We like Bristol. It's a great city with so much to see and do and some fabulous shopping. So when we were invited on a press trip to Bristol to stay at the Village Hotel Club Bristol and cover some of the events at Bristol Fashion Week then I could hardly say no, now could I?We checked in quickly with the receptionist who was cheerful and informative. There was also a self-service check-in available too.
In the foyer, there is a Starbucks coffee shop, perfect for your morning Americano or mid-morning snack and also the Village hotel 'Pub and Grill' for all-day dining. We would be eating in the Pub and Grill the next day so more of that later.
Room review
Our room was a club room on the 5th floor and it really had the wow factor. Now I have to admit it wasn't the biggest room in the world but it made up for this in the decor, the room features and technology.
A nice little welcome.
Firstly, how cool is this decor? I am not a fan of the beige and browns you get so often in a room so this made a refreshing change.
Rather than some soggy biscuits, an apple was complimentary in the room (It would have been nice if we had two though).
I was pleased to see proper size bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash. So much more eco-friendly than the tiny bottles of toiletries you get in most hotels, with all the plastic waste. The ESPA products smelt lovely too. Other eco-friendly features include the half flush on the toilet and the ability to use the smaller shower head instead of the rainfall shower.
A quirky 21st-century feature of the bathroom was the privacy door. As the bathroom door is glass, at a touch of a button you can make the glass opaque so no one can see you. Such a cool feature. If you are not that familiar with the person you are sharing a room with though, it could be a bit of an issue, the sound from the bathroom does carry, so best to book a separate room.
As there were so many interesting gadgets, there was a sheet in the room explaining these and how they worked.
The room had a Tassimo coffee machine, Dyson hairdryer and an Alexa - Amazon's virtual assistant.
The Dyson was super quick at drying hair, which for £300 if you had to buy one, I would definitely want it to be! The Tassimo was great and came with a range of pods as well as sugar and milk for those coffee hits.
The Alexa was a little temperamental. They are always like this though and we had fun asking it questions. If you said "Alexa, Ask Village...." and any questions about the hotel it would tell you the answer. A nifty feature.
If you want room service there is a menu available and you can order it from the Village Hotel app. The prices for main courses seemed average for a hotel, the starters were a bit more expensive than I thought they would be but the portions are large.
Tribute night
So after freshening up, we started to get ready for the evening ahead - an Ed Sheeran and Beyonce tribute act in the hotel's function room. The hotel holds these every weekend and they cost £30 per person including a three-course meal. Drinks are not included but there is a bar available.
The room was nicely set out and the tribute acts were good.
Even though we are not fans of Ed Sheeran he did look and sound like him and got the crowd going, as did the Beyonce tribute, a very effervescent lady who had so much energy!
Leisure facilities
After breakfast, I went for a swim to work it all off. If you are staying in the club room you get the use of the leisure facilities for free. This includes the pool, a state of the art gym, and exercise classes. Mr W was very impressed with the gym and if you are a local I think the off-peak rate for a monthly pass is around £35. If you have a regular room you do have to pay £5 for access to the leisure facilities. Everything was clean, modern and high-tech and the leisure facilities are a huge plus point if you are staying here.
Les Mills event
After checking out the pool and gym I popped along to the Les Mills launch event. Les Mills is a fitness programme that runs classes throughout the world. Their mission is to create a fitter planet and their classes from Body Pump, to Body Combat combine exercise to music. Every few months they revitalise their classes and create new moves to keep everything fresh so today was the launch of their new season of classes.
The class had so much energy that I really wished there were Les Mills exercise classes near me. Unfortunately, I live in a small town on the South Wales coast where the average age is 80, but I live in hope!
Bristol Fashion Show Festival
Then it was a quick change and a short ten-minute drive to the Mall at Cribbs Causeway for the Bristol Fashion Show Festival. This ticketed event was a lot of fun. As well as the tents that included beauty and style makeovers you got three 30 minute events - a catwalk show, a styling workshop and Caryn Franklin, TV presenter and broadcaster in conversation with some of the top UK fashion influencers.
I was greeted at the entrance and offered a complimentary soft drink or glass of bubbly. A nice touch!
I booked myself in for a free 10-minute style consultation. I was asked which styles I like and was shown some of the new designs out this season. I think I probably needed to be more specific in what I wanted out of this session, as I wanted to be shown items I wouldn't normally wear. If you wish to do this in future I would go for the more in-depth style consultation for 30 minutes at a small charge.
After this, I went into the beauty hall. There were makeovers, beauty treatments and hair being styled by companies such as Lush, Clinique and GHD. I had a mini makeover at Benefit which I enjoyed.
I am a big fan of Benefit and have used a number of their products over the years so I was keen to see what they could do for my eyebrows. The makeup artist was really helpful in explaining how to apply the products and how to shape my eyebrows. I always struggle to get my brows just right and with the help of Gimme Brow volumizing eyebrow gel and Precisely My Brow eyebrow pencil, my eyebrows looked the best they had ever been.
Then it was time for the first event, a discussion with Caryn Franklyn in conversation with Sonny Turner and Zoe De Pass, two fashion influencers. Sonny is an influencer that has curves and who celebrates body positivity, whilst Zoe is a London based content creator that works on changing misconceptions that being a mum doesn't mean you have to dress 'mumsy'.
Anecdotally people seem to see influencers like this as a relatable side of fashion. Not everyone is a size 8 and 5 foot 10 and women want to see other people that look like them in the fashion industry. Caryn asked how many people there read blogs and almost all the hands went up.
Sustainability and ethical fashion were flagged up as an area to watch. Caryn suggested that you ask your favourite fashion brand what they can tell you about their carbon footprint about their worker's conditions. When they are asked this on a regular basis it may make them realise people want change.
Spring/Summer designs for 2019 I loved included Florals, Print Mix, New Neutrals and Going Wild.
The last session was a styling workshop where the founder of the Image Consulting Co, Emmeline Stevens talked about fashion to help you feel good about yourself.
The Bristol Fashion Week Festival was a fun event that was worth going to. I loved the interesting discussion with Caryn Franklin and the influencers about body positivity. This is one area that the fashion industry really needs to change, using models of all shapes, sizes and appearances to reflect society. Tickets were priced at £15.50 with 50 pence going towards the Be Real Campaign that works towards changing attitudes to body image and putting health above appearance. This charity works with schools, individuals, businesses and public bodies. A very worthwhile cause.
So then it was time to head back to our hotel.
Evening meal
That evening we met with the manager Mark and sales manager David for our evening meal. Mark and David were obviously proud of their hotel and David talked passionately about the work of Village Green and how the Village Hotel Club Bristol are starting to work with the local community and disadvantaged youths. I didn't realise that the Village Hotels support their local communities in this way, so this was a nice surprise.
So onto our meal. You can order your food on an Ipad provided, the Village Hotel app or at the bar - a great use of technology yet again.
We ordered hummus and Korean BBQ chicken tacos for starters. The tacos were good but the real star was the hummus which was topped with a delicious red pepper pesto. Served with tortilla chips it made a substantial starter.
The burger was made with good quality beef, and although slightly overcooked came with a great kale coleslaw. Fries were lightly cooked and crispy and were excellent.
Desserts available sounded delicious and included a baked vanilla cheesecake with strawberry sauce and a four-layer chocolate fudge cake with whipped cream. We were too stuffed to try any, unfortunately.
So time for bed again, and after breakfast the next morning, it was time to check out.
Let me know, what do you think of the Village Hotel Club Bristol? Would you visit the Bristol Fashion Week Festival next year?
* This was a press trip, I was not paid for the trip and all opinions are my own.
