Harrogate made its name as a spa town but now it’s a thriving meeting and events scene that has visitors flooding in. Michelle Mannion pays a visit
There’s something in the water in Harrogate – yes, really. In 1571, the fortunes of the North Yorkshire town changed forever when its first mineral spring was discovered. Some 87 more were to be uncovered, containing a rare mixture of iron and sulphuric waters, and, as news of their healing powers spread, Harrogate became a fashionable spa town for the rich and aristocratic. By 1910, about 75,000 people were visiting every year.
Nowadays, crowds descend for a different reason – the bustling meetings trade. After the spa industry declined, its hotels housed government offices evacuated from London during the Second World War. It was this – along with the launch of the NHS, which took away Harrogate’s raison d’être – that prompted its rebirth as a conference destination.
“It’s a town that really does thrive on events,” says Alison Griffin, head of sales and marketing at the Harrogate International Centre (HIC). Attracting more than 250,000 visitors each year, the HIC is the UK’s third-largest integrated conference and exhibition venue, after London’s Alexandra Palace and Glasgow’s SECC. The meeting industry now contributes an estimated £150 million a year to the local economy.
For Billie Gill, marketing executive at the HIC, the town’s location and layout are big advantages. “We’re slap-bang in the middle of the UK,” she says. “Leeds airport is 20 minutes’ drive away, as is the A1(M), and it’s a short hop by rail from York or Leeds. It’s safe, there’s a lot of restaurants and bars, and they’re all in walking distance.”
Harrogate’s refined feel also appeals to event planners. David Ritson, general manager of the Old Swan hotel, says: “It feels softer here – it is contemporary but also historic, and it’s a service town, which is probably why it feels welcoming.”
Venues in town
Barcelo Harrogate Majestic hotel
The Majestic pulls off a rare trick – being situated right in town but, thanks to its hilltop location and eight acres of attractive gardens, feeling quite private. The four-star property has a venerable history, having welcomed visitors such as Churchill and Elgar since opening in 1900. It became a Barcelo hotel in 2007.
It is currently undergoing restoration following a fire in May – it reopened 88 of its 170 bedrooms in September, with the remainder to be ready by March. It’s very much business as usual in the meantime – the public areas are all accessible, the décor is grand and elegant, and there are 15 excellent meeting spaces available for hire.
Off the lobby, the large North and South lounge, with its murals of English spa towns, acts as a pre-function area for the adjoining dining room, which seats 380. This venue, in turn, can be joined to two other spaces to accommodate 750 people banquet-style. Other options include the 200-capacity Billiard room, with a wonderful hand-carved fireplace, and the 500-capacity Carriage suite – the property’s old carriagehouse, it has original stone arches and doors to the gardens. All rooms have daylight and wifi access.
There are also beauty salons, a tennis court and a leisure club with a pool and gym, while the grounds can be used for teambuilding activities.
- Ripon Road; tel +44 (0)1423 700 300; barcelo-hotels.co.uk
Old Swan hotel
A few minutes’ walk from the Majestic, the Old Swan has a rich history too, being best known as the property Agatha Christie hid out in after disappearing in 1926, sparking an 11-day manhunt. Originally an 18th-century coaching inn, it became a hotel in 1840 and was refurbished in 2006, modernising it but retaining its traditional feel.
The four-star property has 136 rooms and nine meeting spaces – the latter are mostly on the ground floor and many boast attractive original features. The Garden room and Ballroom have lots of daylight and combine to seat 450 people theatre-style, with access to the grounds. The Wedgwood dining room, with its classical pillars, stucco detailing and stained glass ceiling, was thought to have housed a swimming pool originally, and holds 500 for a reception.
Other spaces include the Red lounge (oddly enough, it is not red), which has a big wooden fireplace and can take 80 for dinner, and the Penthouse suite (oddly again, not a luxury apartment but the old billiards room), which holds 70 theatre-style. There are also two hectares of gardens that can be used for group activities, and a croquet lawn.
- Swan Road; tel +44 (0)1423 500 055; classiclodges.co.uk
Hotel du Vin
Occupying eight Georgian houses on Prospect Place, Hotel du Vin overlooks the Stray, the 80-hectare public common, and is a short walk to the HIC. The property opened seven years ago and has 48 bedrooms, all of which are stylishly decorated with classy colour palettes, big comfortable beds and lovely bathrooms.Its two ground-floor event rooms are a good option for smaller meetings and private dining. Abbey Well holds 60 people seated and 90 standing and opens on to a private courtyard, part of which could be sectioned off for a gathering. The room is a smart space with ornate mirrors, a drop-down screen and a colourful painting of a dinner party. The L-shaped Henley Vineyards, meanwhile, holds 30 seated or 75 standing, or 130 for dinner when combined with the restaurant, which it adjoins.
The Bistro, as you would expect from a Hotel du Vin, serves excellent French cuisine with about 500 wines to choose from. Downstairs from the bar, the Cellar Snug has a billiards table and cosy sofas and can be used for drinks receptions of up to 50 people. There is also a spa with five treatment rooms offering a variety of facials and massages.
- Prospect Place; tel +44 (0)1423 856 800; hotelduvin.com
Bettys
A name synonymous with Harrogate, Bettys café tea rooms (no, there’s no apostrophe, and no one knows for sure why it is called Bettys) has been a favourite of locals and visitors alike since opening on the edge of the Stray in 1919.
Known for its delicious cakes and confectionery, the flagship branch of this Yorkshire chain (there are five more in the area) is open from 9am to 9pm for breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea, and also has facilities for seeing to business.
Located on the first floor, the Imperial room is an elegant space with cream walls, period detailing, attractive chandeliers and views on to the Stray. It can host 80 delegates for dinner or 100 guests for cocktails, while tucked away up a few steps is a smaller meeting room for 20 people.
Bettys also offers cookery classes in its bakery a few kilometres away for corporate groups of up to 18. Tailor-made hands-on sessions can be arranged in everything from chocolate- and bread-making to filleting fish.
- 1 Parliament Street; tel +44 (0)1423 814 070; bettys.co.uk
Venues in the area
Yorkshire Event Centre/Pavilions of Harrogate
On the 100-hectare Great Yorkshire Showground – home to the Great Yorkshire Show, England’s leading agricultural event – the Yorkshire Event Centre and Pavilions of Harrogate are ten minutes’ drive from town. Together they can host groups of all sizes for conferences, exhibitions, parties and outdoor events.
Pavilions is the meeting and banqueting venue – purpose-built 15 years ago, it has 14 rooms (almost all on the ground floor) equipped with free wifi and holding from four to 640 people. They are modern with plenty of daylight, and many open on to the surrounding lawns. The Event Centre is for larger exhibitions and conferences, and its two halls total more than 5,000 sqm of space.
The extensive grounds can be used for all types of activities, and there is an equestrian ring with a 4,200-capacity grandstand that can be used for archery, five-a-side football and “It’s a Knockout” tournaments.
A nine-hole golf course, gym and squash court are also on-site (all privately run), as is Fodder, a café and store selling tasty local produce.
- Great Yorkshire Showground; tel +(0)1423 544 544; pavilionsofharrogate.com; eventcentre.co.uk
Rudding Park
Close to the Yorkshire Event Centre, Rudding Park is an impressive four-star property set in 120 hectares of parkland. The original Grade I Listed Regency building opened as a conference venue in 1987, with the adjoining 50-room hotel added ten years later. A new 48-room wing was set to open on December 1, with a small spa, gym and 14-seat private cinema to follow in February. The library gives a hint to the décor in the new wing – funky and colourful.
The meeting building retains a classic feel, with its own entrance and 15 venues across two floors, all of which look on to the grounds or chapel. The largest, the Radcliffe room, holds up to 400 people for a reception, while the Library takes 90 theatre-style and has direct outdoor access. The Crosby suite divides into three and holds 200 in total. Possible teambuilding activities in the grounds include off-road Land Rover driving, clay pigeon shooting, falconry, hot air ballooning and quad biking. There are also 18-hole and six-hole golf courses.
- Follifoot; +44 (0)1423 871 350; ruddingpark.co.uk
Ripley Castle
Ten minutes’ drive from Harrogate in the small village of Ripley is this picturesque Grade I Listed castle, set in 200 hectares of grounds and home to the Ingilby family for more than 700 years. History seeps from the series of beautifully preserved rooms in the main building, which can be used together or separately. For example, you might choose the Drawing room for drinks, with its stunning lake views, Regency chandelier and grand piano, and the wood-panelled Library for a meeting or dinner – it holds 70 people theatre-style or 44 for meals. Upstairs, the 40-capacity Tower room once played host to James I.
Reopened in 2004 after a £2.5 million renovation, the East Wing offers more modern spaces across two floors, though keeping much of the period detail. The light-filled Main Hall makes an excellent pre-function area, while upstairs the Long Gallery can accommodate 150 theatre-style. A marquee can be put in the grounds for larger gatherings, and medieval-style picnics and jousting are some of the activities that can be arranged. Hidden among the trees is the Log Heights ropes training course. The castle also operates a 25-room hotel a couple of minutes’ walk away.
- Ripley; tel +44 (0)1423 770 152; ripleycastle.co.uk
Harrogate International Centre
Situated right in town, the HIC has been the beating heart of Harrogate’s events industry since opening in 1982. Its range of venues is impressive – the high-tech auditorium seats 2,000 delegates, while the 650 sqm Queen’s suite holds 600 theatre-style or divides into ten smaller rooms. Eight exhibition halls total 16,500 sqm of space – gala dinners for 1,500 can be held in Hall A – and two more totalling 3,300 sqm are due to be completed by autumn 2011.
The real jewel, though, is the Royal Hall. Built in 1903, this glittering 1,000-capacity venue reopened in 2008 following a £10.7 million restoration. It can be used for concerts, conferences, receptions and dinners. Also part of the HIC stable is the Sun Pavilion, a short walk away in the pretty Valley Gardens. This 1930s venue provides a beautiful setting for events, with its high stained-glass ceiling and views over the sloping lawns. It holds 200 people theatre-style and 120 for dinner, and has a veranda and a small reception area.
There are 1,600 hotel rooms in easy walking distance of the HIC, and 4,000 in the wider Harrogate area. Attached to the HIC is a 214-room Holiday Inn, while Puma Hotels has secured permission for a 107-room budget hotel, to be connected to the new exhibition halls and expected to open in 2012.
- King’s Road; tel +44 (0)1423 537 474; harrogateinternationalcentre.co.uk
Bath time, turkish style
Time out between meetings? Experience Harrogate’s spa roots at the Turkish Baths. Situated in the old Royal Baths, they are the most complete Victorian Turkish baths left in England. Moorish in design, with Islamic arches, arabesque painted ceilings, glazed brick walls and Italian terrazzo floors, the baths had a £1 million refurbishment in 2004 and offer a unique way to escape the strains of daily life.
The idea is that you start in the steam room, cool off in the icy plunge pool (not for the faint-hearted), then work your way through the three hot rooms – the Tepidarium, Caldarium and Laconium – interspersed with more trips to the pool, if you dare. You finish, invigorated, in the Frigidarium (relaxation room). Entry from £13; check website for men’s, women’s and mixed session times. Spa treatments are also available.
The Turkish Baths can be hired for hospitality events of up to 60 people on Wednesday mornings and Saturdays from 6pm to 8.30pm, with drinks and canapés permitted.
- Parliament Street; tel +44 (0)1423 556 746; harrogate.gov.uk/turkishbaths
