An Introduction

Getting to know us…..Getting to know all about us!

Our lovely hotel has been a feature of Durham City as far back as the 1800’s. I have worked here for 11 years and still don’t know even half of the history and events the hotel has seen!

This blog is for you to not only get to grips with what we offer now (there are a lot of changes coming up, most of which are to do with food so they have my attention!) and to also let you delve into the past of the fascinating history of this building.

We will be updating week by week while we lead up to our 200th Birthday to let you know how we are moving into the future while preserving our history.

The kitchen in my hotel room is bigger/nicer than my actual kitchen.

:sigh: city living.

I think that hotels are a great reflection of the future workplace: they are a leading indicator of what businesses will be trying to achieve (except with less sleeping space and less drinking booze).

Here’s Greg Oates writing about Marriott’s new Moxy chain:

an excerpt

Marriott’s first Moxy Hotel opens this summer near Milan’s Malpensa airport, followed by Munich at the end of the year. Another 10 openings in Europe are slated for 2015, with 150 anticipated altogether over the next decade. Moxy was designed from the ground up for Gen X/Y based on fundamental shifts in consumer behavior within the hotel industry.

[…]

A big emphasis is placed on multi-zone lobbies that shift from quiet areas to buzzy social scenes around the lobby bar. Internal lingo at Marriott describes the separate-but-connected lobby areas as: “One end talks, one end rocks.” The bar and lounge area will feature DJs and video walls with music and social media messaging, while the quiet side is designed for intimate conversation and chilling out with your devices.

Anchoring the lobbies, the restaurant/bar concept called “The Now” will offer healthy comfort food local to the specific region. A defining characteristic with Moxy is that the restaurant/bar won’t be located “off the lobby”—it is the lobby.

Replace the bar with a cafe, and we are seeing the future workplace, like the new innovations at Square (see Another take on offices: something other than open or closed), which makes the office more like a city or an open public space, like a hotel lobby.

[Marriott’s VP of brand consulting, Indy] Adenaw is optimistic that the brand will also appeal to older generation travelers seeking the same trendy vibe and affordable rates.

“There have been very, very few competitors that we have really admired in this space,” he says. “We have visited a lot of different hotels that we thought might be close, and we have been very surprised that the average guest is clearly not just the Gen X and Gen Y traveler. You will see people in their 50s because they will respond to the attitude and the personality. We expect that to be very much a thing.”

Pretty places mentioned in my history books:

↳ Durham Cathedral (Durham, England)

Oil Spill Help: New Coating Quickly Separates Oil From Water 

by Michael Keller

Scientists at Durham University in the UK have developed a coating that repels oil and attracts water. When applied to stainless steel mesh like that found in screen doors, the material lets water pass through quickly while blocking oil.

The team behind the innovation, which rapidly separates water-oil mixtures with 98 percent efficiency, says it could be used to clean up oil spills and in similar applications.