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Eventia's Man About Town

Welcome to a brand new column which will feature in the newsletter and on the website: follow Mark Gill from First Protocol as he reviews the supplier events he's attended.

Hi all and welcome to a brand new monthly feature reviewing all the fabulous and maybe not so fabulous places I’ve been to in the last few weeks.  With so many invites dropping into my tray which ones can I accept and squeeze into my busy diary……………

Where better to start than a cold evening back in February and the Novotel London West for the 2010 M&IT Awards. With just one awards dinner taking place in February this year it was a chance for M&IT to set the standard.  Overall it was a good night and a chance to catch up with all the usual suspects over a couple of glasses of fizz.  A super job by Kate Silverton as Mistress of ceremonies – she’s a personal favourite of mine and what a fantastic achievement raising so much for charity!  After propping up the bar with Ms Downie and enjoying a gossip it was into bed by 3am – am I losing my touch? Thanks to Concorde Hotels for hosting me for the evening.  Now the baton passes to Eventia for their awards in November.  Can you raise the bar??

Wednesday 24th saw me shooting along to the new Park Plaza Westminster for a snoop round one of the latest additions to the London hotel portfolio.  What a big old beast this place is.  If you’re looking for a contemporary 4* then this is the place to book.  Clean, corporate and keen for business, and the canapés weren’t bad either.  We’ll watch closely over the next few months to see how they fair alongside their more established counterparts.

Early March saw me head off to One Marylebone and to the GP Associates Hotelopoly.  Janine and her ladies always manage to pull out all the stops and this was no exception.  Sensibly I went for the lunchtime slot and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of fizz and some delicious fayre served up by the wonderful Alison Price.  GP represent a wonderful collection of upscale properties in the UK, Europe and further afield – the very best in each destination.  They’re well worth a look next time you need a little inspiration.  My personal favourites are their Caribbean partners – Shirley you did an amazing job selling those to me.  Now I just need to grab my sun cream and bikini!

It was a particularly busy week for me and the very next day it was off to the Mandarin Oriental London for their Fan Fair Reception.  One of the highlights for my diary, as well as exceptional hotels the food and drinks are always to die for!  Another faultless performance from the MO team – the cocktails were stunning and the food, awesome.  This really was a masterclass in how to put on a great event!  Sadly I didn’t win anything in the prize draw – well, there has to be one negative.  I couldn’t stay too late though as I was off to celebrate Izania’s 21^st birthday, again, in Soho!

Later that week I found myself at the Langham London for their workshop.  Covering the complete Langham portfolio it was a delightful afternoon as we enjoyed tea and some scrummy cakes in the ballroom whilst meeting their colleagues from around the world.  Personal highlights for me were the teams from Boston and Hong Kong and it was great to catch up with a couple of faces I hadn’t seen for ages.

There was just time to squeeze in one more invite before March drew to a close and where else but the launch of the C&IT A list for 2010.  Madame Tussauds played host as the next generation of industry hot shots was announced.  Copious amounts of food was served up and, for once I found I actually couldn’t scoff fast enough!  Slightly taken by surprise with the close of the bar – that will teach me to focus too much on the food and take my eye off the booze.  It was a great night for our very own Christina Klingler who made it on to this year’s list, congratulations Christina.  And then it was off into the rain to grab a cab and reflect on what’s been a particularly hectic few weeks.

So, that’s the first installment for you.  Keep a watch out for me during April, I’m sure I’ll be popping up somewhere so say hi if you see me!

More next month from MG@FP