Heythrop Park Resort Oxfordshire
01608 673333, www.heythropparkleisure.co.uk
Just 30-minutes from the spires of Oxford, Heythrop Park may date back to the 1700s, but its facilities are totally 2011. Ideal for large-scale residential conferences because of the theatre and ballroom. Day delegate rates start from £50 per person; 24-hours from £150.
Work out: With over 400 acres, there’s room for just about anything, from an invigorating lunch-time walk to serious up-with-the-lark training. Delegates can also enjoy the golf course, with an additional fee of £35 to play 18 holes.
Bliss out: There’s yoga in the health club twice a week, or how about a 90-minute detox for £75, including body wrap, lymphatic drainage and a light lunch?
Healthy options: Dishes such as chicken, spinach and watercress soup, or grilled lemon and herb-marinated British chicken breast with tomato and chilli relish should keep delegates on target.
Nutfield Priory Hotel & Spa Surrey
0845 072 7485, www.handpickedhotels.co.uk
A choice of spaces for 10-100 includes some with direct access to the grounds and patio – ideal for ‘blue sky thinking’. Day delegates from £68 per person; 24-hours from £184 per person.
Work out: Nutfield’s fitness studio can be hired for private training sessions from £50. Energisers brought into the meeting room include ‘sparring’, where one delegate has boxing pads and another has boxing gloves. The idea is that hitting the pads generates energy and bonding with colleagues, plus it’s a quick wake-up session to beat post-lunch fatigue.
Bliss out: The Health Club facilities are included in the delegate packages and offer a gym with Power Plate, pool, sauna, steam room, squash courts, eight treatment rooms and a relaxation room.
Healthy options: Nutfield makes its own fruit smoothies and protein shake shots to invigorate delegates. Typical lunches include fresh paninis with roast meats, salads and pastas.
Celtic Manor Resort South Wales
01633 413000, www.celtic-manor.com
Celtic Manor in South Wales has over 40 conference, meeting and events spaces for 2-1,500 people, including the rooftop terrace and barbecue terrace. Day delegates from £65 per person, including room hire and lunch.
Work out: As host to the 2010 Ryder Cup, there are no prizes for guessing which sport rules here, offering everything from Ryder Cup Experience golf days on the Twenty Ten Course to half-day, team-building sessions. Golf aside, other activities include white water rafting, sailing, rock climbing and canoeing.
Bliss out: The award-winning Celtic Manor Forum Spa has a raft of detoxing and re-energising packages, and if time is short, therapists can offer a selection of lunchtime treatments in the Convention Centre itself.
Healthy options: Morning and afternoon refreshment breaks are provided for delegates and include a fresh fruit platter, assorted fruit juices, yoghurt and granola shots and fruit smoothies.
Ravenwood Hall Suffolk
01359 270788, www.ravenwoodhall.co.uk
Dating back to Henry VIII, this secluded hotel outside Bury St Edmunds offers a variety of meeting spaces (holding up to 130 in the Edwardian Pavilion) and sits in seven acres for team-building events. Pavilion hire costs from £135-£795, depending on lunch requirements. Day delegates from £43 per person (including buffet lunch); 24-hours from £195 per person (including three-course dinner, breakfast and single occupancy).
Work out: An outdoor heated pool will help you and your colleagues burn off boardroom tension, or you could book the competitive types a clay pigeon package at nearby Lakenheath Shooting Ground, where beginners are welcome.
Bliss out: There is no spa on site, but the hotel can arrange a trip to the nearby Clarice House Spa for a sauna and massage.
Healthy options: Conference buffet menus (£11.95-£27.20 per person) include poached salmon, cucumber and dill salad, and fresh fruits marinated in rosemary.
Corinthia Hotel Lisbon
+351 21 7236363, www.corinthia.com/lisbon
If you’re taking your business further afield this spring, the largest five-star hotel in Portugal is at ease handling big conferences, but also has 15 meeting rooms for smaller gatherings with an executive club lounge and two boardrooms. Day delegates from €65 per person; room rates from €125.
Work out: A heated indoor pool and a gym if there’s not much time before the plane, or get out and about and explore the cobbled streets of Portugal’s capital.
Bliss out: Individual cocoons to aid weight loss sound interesting, or just detox the traditional way with hydro massage, sauna and hammam. Signature treatments include an Oriental massage using traditional Japanese Seitai-Shiatsu massage techniques performed on a small mattress on the floor.
Healthy options: Dishes to keep everyone on track include carpaccio of fresh salmon with lime, black olive-orange salsa and baby spinach salad, followed by low-fat milk pie with sour cherry and mango sorbet.
The St Moritz Hotel and Spa Cornwall
01208 86242, www.stmoritzhotel.co.uk
Half an hour from Newquay airport, The White Hot Space at the St Moritz offers The Lab, The War Room and The Snug for meetings, workshops and training. Day delegates from £45 per person; 24-hours from £140-£180 per person, or £75 per person extra to bring a partner. The facilitator of groups over 10 gets a complementary night, subject to availability, with dinner and breakfast.
Work out: After a hard day thinking outside the box, delegates can blow away the cobwebs with some sea air and a bracing round at St Enodoc golf course.
Bliss out: The Cowshed Spa’s six treatment rooms, plus manicure and pedicure stations, or the Jacuzzi, hamman-style steam room and sauna at The Leisure Club should diffuse any tensions.
Healthy options: If teams prefer not to stop for lunch, with the Raid the Larder package the kitchen in The Lab can be filled with everything they need to graze on throughout the day, including houmous, guacamole, wraps and salads.
Alladale Wilderness Reserve Sutherland
01863 755338, www.conventionscotland.com
An hour’s drive from Inverness, this Highland lodge is ideal for seminars and think tanks or team building. Exclusive hire from April for up to 14 people, from £1,800 per night, including breakfast, lunch and a three-course dinner. Smaller lodge Eagle’s Crag is available for up to eight people,