Rooms 32-42
Well it finally happened ! We managed this week to roll out another 10 rooms, taking the total now to 41 rooms. In the next two weeks we expect to release a further 12-14 rooms and then a week after that the final 5 rooms - making a grand total of 60 bedrooms.
It's been almost a year but we are getting there now.
Thanks to all our guests. When you're at the Icon, you're at home and you're family.
Franco
release of further bedrooms
The release of further bedrooms is now imminent. The top floor (12 bedrooms) of the 3rd Wing is a day or two away from release whilst the 2nd floor is two weeks away now. The ground floor which will host a fitness suite, therapy room plus a further three conference rooms will be completed by the end of September.
I'd like to thank the hard work of the entire Icon Team for working all hours this week including through the night on Tuesday/Wednesday morning. Without your dedication we would not have achieved the goal we set ourselves - well done and thank you.
Tripadvisor cheats
My GM told me yesterday that in one of his last posts in Cornwall, he interviewed someone who told him it was one of her weekly duties to post false tripadvisor comments both about her place of work and therefore good reviews and about their competitors (therefore bad).
This is a practice the Icon has never done and never will although I understand it's very widely used by many hotels.
Nope. The road to success has to be an honest one becuase getting somewhere in a crooked way means you won't last long when you get there.
2nd on Tripadvisor
It is with great pleasure that I announce that we are now up to 2nd place on Tripadvisor. The pride is oozing out of me and now for the top spot.
From us all at the Icon Hotel Luton we thank our gracious guests once again for continuing to have faith is us.
Wayne Rooney - PART 1
On holiday in May 2005 I was staying at the same hotel as Wayne Rooney on holiday. At this same hotel were also Phil Neville, Andy Cole, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbank, Chris Coleman and Martin O'Neil. Even Stelios was there for a day. Wayne was with his then fiancée Coleen and his and her brothers.
I have to say I was mortified of the prospect of literally being next to Wayne on the sun lounger on the beach for 2 weeks. Because Lefi & I had got married at this same hotel the year before and I had got very friendly with the Head Beach Attendant, this year he put our umbrella and loungers on the very best position on the beach. Therefore Wayne was to my right & Neville to my left. We could not help but talk to each other etc.
Now, my perception of Wayne was that I didn't like him at all because quite frankly on the pitch I thought he was an animal. This was when he first went to Manchester United and he lost his temper all the time.
Although the beach and hotel we were at was very secluded, the beach itself was not private and members of other hotels walked along the shore line of our hotel beach. I would see Wayne all the time, either on the beach, in the pool, at breakfast, lunch or dinner.
For you non-believers, take a look at the Facebook page. That's Wayne holding my daughter.
Now, every time I saw Wayne he would say hello and this surprised me. But an even bigger surprise was yet to come..................................
My new TV & England
Imagine my joy when my dated 50" plasma TV died on me just five weeks before the start of the World Cup. I was ecstatic by the fact that I could finally replace it with a 60" because up until then I had no reason good enough for the wife !
Us blokes, we really are sad when it comes to football & gadgets.
So I searched the internet for the best deal. I don't mind admitting that I was looking for the most economical option because I actually don't have the money (it's all gone into the hotel .... and more) but I was not about to buy a Matsui or Mickey Mouse model.
Bingo. 60" by LG for £1,400. That'll do nicely. I used the wife's credit card (with her permission) and pressed the OK button on the Dixons.co.uk website. It arrives on 14th May 2010 and I install it myself on the same evening.
On Thursday night whilst watching France lose 2-0 to Mexico my brand new, 40 day old, TV went blank. I tried everything. My immediate thought was for the England game versus Algeria the following night (last night) and panicked.
So yesterday morning at 09:00 hrs on the nail when Dixons.co.uk opened their telephones lines I was on the case. After 55 minutes (no exaggeration, I timed it) of being put to several different departments and me having to callback no less than 4 times and fighting with automated systems they would not help me before the England game. Didn't even try.
What gets me is that I, like many others, put trust in the adverts that bombard us telling us to "buy a new HD Ready TV to watch England win the world cup". I did this like the little lamb that I am and look where it got me.
I blew my top on the phone and as a consequence got a migraine and had to go home to bed from 1pm until 19:15 just in time for the game. I ended up watching it on a old 32".
All this for a 0 - 0 with Algeria ! Now this is my silly story of what I went through to watch England but.... spare a thought for the thousands of real fans who have travelled to South Africa to watch England.
3rd on TRIPADVISOR
Our dedication to quality and customer service is having a continued positive impact on our guests. This week we have gained a place on Tripadvisor and are now up to 3rd out of 22 hotels recommended.
Once again I wish to thank Team Icon for their hard work and commitment to our mission of providing the very best accomodation in Luton & surrounding areas.
Above all, the real thanks go to our guests, to whom we have the very serious pleasure of accomodating.
Whitehaven & Hackney
My thoughts at this time are with the parents of twins from Hackney, London who discovered a fox mauling the precious little wonders in their home and to all the family & friends of the victims of Derrick Bird who went on a killing rampage in Whitehaven, Cumbria.
For whatever its worth, this Blog is dedicated to them.
NHS
This week someone very close to me needed an ambulance. In short the emergency response unit & the hospital they were taken to saved this person's life.
I don't mind admitting that I am fortunate enough to have medical insurance and I also don't mind admitting that my experience of the NHS is limited but WOW have I been blown away this week.
I don't ever recall criticising the NHS and if I have then I feel ashamed. I have at first hand witnessed how fortunate we are here in the UK. This person must have easily received £30,000 worth of treatment - all of it free of charge.
Forget the money; a life was saved ! When I sought out the 5 or so persons who operated on the individual in question and I shook their hand one by one to thank them with tears in my eyes - to them it was just another day in the office.
I am totally in awe.
How would you feel knowing you just saved someones life ?
Finally
Today we started works to complete the bedrooms in the 3-Wing block. I was forced to halt works back in November of last year and for the first time in over 7 months I am allowing myself to see the end is in sight.
This will give the Icon 60 bedrooms in total plus 2 to 3 conference rooms & an excellent sized fitness suite.
Last week we were finally able to launch the Linton Suite - our executive bedroom with seperate lounge, 50" plasma TV, luxury sized bath & shower room, King size bed, seperate sofabed and dining area.
Shortly this suite will be viewable on the 360 degree viewer via this website.
