What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 27 July 2015

Welcome to another week and it's another busy one here at Cloud 9 Towers as most of the team are off to Amsterdam this week to oversee judging for the Fresh Creative Awards.

We're staying at The Mercure Hotel Amsterdam City is set in a beautiful location by the river and provides easy access to the ArenA, Ziggo Dome, Zuid-As business district and the centre of Amsterdam. The hotel is just 5 minutes away from the RAI Convention Center and you  can also reach the city centre by public transport in just 10 minutes. 

Whilst it should be a pretty good couple of days with lots of hard work, we will also be having a couple of excursions including a Boat Trip to the Sofitel Grand Legend which is a fabulous hotel. We're having, we hope, weather permitting, a bit of a do in the courtyard of the hotel.


The Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam, is an historical site. In quite a unique manner, the history of Amsterdam is reflected in the past and present of the building, which were originally two convents, St. Cecily's Convent at the northern part of the property and St. Katherine's Convent to the south. The Grand was built in three sections, as is still evident from the two courtyards and central element, and in its design we can detect the basic structure of the two convents. The tiny tower perched so pertly on the north side of the rooftop is reminiscent of St. Cecily's Convent founded in 1411.

Amsterdam was a city filled with monasteries and convents. On old maps of the city, you can pick them out by their courtyards and walled gardens, always marked by a chapel. Even in the twentieth century, their remains are still in evidence in the floor plan of The Grand, in the patterns of several other parts of the city, and in any number of street names in this vicinity.

We are also planning to take in a sneaky peek at the new M Gallery Hotel, the INK. INK Hotel Amsterdam owes its name to the rich history of the building. As the former home of the Dutch newspaper 'De Tijd', this building was a place where stories were conceived, written and ultimately brought to life in ink. INK. Hotel Amsterdam is a bohemian lifestyle hotel, where the traditional rules of hospitality are freely translated to the modern day, rewriting the definition of 'luxury' in INK. INK. Hotel Amsterdam offers its guests the ultimate luxury: the luxury of the freedom of time. 

In other news this week, Friday see's the finalists announced for the Midlands Media Awards 2015 and its going to be a big year for the event as the Birmingham Press Club, for whom we run the awards, are celebrating their 150th Anniversary. Make sure you take a look at the website on Friday for the full listing.

The event itself will be at Aston Villa on 10 September and we are gearing up for the awards here with all of the planning that goes into an awards do! 

Lastly, we are also gearing up in August to launch three new initiatives in early September so no time to take it easy here at Cloud 9 towers!  We've two new lovely new clients and an awards to launch alongside our existing portfolio so we remain busy bodies but we wouldn't have it any other way! Have a great week!

 

What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 28 October 2013

Welcome to another week and can you believe that we’re only eight weeks away from Christmas?!

Bearing that in mind,  if you fancy a London based treat this Christmas for your office party or client night out,  we’d suggest a Christmas Celebration at from Late Night London who are promoting the Jewel Bar in Piccadilly pretty heavily at present - and if you book by 31 October 2013 you’ll receive a complimentary Christmas cocktail for all of your party guests, and whilst you might be a bit distracted by Halloween this week, Christmas is only around the corner...

They've even come up with a little tribute based on the Twelve Days of Christmas, so here we go...with no apologies for the cheese...

On the 1^st week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….A  Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 2nd week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me…. 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 3rd week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 4^th week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….4 Themed Packages, 3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 5^th week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….5 GOLD RINGS, 4 Themed Packages, 3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 6^th week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….6 Dj’s Playing, 5 GOLD RINGS, 4 Themed Packages, 3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 7^th week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….7 Cocktails Brimming, 6 Dj’s Playing, 5 GOLD RINGS, 4 Themed Packages, 3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 8^th week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….8 Glasses Clinking, 7 Cocktails Brimming, 6 Dj’s Playing, 5 GOLD RINGS, 4 Themed Packages, 3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 9^th Week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me….9 Hoola’s Dancing, 8 Glasses Clinking, 7 Cocktails Brimming, 6 Dj’s Playing, 5 GOLD RINGS, 4 Themed Packages, 3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party in Jewel Piccadilly On the 10^th week of Christmas Late Night London gave to me…. 10 Bar Staff Pouring, 9 Hoola’s Dancing, 8 Glasses Clinking, 7 Cocktails Brimming, 6 Dj’s Playing,  5 GOLD RINGS, 4 Themed Packages, 3 Sweet Treats, 2 Drinks Vouchers and a Party NOT just in Jewel Piccadilly

If you would like to find out more about Jewel or any of the options in London for a Christmas bash this year, then please give us a shout here at Cloud 9 - we have some truly great crackers this year!  

Here at Cloud 9 Towers our Christmas Spirit and knowledge does extend to the rest of the UK and on a daily basis we are being inundated with some fantastic Christmas packages so we are certainly in know if you need some inspiration!

Q Hotels, which are always a favourite of ours, have some fantastic Christmas offers available this year and we are really loving the look of the festive breaks. As an example you could treat yourself to a two or three-night package at Stratford Manor. Your stay includes afternoon tea on arrival, dinner, bed and breakfast, a traditional Christmas Day feast and a spectacular Boxing Day Gala Dinner.

With great entertainment available throughout your stay, which includes a pianist, a local choir belting out some carols, magicians, race nights and evening discos, there is even a falconry display! 

With 21 different properties, Q are bound to have something near you, so take the stress out of Christmas! 

Alternatively, you could celebrate the festive season and enjoy the excitement and vibrant atmosphere of one of Mercure’s festive themed party nights! With numerous hotels throughout the UK and further afield, we are particularly liking the schedule from the Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel and Spa.

We like an excuse to get dressed up here at Cloud 9 Towers so we love the sound of the Black White & Diamonds party nights. Set in a a stunningly themed suite, guests are invited to get all glammed up and indulge with an arrival drink and delicious three-course dinner before partying the night away.

For those that fancy it, you could instead put on that old School Uniform and enjoy a Back to School themed Christmas Party night.  Get to school early and enjoy assembly at the Bar then let the Headmaster call you class by class into the hall for your three-course dinner served by the school canteen team. You’ll have the chance to re-sit your exams to see which tutor group wins the end of term prizes!

 Now if Christmas is not really your thing, then you might want to escape it, avoid the shopping, crowds and generally hide away. If this is the case then you can always indulge in one of the fabulous Spa Humbug packages available from a hotel we've had the pleasure of staying at recently.

The Clumber Park Hotel and Spa are offering full use of their spa facilities, with robes, towels and slippers, and then guests can choose from a selection of great treatments including a Three Kings’ Ritual (we dont know what that is but it sounds great!), a Gold, Frankincense & Myrhh hot oil massage (we dont know what this is either but anything to do with gold we like the sound of) and a Mulled Wine & Christmas Cake Grazing Board Lunch (we know what this is and we like!).

Additionally you can Detox Before you Retox, enjoy a Detoxifying Tropical Body Wrap, and a  Purifying Aromatherapy Massage whilst enjoying a Cleansing tea & Ytsara gift (we'll stick to the mulled wine we think!).

So there you are a few ideas for Christmas, which we hope will inspire a little! 

In other news this week, we finally get the keys to the new Cloud 9 Towers this Friday but as everyone will know, the logistics of a move are never straightforward so it will be a few weeks before we are in, settled and sorted so in the meantime normal service continues.

Have a great week and Happy Halloween!