Although it might seem straightforward, deciding where to host a special occasion is a head scratcher.
No matter where you live there are lots of options. It’s easy to book somewhere you know, perhaps your favourite local restaurant or pub. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it’s good to change things up sometimes. Especially if you’re feeling a little bored with the usual.
Then, the question arises. How do I make it special, truly special? Perhaps you want more than simply a meal out. What you want is to properly mark the occasion, and make it one to remember. This is exactly what visiting Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort is all about.
One of the main things we pride ourselves on at Bowood is being able host events and occasions of all types—whether intimate or grand, and everything in between.
It could be you’re planning an anniversary with your partner, and need some well earned “us” time, or you have a family birthday partay, party, coming up. These intimate special occasions are perfect at Bowood. You’ll find a magnificent rural setting, and stylish, accommodating spaces to hold your private event.
Or, you may not be planning a small event at all. Has the office Christmas party fallen on your shoulders? Are you searching for a conference space? Gala dinner? Or even space to hold a religious ceremony?
At Bowood we can accommodate groups of up to 200 people. If in doubt, try us. Whatever the size and scope of your event, we’ll do our very best to help.
What you’ll experience at Bowood, no matter the size of your event or special occasion, is friendly, professional service and delicious food made with heart, and fresh sustainable ingredients.
For our passionate culinary team at Bowood, being in Wiltshire is a pleasure. Right on their doorstep is some of the finest produce our country has to offer.
For us, the quality and origin of our ingredients is everything. We’re committed where we can to supporting local businesses and making sure what we source is consistent and excellent. Whilst it’s possible to make a delicious meal from inexpensive ingredients, it’s not possible to make one from poor ingredients. Also, it doesn’t matter if we’re cooking for the two of you or a full entourage, we’ll ensure your experience is exceptional.
Unlike a restaurant or a pub, at Bowood you can improve your special occasion by melting your tension and drifting away at our award-winning spa. We have a varied range of signature treatments, from hot stone and bamboo massages to full wellness rituals and organic skincare.
Especially if you’re coming as a couple, or a group of friends, you could extend your visit to a peaceful spa weekend and leave us feeling rejuvenated.
Check out our spa breaks and find one that fits.
Golf is (in our opinion) the ultimate sport. It’s leisurely, polite, versatile, complex, and lots of fun. On a sunny day, nothing beats a round of golf. Furthermore, it’s a game for all ages and abilities; a rare example of an inclusive sport.
At Bowood we have one of the best 18-hole golf courses in the country. We’re not just saying that either. It’s the PGA official golf course for the South West.
A golf break is an ideal business weekend away, sprinkled with fine food, fine drink, and picturesque Wiltshire countryside. Great for team building, great for health, great for the mind.
Whilst our Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort is separate from our house and gardens, there’s no reason you can’t combine the two. If you’re hosting a family event here, you could stroll around our diverse gardens before an evening meal. We have an arboretum with over 700 species of trees, private walled and terrace gardens, beautiful herbaceous borders, woodland gardens, and acres of Capability Brown parkland to explore.
Bowood House is also a wonder to experience, with many impressive stately rooms, fine art, and exquisite antiques. Here, you’ll be immersed in significant history—including Joseph Priestley’s discovery of oxygen in 1774.
The Bowood Estate is an idyllic backdrop for events and special occasions. Just think of the photos and how fantastic they’ll look. Celebrating is more celebratory at Bowood.
We’re based in quintessential English countryside between the Cotswolds and the North Wessex Downs—two of our country’s most cherished AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The countryside near us is a lovely, soul-stirring setting for a birthday break, anniversary, mini moon, Valentine’s escape, or spontaneous romantic gesture.
With only modest travelling you’re amongst rolling downland or beneath the shade of a willow on a verdant Cotswolds riverbank. You can be on a hillside, awestruck by giant chalk figures, carved from the white earth, or deep in ancient, wild woodland. We’re very lucky to be where we are, surrounded by iconic scenery—that has inspired art and literature for centuries.
We’re sure it will inspire you too.
For a closer look at events, special occasions, and celebrations at Bowood Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort—please click here.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks in part to TV series like The Office, team building has a bit of a bad rep. Or at least, we think of it as clichéd and pointless. That’s because sometimes it can be.
Building teams where members are close takes time. It isn’t achieved by trust falling into a colleague’s arms or blindfolded physical guidance exercises that involve personal space invasion. No one likes that.
Nor are they built by pseudo-philosophical visualisations around buzz words like integrity, dynamism, cooperation, and so on. They are not built by imagining each other as wild animals in a hierarchical system either—with a lion at the top. Exquisitely awkward.
The issue with team building, especially corporate is what it chooses to focus on. Too many corporate team building consultants and bosses assume team building is either forcing closeness or shoehorning in lessons around leadership. The former can do more harm than good, and the latter isn’t team building at all. It’s a veiled reinforcing of corporate culture.
In order to achieve the wholesome results desired, where your team becomes emotionally stronger and closer you must remove the work element. Even if something takes place away from the workplace, that doesn’t mean it’s not saturated by it.
Just think, how do we make friends? We don’t play contrived games and extract painstaking reductions about our “personality types”. That’s too mechanical. We make friends by connecting, human to human. Shared interests, humour, empathy, kindness, overcoming adversity together.
This can take place at work but transcends it.
As you’ve gathered it’s wise to avoid the corporate stuff. It’s banal at best and doesn’t make people feel appreciated. However, once you start thinking of team building as a social it becomes easier. Suddenly there’s a wealth of options.
A social? That’s not team building. Oh, but it is. The office Christmas party is a better “team building” exercise than the dreaded customer care role play. Why?
Because it’s relaxed and facilitated by tipple. No agenda, no prescribed socialisation. People can connect in their own way. You don’t have to call it team building, but team building can be as simple as a meal out or as complex as a survival skills weekend. Of course, not every company has lots of money to spend—so it’s worth remembering it’s the thought that counts. If you’ve tried and your team enjoys themselves, that’s what matters. There should be no pressure to “professionally develop”.
Now you’re thinking about it as socialisation its importance should be clear. At work none of us are 100% ourselves. That’s not to say we’re in an environment where we shouldn’t be ourselves—some workplaces are very relaxed. This is perfect, although, we’re still there to do a job so we’re in work mode. This isn’t as conducive a situation to make friends as outside of work.
To truly flourish, and evolve into more than professional relationships, friendships must be given time to solidify away from work—without spreadsheets, meetings, deadlines, and conference calls.
A team in which the members genuinely care for one another is a remarkable thing and has an irreplaceable worth for a business. This happens when people get to know each other in a deeper sense, not possible when there’s work to be done. When people do bond properly, this changes the dynamic of a business.
Being friends with colleagues has profound benefits, which naturally influence how well people can do their jobs. You can’t teach this.
If your team develops close friendships, by default you’ll see many things improving in your business. For starters productivity will increase. If people are work acquaintances, rather than friends, they have to navigate small talk and find it difficult to move forwards with projects and activities. Once people are friends, the surface conversation dries up and interactions become meaningful.
People’s comfortableness with one another will translate into heightened productivity because less energy is expended on formalities.
If your employees are friends, they will experience greater job satisfaction. Few of us are satisfied enough with our jobs that we’d reject work friends. We’ve all experienced jobs we’d have quit sooner if it wasn’t for the fantastic people we worked with. That’s a standard in life.
True friends are also able to instinctually deal with setbacks, by naturally supporting one another. You don’t have to say, “band together”, because they already have. All in all, encouraging authentic friendships to blossom by offering thoughtful team building days and trips away massively improves your team’s effectiveness.
When pitted against a team where people are new to one another or haven’t been able to gel, a team of friends significantly outperforms on collaborative tasks. This is because they communicate fluidly and consistently give each other feedback. A solid team of friends can take on anything and anyone.
At Bowood, we know the value of authentic team-building experiences. Therefore, we don’t just offer space for corporate events, but also exciting social activities too.
Team building at Bowood—
Your team building break at Bowood could be the perfect mix between thrilling fun and good old-fashioned relaxation. Your team will be able to let their hair down and have a fantastic time. Afterwards, existing friendships will be stronger and new friendships will have formed.
