VENUE REVIEWS

Regional NSW

Superbly located within 8 hectares of beautifully landscaped grounds, within the historic town of Windsor, The Sebel Resort and Spa Hawkesbury Valley offers 104 stylishly furnished, spacious rooms, including 36 suites with private spas and open fireplaces.

Choose from 9 superior meeting rooms, many with natural light, suitable for either small or large groups. From a board meeting for 8 people to a function for 250 guests, the hotel is perfect for conferences, seminars, conventions, corporate retreats and special events.

You are assured of impeccable attention to detail and service from their dedicated service team and in-house audio visual manager.Recreational facilities include two outdoor tennis courts, indoor heated swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnasium and a games room with a full size billiard table. There is also a driving range and two golf courses immediately adjacent to the hotel.

One special feature that sets the resort apart is the world famous Villa Thalgo Hydrotherapy Health and Beauty Spa. Located on site… this is the perfect place to unwind and relax. A European-style hydrotherapy spa offering a vast array of natural marine therapies and unique spa facilities, particularly the salt water indoor swimming pool.

To find out more call Sue Wall on +613 9870 4611

You can create the ‘Wow' factor at the new Crown Promenade Hotel – whether it's a business meeting, an intimate gathering or a lavish gala ball; Crown has the right room, professional service and creative cuisine to impress your guests, every time.

With state of the art business facilities, audio visual and expert theming available in-house, every function, conference or meeting is certain to flow smoothly and with impact. Crown offers a wide range of break-out rooms and options for exhibition space or displays, with the flexibility to accommodate every request.

Whatever your event, the Crown Events Team will follow through on every detail to ensure your function's success and when it's time to relax, guests and delegates have access to Crown's superb facilities – two hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, gaming and cinemas – truly a World of Entertainment.

To find out more call Lisa Moloney +613 9870 4611

Perfect for discerning small groups and with an impressive reputation built over the last 5 years, Blue Ridge Inn is a refreshingly different conferencing solution for groups of up to 8 delegates.

Tucked into a corner of the Macedon Regional Park , some 820m above sea level, the Inn is at the centre of the Macedon Wine Region, a world away from Melbourne and yet well within an hour of the CBD and just 35 minutes from Tullamarine Airport .

With the feel of a genuine country retreat and an extraordinary view from every window, facilities include a spacious boardroom and associated sitting rooms with open fireplaces and 8 fully-equipped QS hotel rooms.Blue Ridge is renowned for its food, with meals being served in their library overlooking Hanging Rock and the Hesket Valley .Small groups are the core business of Blue Ridge and high levels of privacy, flexibility and service are guaranteed.

Call Lou David +613 9870 4611 to find out more

CONFERENCE TIPS

Making your conference interesting

The same people generally attend the same events year in year out and you as an organiser have to scale that wall of expectation and possibly cynicism. Delegates already know what to expect don't they? It will be the same as last year, sitting in a classroom environment and being talked at! Death by overhead! No wonder they look sleepy, doodle and switch off. Remember on average your delegates will only take on board maybe 3 key facts from your day in spite of all your hard work! Here are some suggestions to put some interest in your next event.

Have an explosive start - pyrotechnics, loud music and laser light shows can add a huge dimension to the start of an event and really make the audience sit up and listen

Make it interactive

How about making it less of a conference and more of a quiz show format. This allows participation from the audience and can be a simple quiz style right up to a simulated TV show environment. Create a debate, perhaps with some humour, where the audience is allowed to barrack and disagree with the presenters? If its good enough for TV why not for your conference if only for one session!

Team Building

If you are getting the sales team or whole company together then it may be an ideal time to break the meeting with a hands on activity perhaps a team building exercise or more structured business games. Most of these take about 2 hours and ideally fit into a full days programme.

Celebrity Speakers

Many sports stars as well as captains of industry can provide that spark of motivation as well as humour to what otherwise is a hard days grind.

Ice Breakers

Simple 10 minute exercises that can be done at tables from juggling to making a giraffe out of newspaper. There are dozens of such games that can be done at little or no cost

Seating

Why not try a different room layout like cabaret style or go really radical and use beanbags or deckchairs!

Our team at Key Conference Solutions can introduce you to the right professionals who can put some interest and wow into your next business event. Call us +613 9870 4611.

"If you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius."

- Joseph Addison

Like to see a previous edition?    Check out our newsletter archives at    www.conferencesolutions.com.au/library.html