The Wait is over ~2019 weekender

[ChrisC2925]

Cheers Steve, been recuperating in the warmth of the garden this afternoon. Any plans for next weekend?

[Stevedesmo]

They all roll into one from now Chris, after a six month notice period doing part time working, I finally took EARLY retirement last Friday!
Still not used to it, but lovin it so far!

[ChrisC2925]

Well if you want to part fund my retirement I'm willing to pack it in early too!

OK folks, I do usually have my tongue firmly in my cheek when posting but please be assured this is a serious heads up:

One of our group sent me a link from social media last night , the link was from the white waters Hotel Facebook page stating the Hotel is closed. I cant thank Mark enough for pointing this out.

I spent the rest of the night trying to verify this , I spoke with 2 hotels in Llangollen, one heard it was true the other did not so I was none the wiser. The Hotel is not responding to e-mails and the phone is now unobtainable , although Mark is taking a trip down there this morning I would now assume the worst.

Anyone who has given card details, please check with them to see if your deposits can be recovered , I think you will be covered on credit card, not sure about debit card.

I am really sorry about this folks, I can assure you I am trying to salvage the situation and will of course update as the day goes on, there is too much organised to let this go so please bear with me while I try to sort things out.

cheers

Mike

I have had a mail from the White Waters Hotel, they ceased trading on April 5th.

Two options I am exploring, a) split venue
b)Date change.


I have a bite for shifting this to the first Mayday bank Holiday, now checking with guest speaker for availability, will post as soon as I have more information.

cheers

Mike

well I hope this hasn't caused too much angst , I think there is an option now,
firstly I have tried to keep the same dates as I know folk have set diaries around the weekender. This has proved near impossible I am sad to say, not so good news,

Chainbridge Hotel
Hand Hotel
Wild Pheasant Hotel
Royal Hotel

in Llangollen all fully booked for the Saturday night with limited availability on the other nights


Ruthin Castle Hotel~ fully booked
Crabwall manor
Mollington banestre both near Chester, races are on and the prices will make your eyes water.

The good news is I have 20 rooms reserved at the Rossett Hall Hotel, Function room and good mix of rooms, ie more twins. THIS IS FOR THE FIRST BANK HOLIDAY,3RD 4TH 5TH MAY. This means we are all together and we get to keep the same itinerary that we have worked so hard on. To wet your appetite and hopefully get the vote for this proposal:

Friday ~ arrive at hotel, buffet dinner,drinks, chill out .
Saturday~ head off the the copper mine, visit the aqueduct en-route , lakes and mountains in the afternoon and return via the Ponderossa ~ 4 hrs in the saddle. Evening meal followed by guest speaker , a man who has Ducati blood in his veins and is part of the history, think 1978 IoM.
Sunday, " Take no prisoners" National ride out to Portmeirion . For those unfamiliar this is a complete village, a folly, based on Italian architecture, we have a table/tables booked in the castle for Sunday lunch which gets us free entrance to the village where the TV series the prisoner was filmed. We have special permission to take the bikes in and get photos hopefully for a Calendar.

There you have it, please post up asap if all you weekenders think this is a goer and I will make it so

[buzzbomb]

Well done Mike...

Looking at the new venue it looks even better than the original (who really let us down)..

I hope that members will realise just how much we've put into the weekend and be able to alter the timing of their weekend so as to attend at the early bank holiday.

I really hope that all concerned will appreciate all the hard work Mike has done in reorganising at this late date and continue to support us.

Please let us know your thoughts as I'm going to Portmerion tomorrow to set up the new date.

Again we're really sorry that this situation has occurred which is beyond our control so as I've already said please continue to support us.

[alan c]

Real shame the hotel has folded but brilliant news and great work to book the new hotel.
Well done Mike for jumping straight on it and working hard to save the weekender.

Do we need to call hotel and book rooms or can you transfer over once people have confirmed .

I really hope to come, just waiting to confirm my moving date !

Once again thanks to all the gang for the hard work

Hi Alan, thanks for your post and support as always mate.

I have not arranged the finer details yet, I am hoping by the time I meet Helen at the hotel on Thursday I have a "yes" vote and can sort with her then. Preference would be for individuals to book direct.............. not tempting fate but please use a credit card rather than debit card, lightning cant strike twice, can it !!

This has certainly focused the mind , we now have just over three weeks as opposed to just over seven weeks so any wiggle room in the preparation plans is gone.

Can I just apologiise to any casualties due to the switch, I know people have planned stuff already but to keep the show going I feel we must go with what is good for the event. This option gets the weekender under one roof and close to our original agenda. Sadly we have lost our route leader if we go with this date but he has accepted it graciously, for that I thank you mate.

[BigOz]

Subject to me getting my bike service sorted before then I'm in.

Thanks for what must have been frantic reorganisation to get things turned around so quickly.

brilliant, cheers Andy, hopefully up and running again

[ChrisC2925]

Nice one Mike, I am sure we all appreciate your efforts to arrange a fantastic alternative in lightning quick time. Count me in on the new dates.

Thanks

Chris

[bigredduke]

Well done for finding a suitable venue for so many people at such short notice!
I'm pretty certain I am ok for the new dates. Just a couple of details to check on first.

[Mr Gazza]

What a complete nightmare Mike!! Hope you will be able to settle down to a Peroni as soon as possible.
It's put a Spaniard in the works regarding timing but hopefully I will still be able to make it, at least the bike is ready to go.

Folks I know this is information overload for many of you logging on and wondering what the F*@$ has been happening over the last 18 hours but hopefully it makes some sense.

I asked the new venue a series of questions I see as important, answers below:-

Secure Parking ?~1 – the hotel does have a large car park and we do have CCTV we would recommend that you park the bikes in a car park behind the hotel as this is mainly used by staff and is overlooked by the hotel offices.

Function room sound system?~ 2- the Boydell does have its own sound system for music but unfortunately not for a mic for the speaker.

Confirm understanding of prices?~3- you are correct a double room with 2 people would be £99.00 per night.

Room configurations?~ 4- we have a mixture of room types doubles,, twin and a few triple rooms should these be required.

Any more than 20 rooms?~
5- I will offer the agreed rate if you require more than the 20 rooms.

Finally I have agreed with Helen that all individuals will contact the Hotel direct to book and pay, I will post details on Thursday after I meet her.

....and relax...............Mike