The New La Spaziale S40

The new S40 range of traditional espresso machines was launched at the Hospitality Expo 2009, Milan, Italy in October.  The first machines arrived in the UK in November and include 2, 3 and 4 group machines in both semi-automatic and fully automatic versions.  The “flagship range which has variable group head temperature control and the option of an automatic frother will compete against the Gaggia “Deco”, Faema “Emblema” and the Brazillia “Opus Sublima”.

The Dial House

Be prepared to be spoiled! The Dial House Hotel in Bourton-on-the-Water is the most picturesque building in the prettiest village in the Cotswolds. Built in 1698 by local architect, Andrew Paxford, from mellow Cotswold stone, it even predates the iconic bridges over the nearby river Windrush. Originally called ‘The Vinehouse’, it was renamed in the early 19th century after the large sundial above the front door.

In turn, a house, doctor’s surgery and, for the past 30 years, a hotel it is the sort of building you can easily fall in love with. Present owners, Elaine and Martyn Booth did just that 18 months ago, following their return from Australia seeking new challenges. In that short time, their vision has turned The Dial House into one of the finest luxury experiences in the Cotswolds.

The hotel exudes country house charm – mullioned windows, inglenook fireplaces, low Cotswold stone arches, beamed ceilings and poor boxes. The new owners regard themselves very much as custodians of a precious jewel and privileged to be adding to the building’s rich history. They are gradually developing the interior with sumptuous rich fabrics in keeping with the character and splendour of this venerable old building.

Head chef, Jamie Forman, previously a rising Michelin starred chef, has also worked alongside Raymond Blanc before taking the highly respected Cotswold House Hotel to 3 rosettes when he was Head Chef there. He and his brigade of chefs serve lunch and dinner seven days a week. He delights in serving local produce whenever possible, such as Lighthorne lamb and Gloucester Old Spot pork, but is never afraid to seek produce from further afield when quality dictates, as evidenced by the regularity with which hand-dived Gairloch scallops appear on the menu. His team’s efforts have been richly rewarded with two AA rosettes — the maximum for a first assessment — with the promise of a third at the next visit if standards are maintained.

Elaine and Martyn first met their coffee supplier, Café du Monde, at a Condé Nast Johansens’ function and they have since gone on to supply coffee and equipment throughout the hotel. That includes stainless steel thermal cafetières serving Kenya coffee in the dining room and lounge; a La Spaziale espresso machine with Fairtrade coffee beans to cater for the takeaway trade in the hotel’s new gift shop and deli and the elegant Service en Chambre Petite bedroom beverage service in all bedrooms.

“The personal service we get from Café du Monde is impeccable” says Elaine. “For sure, they know their beverages, but more than that, they have an in-depth understanding of what we are trying to achieve and help us at every stage along the way.”

The Manor House

Castle Combe, “The prettiest village in England”, where time has stood still since the Middle Ages, is the setting for a true jewel of English hospitality. A heraldic crest, embedded in a pair of unpretentious wrought iron gates at the end of the village, is the discrete entrance to a driveway, which winds alongside the river Bybrook and tantalisingly reveals The Manor House Hotel in all its breathtaking beauty.

Originally built in the 14th century to replace the dilapidated Norman castle, after which the village is named, it has seen many Lords of the Manor. The most famous is believed to have been Sir John Falstaff, immortalised by Shakespeare in Henry IV. The Barony of Combe continued for some 850 years until 1947, when it was sold and sympathetically evolved into a luxurious hotel and golf club, part of the acclaimed Exclusive Hotels group. Its grounds cover 365 acres of woodland, parkland and formal gardens and include the Manor House Golf Club, a championship course with daily hand-cut greens and manicured tees.

In their room, guests can expect a pillow menu, fresh milk, warm, homemade biscuits and the comfort of hand-sprung mattresses. Many bathrooms have huge walk-in showers, with heated floors and invigorating body jets. Some even have plasma screens so you won’t miss your favourite programme from the sumptuous luxury of your bath.

If you’ve never really considered a hotel restaurant as a dining venue before, the three AA Rosette Bybrook restaurant will surely change your mind. Executive Chef, Richard Davies, has vast experience with Gordon Ramsey and with running his own Michelin-starred restaurant, Sawyards, in West Sussex. The Manor House is committed to supporting Food Heroes, an Exclusive Hotels’ initiative to promote and work with local suppliers from in and around Wiltshire. Produce for the Bybrook restaurant also comes from the kitchen garden, where a family of hens and chickens range freely.

The coffee supply for the hotel, golf club and indeed the whole of the Exclusive Hotels group is in the hands of Café du Monde. That includes cafetière service, bulk brew filter coffee, a La Spaziale espresso machine using Fairtrade coffee beans and the innovative ‘Service en Chambre’. This is a deluxe gold embossed, leather bound in-room beverage service system, that includes cafetière coffee, tea bags and ancillaries for guests to enjoy a hot drink in their room.

Hotel General Manager, Paul Thompson, described the service he gets from Café du Monde: “For a prestigious 5-star hotel like The Manor House, the quality of the end product is paramount. With Café du Monde, that is a given. But other factors are important too. We need a single supplier for our diverse coffee needs from bedroom to lounge, from dining room to banqueting. They take care of that comprehensively. The icing on the cake is their service. They are responsive, personable and very efficient.”

Luton Hoo Hotel

Luton Hoo, a majestic and impos­ing grade I lis­ted build­ing, has been sens­it­ively and immacu­lately trans­formed into a lux­uri­ous five-star hotel by new own­ers, Elite Hotels, fol­low­ing a £60 mil­lion invest­ment. Although less than a mile from the M1 motor­way in Bed­ford­shire, this Robert Adam man­sion house enjoys a beau­ti­ful rural set­ting in 1,065 acres of park­land and gar­dens cre­ated by fam­ous land­scape gardener, Cap­ab­il­ity Brown. The grandeur of the house with its giant tapestries, elab­or­ate fire­places and glint­ing crys­tal chan­deliers is reflec­ted in the way it has been used as a back­drop to some very fam­ous films, per­haps most not­ably, “Four Wed­dings and a Funeral”.

The res­tor­a­tion work has res­ul­ted in an impress­ive com­plex of hotel, con­fer­ence centre, golf course and spa with 35 spa­cious rooms and suites in the Man­sion House and a fur­ther 109 bed­rooms in the Park­land, Adams and Flower Garden wings. The improve­ments con­tinue with War­ren Weir, a purpose-built 84 room con­fer­ence centre avail­able for exclus­ive use, set to open in spring 2009.

For exquis­ite fine din­ing there can be few more spec­tac­u­lar set­tings than the award-winning Wernher res­taur­ant, named after one of Luton Hoo’s most dis­tin­guished former own­ers, dia­mond mag­nate, Sir Julius Wernher. The exotic marble pan­el­work and richly col­oured fab­rics are remin­is­cent of the Palace of Ver­sailles. Housed in the his­toric former stables, the Adam’s Bras­serie offers a more informal style of din­ing. Its décor is bright and con­tem­por­ary; its walls lined with stills from the many films shot on loc­a­tion here.

Each of the bed­rooms has a Ser­vice en Chambre Petite. This neat way for guests to serve bever­ages in their room com­prises teas, cof­fees, hot chocol­ate and ancil­lar­ies all housed in a styl­ish mahogany box together with pol­ished stain­less steel cafetiere, mini kettle and two por­cel­ain mugs.  The hotel has dis­creetly incor­por­ated it into the built-in ward­robes. Café du Monde has recently joined forces with Newby Teas to become the main sup­plier of teas and herbal infu­sions to hotels and res­taur­ants through­out Eng­land and Wales. Luton Hoo chooses from a range of black, green and fruit teabags for guests’ bed­rooms and uses Newby leaf teas through­out the hotel.

“The qual­ity of the Ser­vice en Chambre present­a­tion appealed to us imme­di­ately” said Deputy Gen­eral Man­ager, Mat­thew Long. “It fits well with the décor in our rooms and handles bed­room bever­age ser­vice in a com­pact and eleg­ant way. The products are first rate and the ser­vice response from Café du Monde is outstanding”.

The Celtic Manor Clubhouse

No apologies for featuring in these columns for the third time, the magnificent Celtic Manor Resort, venue for golf’s prestigious Ryder Cup in 2010. Set in 1,400 acres of panoramic parkland in the beautiful Usk Valley, the five-star Resort is already a world-class luxury golf, leisure and business destination. Now a further piece of the Ryder Cup jigsaw has slotted into place with the opening of the Resort’s new Twenty Ten Clubhouse. This purpose-built facility matches the prestige of The Twenty Ten course itself – the first course ever to be designed and constructed specifically for hosting The Ryder Cup.

The Clubhouse, part of a £16m investment in building the new course, features Rafters Restaurant, with its floor-to-ceiling cedar beams and contemporary dining; a Members Lounge with leather chesterfields, high-backed chairs and a warming open hearth; and luxurious, oak-panelled locker rooms, where it will be possible to order a drink from the Spike Bar as you kick back and relax after your round. Long balconies take full advantage of a stunning location on the hillside overlooking the 18th hole with the scenic Usk Valley serving as a backdrop.

Such a luxurious facility calls for something new and special in the culinary line and The Celtic Manor has appointed Simon Searle as head chef at The Twenty Ten Clubhouse. Simon’s influences are French as he trained in France before returning to the UK to a variety of posts including the Michelin-starred Hunstrete House Hotel. Under his auspices, the new menu at Rafters Restaurant will have a modern European flavour, but using the very best ingredients sourced locally. Mouthwatering specialities include his Baked Pant-ys-Gawn Goats’ Cheese wrapped in Carmarthenshire Ham starter, followed by a main course of Navarin d’Agneau Printanier, a Spring lamb stew.

With over four years experience of serving the Resort with all its coffee, it was a vote of confidence in supplier, Café du Monde when they were invited to extend their remit to include the new Clubhouse. In all, three new Gaggia XD2 espresso machines were installed — in Rafters, the Spike Bar and the Members Lounge, serving coffee using 100% Arabica Grand Cru beans. In addition, Café du Monde’s innovative cafetière system is used, offering members and guests an alternative style of coffee service, served from elegant stainless steel cafetières.

The installation was overseen by Clubhouse Manager, Matthew Lewis: “The new Clubhouse has been built with luxury as the watchword and it is important that every detail matches that quality. We knew from our previous experience of Café du Monde at Celtic Manor that we could rely on them to provide the right taste as well as a reliability of service. They were the obvious choice when it came to equipping The Twenty Ten Clubhouse.”

The Alexandra

Famed for its dramatic scenery, Lyme Regis is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the pearl of the Jurassic coast. It still conjures up memories of Meryl Streep’s Oscar-nominated performance in the film version of John Fowles’ book ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’. But today, a quarter of a century on, there is now another reason to remember this beautiful Dorset seaside town, for The Alexandra Hotel and Restaurant, which looks out over Cobb harbour, is rapidly gaining a deserved reputation for the warmth of its hospitality and the quality of its cuisine.

Originally built in 1735 for the Dowager Countess Poulett and later the home of the Duc du Stacpoole, the Alexandra became a hotel in 1901 and for over a hundred years has continued to uphold its tradition as a timeless haven of English peace and charm. Today, the hotel could not be in better hands, for proprietor, Kathryn Richards, was born into the hotel business, has first hand experience of the global hospitality industry and is the second generation of her family to own the hotel.

The Alex, as it is affectionately known, is set in its own picturesque gardens offering magnificent views over the famous Cobb harbour towards the historic fossil-strewn coastline of Lyme Bay. Grades of bedrooms are named after erstwhile owners of the property – ‘Poulett’ and ‘Stackpoole’, of course — but also ‘Gould’, after John Gould the famous Victorian ornithologist (whose father was once gardener here) and ‘Peek’, who in his time turned the stable block into a beautiful chapel. There are two restaurants, the AA rosette Alexandra restaurant – a formal setting with white linen, crystal glasses, candles, silver tableware – and the less formal Conservatory restaurant for morning coffee, light lunches, afternoon tea and pre-dinner drinks.

The cuisine falls under the auspices of Executive Chef, Ian Grant, whose experience at London’s Park Lane Sheraton and the 4-star, 2-AA rosette Bedford Lodge in Newmarket is evident in an award-winning wine cellar and inspirational food, which he describes as a fusion of the traditional and the contemporary. Where possible, Ian sources ingredients locally and is so proud of his suppliers, they are credited in great detail on the hotel’s website.

For the past two years, the Alex has been using Café du Monde’s free loan cafetière service with portioned packs of Fairtrade coffee, served from elegant stainless steel cafetières. Also installed is a traditional La Spaziale Vivaldi espresso machine supplied by Café du Monde and again using Faitrade coffee beans.

“I’d recommend them to anyone looking for a reliable coffee supplier” says Kathryn. “In the time we have dealt together, they have never once let us down and the quality of the coffee is unsurpassed – and that’s the view of our customers as well.”