Latest News
December 2011
Christmas seems to have sneaked up on us this year, but the lights are now up and the whole hotel is looking really pretty, if we say so ourselves. The nearby shops in Kingston are positively sparkling and at a quick glance, the deer in the park look like reindeer.
The Snow Queen is playing at the Rose theatre, which is one of our all time favourite stories. There’s something about Hans Christian Anderson that seems to sum up the season
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a trip to Hampton Court Palace and this year, they’re pulling out all the stops. As well as the ice rink and festive concerts, they’re now doing an ‘enchanted winter garden party’, where guests can enjoy fabulous food in the Palace’s Garden Room. As you can see from the picture below, it’s quite magical.
It has been quite a year at Chase Lodge with many highlights, far too many to mention.
The moment that still makes us smile, just to think about it, was Lee’s face when he served breakfast for the very first time. When ten people arrived at once, including a bone fide rock star, Lee almost panicked but handled it brilliantly. He announced that it was his first day and though he’d do his best, the complaint forms were at the ready but with one caveat, that he had hidden all the pens. Lee won’t win any comedy awards but such friendly, simple humour certainly does lift the spirits and every guest left our breakfast bar smiling. After completing his first busy day, Lee had a nice sit down, drank a gallon tea and fell fast asleep. Touche.
Our review of the year came from an unlikely source, a guest we let down. Of the thousands of guests who stay, and return, we give them all the same warm welcome. But on this particular occasion, we had popped out to buy fresh fruit for breakfast when this particular guest came knocking on our door. Though we are on call 24-hours-a-day in case of emergency, there are times when even we must shop (or sleep!). Anxious not to cause upset, we made every effort to make amends and rectify the situation. The guests were so moved by our emotionally charged apology that they posted a review with such moving phrases as, “this is where it becomes amazing...” and “extraordinary customer service”. The bizarre thing is, had we not made the innocent human error, we would not have got the compliment.
We’d like to thank all the guests who were kind enough to leave us positive feedback, both on our website logbook and Tripadvisor (the world’s largest travel website). This year our star-rating rating rose from four to the dizzying heights of four and a half.
Dot (age 82) has been coming to Chase Lodge for 17 years, with her son Paul. They visit every year for the Wimbledon tennis and now the tennis veteran tour at the Royal Albert Hall. One particular evening Dot was recovering in the lounge, in front of the fire, enjoying a cup of tea and a cup cake, after the long drive from Liverpool. She was having a quiet chat with a charming young man and had not realized she was talking to Rick Parfitt from Status Quo. Dot was enthusing about a famous restaurant in Liverpool and was amazed when Rick revealed that he used to work there as a waiter, before becoming a world-famous rock star.
Rick’s first visit to Chase Lodge was 16 years ago, only one year short of Dot. But our longest staying visitor of all has been Jeff Macecek from America, who has been with us for over two decades.
We continued to refurbish the hotel throughout the year, which is an ongoing labour of love. Like the Forth Road Bridge, our 200 year old antique needs constant titivation in order to maintain such high standards of cleanliness and care. This is why we were so thrilled to receive such a glowing recommendation from the AA Hotel Inspector (his report posted further down this newsletter).
2012 beckons and we’re all looking forward to the Olympics. For the past 2 years, we’ve been looking after the company who organizes all the hospitality and accommodation for visiting dignitaries and we’re hugely flattered that of all the places to stay in London, they chose us. It’s quite an honour.
We feel particularly involved with the Olympics as the cycle race passes right through our village high street. We know this because we played an active part in the test event, which made it all seem real. Who knows what the deer in the park will make of it but we are all quite excited.
We are all really looking forward to seeing a true Hollywood star coming to our local theatre, when Joely Richardson takes to the stage in ‘The Lady from the Sea’. As I’m sure you all know, Joely is the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and granddaughter of Sir Michael Redgrave. She has been acting since the age of three, when she appeared in her father’s film The Charge of the Light Brigade. The play is directed by Steven Unwin who the Guardian newspaper describes as “The finest director of Ibsen in Britain”. It opens on 23rd February and we’ll be there on opening night.
We have had a wonderful year at Chase Lodge, one of the best ever, and are genuinely looking forward to 2012. Though it’s true that the global economic climate is precarious, to say the least, and we fully appreciate that every penny is now spent with much more trepidation, here at Chase Lodge, we do all we can to ensure that your trip away is a kind and nurturing experience. We firmly believe that there will always be a place for independent hotels and good old fashioned customer service.
SUMMER 2011
We would like to thank all the people who have left us such nice feedback on the Tripadvisor website. The reviews have been so kind of late that we now feel compelled to ask new guests not to arrive with sky-high expectations as we are, in all honesty, a modest establishment, though we always try our hardest to make people happy. So please don't expect 24-hour-reception, tennis courts and the like, we're just a cozy, friendly little place staffed by decent people who occasionally make mistakes but always do their very best.
AUTUMN 2011
This August, as every year, we had an on-the-spot inspection from the AA and are happy to say that we passed with flying colours. We are particularly grateful to the inspector, Mr. Salvatore Scotti, for being thoroughly decent throughout and recognising the positive aspects of all our hard work. We have posted a copy of his report below so that you can see the results for yourself. Needless to say, to achieve such praise takes thousands of hours behind-the-scenes work and this a credit to the work ethic of our hardworking housekeeping staff.
Visit SummaryGuest Experience Report part 1Guest Experience Report part 2
Our Tripadvisor rating has now risen to four and a half stars, rather than the four shown below. Again, we'd like to thank all the people who left us such kind (and independent) reviews. With all respect to the AA, it's our guests opinion that we value the most.
As proof that small really is beautiful, the coolest car to arrive at Chase Lodge this Summer was this wonderful Mini belonging to Philippa and Mickey Huber. It growled like a panther (or perhaps a panther cub) and had a deep, ruby sheen. The Mini took part in this years London to Brighton rally and we would defy anyone not to smile as hundreds of vintage cars passed by on their way to the seaside. We wish Mickey and Philippa all the best and would like to say a big thanks for being such wonderful guests.
We'd also like to say thanks to our guests Donna Richard and Eileen Lee for leaving us such nice little thank you notes. One of the advantages of us being a small hotel is that we can do those extra little things, like leaving a card to say Happy Birthday or carrying a suitcase to the bus stop. To us, that's not 'Customer Service', it's just good old-fashioned decency.
Thank you Note 1Thank you Note 2
It’s Wimbledon time again and we were thrilled to have one of our favourite players come to stay. Ricardo Hocevar from Brazil is not only an outstanding tennis player, he’s a true gentleman. He made all our maids swoon.
We are now heading into the busy season here at Chase Lodge with Wimbledon tennis, the Hampton Court Flower Show and lots of happy couples getting married. All 1,100 acres of Bushy Park are looking wonderful as is Kew Gardens nearby. The bluebells were amazing, as always, and the treetop walkway was far too high.
We would like to give our huge thanks to all of the people who left us such nice reviews on the Tripadvisor website. We received enough positive feedback to win us honour of being the No. 1 hotel in the region, which is an amazing achievement for such a small establishment. Thanks so much for everyone who took the time to leave an independent review. It is much appreciated.
We would also like to congratulate the Il Fiume restaurant for their No. 1 status on Tripadvisor. Of all 47 restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, our neighbours had the most positive feedback. We shall be celebrating with one of their xxxxxx. When one of our guests commented on how nice the fish was, the restaurant staff offered to take them on a trip to Billingsgate market, at 4am (!) to see how fresh it all was. The guest came back looking tired, happy and very well fed.
Another funny experience was when one of our guests rode their bike through Bushy Park wearing a brown woollen jacket and some of the deer started following.
After accommodating guests from the BBC TV show Over the Rainbow, we have now switched channels to Britain's Got Talent. As a dog friendly hotel, we have to confess that we were all rooting for Donna and her dogs. Huge congratulations on getting through to the dizzy heights of the Quarter Finals.
With various recording studios located by the riverside, we often have artists and songwriters come to stay and this year was no exception. Though we're too discrete to mention names, we did meet some of our heroes. They often say that the low-key, homey and ultimately personable vibe that infuses the hotel is a welcome respite after the stress of public life.
As usual at this time of year, we have had many guests who stay with us as their final port of call before completing The Thames Path. The walk follows England's best known river for 184 miles as it meanders from its source in the Cotswolds through several rural counties and on through the bustle of the City of London. It is an easy and fascinating walk that does remind you how tranquil this area can be. Strange, as we're only half an hour from London's epicentre.
We were privileged to be a part of our first civil partnership in which Melanie and Hayley tied the knot. It was a wonderful day and we wish them both the kindest of thoughts and a long and happy marriage.
We occasionally have guests attending the rugby at Twickenham and they are always a really nice bunch. We asked two guests which team they supported and they replied, 'both'. They didn't care who won just liked the happy family atmosphere. Our hearts went out to one young man who sat at the bar after watching the end of the season final. We gave him a beer as a consolation prize.
This year, we've doubled our donation to the Downs Syndrome Society with an offer of £2,000 worth of free accommodation. It's always a pleasure having them to stay and it was really decent of them to thank us in the press on and in their newsletter.
Our self-catering accommodation has been booked out until 2012 by the company who are organizing the hospitality for the London Olympics. At two-and-a-half years, this was our longest ever booking.
All the staff at Chase Lodge work very hard to give our guests a memorable experience, so it is much appreciated when customers take the time to give us positive feedback. Here are some of the lovely thank you cards that we have received recently.
| Thank you 1 | Thank you 2 | Thank you 3 | Thank you 4 |
We were also thrilled to our nicest ‘thank you’ ever, a gold disc from Rick Parfitt OBE, of Status Quo. It now hangs proudly on our wall.
Here are some comments that guests have left on various online websites during the past couple of months, ‘the rooms are delightful’, ‘superb hospitality’ and ‘home from home’. There is always the odd person who we cannot please, no matter how hard we try, such as the lady who complained that, ‘our street wasn’t wide enough and was there anything we could do about it?’ We politely replied that there wasn’t, as she was leaving by 10am the following morning.
With Tripadvisor now being the world’s largest travel website, you’d think we’d be pleased with our status as best hotel in the region – but the truth is, it’s terrifying. Expectations are sky high and we live in fear of disappointing anyone. We don’t have a swimming pool or tennis court. We don’t wait up until 4am for guests to return, as we do occasionally sleep. At the end of the day, we’re just a small, romantic hotel and that’s the way we like it. We hope you do too.
Each day brings us new challenges. Most of our challenges come from 1) British Gas 2) People trying to sell us completely inappropriate products and 3) British Gas losing the information we gave them during challenge number 1). For this reason, we have pinned up our favourite motto in reception, as coined by our hero, Winston Churchill: Keep Calm and Carry On!
Every year, we are visited by the AA inspectors who confirm our rating. What did make us smile, was that, during one inspection, our beds were so comfortable that both inspectors overslept.
Needless to say, caring for a building which is 200 years old is a constant labour of love. In the olden days, Chase Lodge used to be the Magistrates House where reprobates were sentenced before being held in the jail next door (now a reputable dance school). We like to think that we are lot more welcoming now.
We look forward to our busy Autumn season with our usual cheery resolve.
WINTER 2010
We were thrilled to have a real life Lord and Lady staying at Chase Lodge. We like Lord and Lady Rix not just because of their excellent work for the charity Mencap but because they are such wonderful company. It was an absolute privilege having them to stay. We would also like to congratulate their grandson for securing his first role in a feature film alongside the wonderful Rachel Weisz.
In one of her many guises, Lady Rix once played a guest in the TV series Faulty Towers. We hope that our own customer service was a little better than Basil Fawlty.
We were recently featured on Sky TV, who described Chase Lodge as “The Best Kept Secret in West London”. For a modest little hotel, this was a very proud moment. The photo shows Sky presenter Emily flanked by smiley members of our staff. We have posted the video on our website should you care to take a look.
We were also awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Tripadvisor, who are the main website for independent travel reviews. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all of our guests who took the time to say something nice about us. It really is appreciated.
We also received a lovely review in the “Where to Stay Guide 2010/11”.
Your Dog magazine recommends the best places to stay in the UK and we received a full-page recommendation. The reviewer said she had a lovely stay and praised our ‘big welcome’.
An old friend called in the other day with some photographs of her wedding here at Chase Lodge. The picture shows Betty and Roy Ayliffe who were married on 20th June 1953 and are still going strong today. How wonderful is that?
Speaking of old photographs, here’s a picture of Nobby on his horse outside Chase Lodge in the 1950’s. The building itself dates back to the Nineteenth Century. The Kelly Dance studio next door was once used as an overnight prison nicknamed ‘The Cage’ by the locals. Chase Lodge housed the Warder. The facilities have much improved since then, with Jacuzzi bath’s and the like.
Our final trip down memory lane shows a wedding from 1993.
The singer Demi Holborn came to stay with us prior to her concert at Hampton Court Palace. She was an absolute delight and her voice was sublime. She was the youngest female artist ever to have a UK Top 20 hit. We would like to wish her every success for the future not that she needs it, she recently gave a private concert for Prince Albert of Monaco!
We would also like to congratulate the actor Marshall Lancaster for bagging a plum role in TV’s Doctor Who. Marshall came to stay with us for two and a half months while acting in The Railway Children, the only show in London to feature a real-life steam train. Both he and his girlfriend became very much a part of our family. The sight of the Ashes to Ashes / Coronation Street star made some of our maids blush.
It was a great pleasure to watch (but not take part in) this year’s open air swim up the River Thames. It was a successful albeit chilly event. The judges who time the race stayed here and needless to say, they were extremely punctual.
It was a joy to see the original “Little Ships” who took part in the Dunkirk evacuation. Some of the skippers stayed with us, as we’re just a minute away from the water’s edge.
This year, we made an important addition to the Chase Lodge experience with the introduction of cup cakes! Who would have thought that such a modest little sweet would have caused such a sensation? An immediate hit with guests and visitors alike, they are selling like... hot cakes!
We are now looking forward to the busy Christmas period. The ice rink is open at the palace and there’s a German market in the town square selling mulled wine. The deer in Bushy Park really do look like reindeer!
We’d like to thank all the guests who have stayed with us this year, especially those who took the time to leave us such kind reviews. We wish you all a very happy Christmas and look forward to meeting friends, old and new, in the New Year and beyond.
SUMMER 2010
It has been a starry season here at Chase Lodge. We were very proud to accommodate some truly VIP celebrities. No, not Lord Lloyd Webber but the five dogs competing to be Toto in The Wizard of Oz. It was a privilege to be chosen as the first choice accommodation for the BBC’s hit show, Over The Rainbow.
 Dave and Rachel |
 Eddie and Lucie |
 Missy and Anna |
 Spider and Lucy |
Troy and Jackie |
Missy putting in an appearance for her fans. |
Yvonne, our wonderful breakfast lady, with all of the Toto’s. Yvonne is loved by all our guests, dogs and humans.
We’ve always been praised as a dog friendly hotel but to have some of the worlds cutest pooches staying here simply brought the place to life. Anyone who cares for a dog is by nature, a decent person and the five owners proved that to a tee. We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to all the production staff for such kind words and beautiful flowers.
The fact that Dame Judy Dench was also starring in A Midsummer Nights Dream, at our local theatre, meant that we were inundated with enquiries. We could have filled our small hotel ten times over and that’s before My Fair Lady opens in nearby Wimbledon. The lucky few who did manage to get tickets to see our favourite Dame included guests who came all the way from America just to see the show, then flew back after the standing ovation. That our neighbourhood theatre, The Rose, can attract such a worldwide audience is a testament to the quality of shows that they produce.
The play received rave reviews as did we on the internet. Here is one write-up our hotel received from a wonderful lady in Montreal:
“Shakespeare holiday/birthday present took me to this Victorian boutique hotel. Minutes from the train to Waterloo (1/2 hr. ride) and on foot from the Rose Theatre, this gem is clean with very comfortable beds, new bathrooms and spacious double rooms. The 4-day stay was smooth and Robert and Denise were kind, warm and personable making this surprise holiday a permanent and glorious memory. Walk and walk and walk.. over the bridge to Kingston or to Hampton Court, or bus it conveniently to Richmond or Heathrow (45 mins., 2 GBP), I recommend this gem without reservation”.
We would like to thank all our guests who left us such wonderful feedback. Here’s another review from two of our oldest guests (that’s time of stay not physical age!):
“When coming to London, my mum and I have stayed at Chase Lodge for nearly 15 years now. From the very first time that we stayed, we have always found the staff to be warm and friendly, polite and respectful, and extremely helpful and professional making our time there memorable for all the right reasons. We have consistently found that all levels of service provided are of the highest calibre. It is also refreshing these days to still find the more traditionally-styled accommodation with a wealth of character and more intimate atmosphere, unlike the tower-block hotels which seem lifeless in comparison. Our stays at Chase Lodge have been warming and rewarding, not simply functional, as a result. If you are looking for accommodation in the area, I would strongly recommend that you give it a try - top marks from me and mum!”
Chase Lodge in full bloom |
Bushy Park in the snow |
Spring brought an unexpected bout of cold weather. When staff at the Teddington Memorial Hospital were completely snowed in, local businesses helped out. For our part, we were delighted to offer the stranded nurses the use of our rooms free of charge and would not hesitate to offer this again, at any time.
We had many visitors from one of our favoured charities, The Downs Syndrome Association. In honour of their work, we are donating £1,000 worth of free accommodation to their members this year and every year. It is always a pleasure to meet them.
 Photo by Fiona Field |
 Illustration by Lester Magoogan (who has Downs Syndrome) |
We were particularly impressed by one guest from Downs Syndrome Association who could play 8 instruments! (when we can’t play any). He was part of an amazing Royal Performance with the most beautiful sets.
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Our summer season begins with Wimbledon Tennis just around the corner. The tennis should be particularly passionate this year with our British Number One, Andy Murray, standing a real chance of reaching the final. We shall be cheering him on, between strawberries.
Our busiest event is always the Hampton Court Flower Show and this year promises to be more fragrant than ever. We’re just one minute away from Bushy Park where you can either walk to the Palace (20 minutes) or catch one of the many riverboats (a glorious half hour of beautiful scenery on the River Thames). We often wonder what the Bushy Park deer think of our guests who return through the park carrying huge rubber plants.
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At the time of writing the bluebells are out at nearby Kew Gardens, transforming the ground into a carpet of heliotrope. There is a potent smell of jasmine in the air and the Maids of Honour tea rooms is selling cakes like… hot cakes.
Kew Gardens
We would like to congratulate one of our favourite guests, Balou, on winning a rally. Balou is the gorgeous brown dog on the left.
As ever, we’ve been renovating the hotel and have installed flat screen TV’s in every room. Though these are now ubiquitous to us, it’s like being at the cinema. Call us old fashioned, I know. It is always a delicate balancing act to keep pace with technology (free wi-fi and the like) while preserving the character of our 19th Century building.
We recently had our hotel analysed by a Feng Shui expert who ensured that our whole building had positive energies. Though the evidence of this is almost unnoticeable, guests often say how happy that they feel here. None more so than the blushing brides at our regular wedding receptions.
All our staff have been frequenting the village’s newest restaurant, Il Fiume (think lobster soup!). As if Jamie’s Italian wasn’t tempting enough. It looks like we’ll be spending the rest of the summer going to the gym!
Finally, congratulations to our administrator Robert who writes plays in his spare time. His adaptation of Ernest Hemmingway’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel won the Angel Award at this year’s Brighton Festival. It has received rave reviews and was a complete sell-out. Well done Rob!
January 2010
Welcome to our very first Chase Lodge newsletter. First of all, Happy New Year, we’re looking forward to a whole new decade and all the wonderful things that may bring.
Last year, we had a lot of our regular customers come to stay and we were delighted to see each and every one of them (we’re also keen to see new customers too). It seems amazing that we have been here for 25 years with our anniversary coming up on March 21st - 25 years, oops! how did that happen?
As usual there have been many moving stories too numerous to list but there are a few that deserve a special mention:
As you probably know, we host many wedding receptions here so it seems unusual to mention one that happened in Miami Beach – but doesn’t our friend Gillian look beautiful in her wedding dress? Huge congratulations to Barbera, Alan, Gillian, Alex, Sammy and the whole family. We look forward to seeing you again and sharing the experience.
As usual, everybody cried at our christenings, including the staff. We’ll be breaking the tissues out this year too.
We were all very excited when Lenny Henry and Barry Rutter booked to stay here during their production Othello at the Rose Theatre (though Lenny ended up staying at his wife’s house instead, which we would too if were married to the lovely Dawn French). It was a terrific production, both men were great and it’s no wonder that it transferred straight to the West End.
Huge congratulations to our favourite Thai restaurant up the road. They beat of massive competition to win the Best Thai Restaurant in Britain award on Gordon Ramsay’s F-Word. And so they should, their spicy cinnamon quail is amazing.
Our Christmas lights drew in quite a few children, thinking we were Santa’s grotto.
Last but definitely not least, we were very privileged to help our friend Yvonne, in a very modest way, in her fight against breast cancer. We can now report that she has fully recovered and has come to work with us.
That’s it! Kind thoughts to you all.
Denise, Robert and all the staff at the Chase Lodge Hotel.