devon Air Ambulence Service. Additional funds were raised for Devon Air Ambulence through a £1 fine being imposed on anyone buying a cream tea at the stand who was subsequently caught using the Cornish method of putting jam on first and then cream!

The scone is being used as part of a campaign to achieve Protected Designation of Origin for the Devonshire Cream Tea, which stipulates that cream must be put on the scone first, before jam.

It is hoped that the scone will be included in next year's Guinness Book of Records and details have been sent to the famous publisher for adjudication.

Richard and the Devon County Show

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Richard Hunt, our Executive Chef, here at the Grand Hotel is set to be the culinary star of the forthcoming Devon County Show.

NEW at the hugely popular agricultural show, this year, will be a marquee devoted to the iconic Devon cream tea – Ye Olde Devon Cream Tea Shoppe. The scones will be made to a special recipe devised by Richard and they’ll be served with the thick, yellow clotted cream made by Langage Farm in South Devon. And, of course, as this is Devon, the cream is slathered onto the scone first followed by the jam. If you click HERE you'll see how to compile this wickedly indulgent treat!

During the Devon County Show, there will be an unofficial attempt at the world record for the largest scone – chef Richard is getting sacks of flour ready while Langage Farm is preparing huge quantities of clotted cream.

For more details about the Devon County Show, click HERE.

Mr & Mrs Richardson's Grand Wedding

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Celebrations were in full swing at The Grand when Mr Keith Richardson, owner of Richardson Hotels (of which The Grand is the flagship) married Miss Fiona McGregor on 15th January.

The couple pledged their vows at St Mary's Church, Kingskerswell and then held their reception at The Grand Hotel. Emily Rogers (the hotel's general manager) and her team created a stunning backdrop for the celebrations, which were attended by 160 guests (including 22 children) and ended with a fireworks display.

Mr and Mrs Richardson have two children, William (age 2½) and Daisy (age 1).

Photo shows Mr & Mrs Richardson arriving at The Grand Hotel. Image by Ian Worrell/Focus Weddings

Suey wins Employee of the Year

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Grand's staff have chosen Susan Fenn as Employee of the Year for 2010. Susan, affectionately known as ‘Suey’, was selected by a majority vote in recognition of her hard work, team spirit and dedication to looking after the hotel's customers.

Suey, who first moved to Torquay 26 years ago, has worked at The Grand Hotel for over a decade, as a member of the Food and Beverages team. General manager, Emily Rogers, who presented the award at a recent staff event, said: “Suey is always smiling and cheerful, and goes the extra length to ensure our customers feel special. We describe her as ‘The Grand’s sparkle’.”

Mrs Fenn said: “It was a lovely surprise. I am lucky to work with such a great team of people here, at The Grand, and I really enjoy meeting and talking with our customers.”

Photo shows General Manager, Emily Rogers (L), presenting the award to Suey Fenn.