The popular Queens Hotel Winter Lodge makes a welcome return from Saturday 26th November. This year, it will have an enchanting festive feel that’s sure to leave you longing for a winter warmer.
Constructed in the hotel’s garden, the Winter Lodge is the perfect place to meet up for a cosy get-together.
Our Sunday Sessions will go under canvas for the winter and will run on 4 afternoons.
Our Seasonal songs will also make a comeback this winter. The tradition loved by many will take place in the Queens Hotel Winter Lodge on Wednesday 21st December.
General Manager, Paul Playford, explained: “Our Winter Lodge proved really popular last year and we are returning with even better plans for this year.
“There will be contemporary Christmas styling that’s bound to put you in the mood for the festive season.”
The Winter Lodge is also available for exclusive corporate hire on weekday evenings 17.00-23.00.
Plus, if you are looking for the perfect spot to bid farewell to 2022, look no further! We are opening the Queens Hotel Winter Lodge on New Year’s Eve. Tickets are just £10 per person and include a drink token (house wine, beer, single spirit and mixer). A donation will be made to our three supported charities from the cover price.
It will be open Fridays from 17.00-23.00, Saturdays from 12.00-23.00 and Sundays from 12.00-21.00
Areas can be reserved via the events team with a £10pp deposit.
Our popular Sunday Sessions will run on the following dates:
Photo credit: Habibur Rahman of the Portsmouth News
Slim Jim Phantom and Jennie Vee stayed with us last night, bringing a cool rock ‘n’ roll vibe with them.
The legendary drummer and his wife were in town for a concert at the Moonshine Club as part of Jim’s UK tour. They were both happy to chat to us about their associations with Southsea.
Jim has fond memories of gigs at the Wedgewood Rooms, while Jennie used to live in Southsea. She was actually a regular to the bar at The Queens Hotel.
As musicians who spend a great deal of time on the road, we asked Slim and Jennie what they look for in a hotel.
Quick as a flash Jennie said: “It’s great to have a room with a bathtub so you can have a long soak after the gig.”
And Jim added: “Nice towels and a comfy mattress are important to me.”
Slim Jim Phantom and Jennie Vee are both musicians. Slim Jim is the drummer for Stray Cats. Jennie has played with Courtney Love and Echo and the Bunnymen. She is also a touring member of the Eagles of Death Metal.
To read more about Slim Jim Phantom, click here.
To read more about Jennie Vee, click here.
Southsea Food Festival is fast approaching and the Queens Hotel is an official sponsor of the event. Therefore. we spoke to Chloe Barter, our Head of Pastry, who will be preparing afternoon tea tasters on the day.
Chloe loves the alchemy that results from mixing simple ingredients to create mouth-watering teatime treats.
“Afternoon tea is the perfect meal. It’s fancy but not too over the top,” confided Chloe. ”Afternoon tea is something you can look forward to and a great excuse to get together with friends and family. It’s very British and the perfect mix of sweet and savoury.”
Since Chloe joined the Queens Hotel, her afternoon tea has earned multiple plaudits and ecstatic reviews. Every element of the tea is created from scratch, with only the clotted cream and jam being bought in.
“And I’m looking at making my own jam too. I love that everything is baked here and you can taste the freshness,” explained Chloe.
The Queens Hotel is sponsoring the Southsea Food Festival on July 16 and 17. Visitors to the hotel’s stand will be able to sample our ‘afternoon tea in a box’.
Chloe explained: “We wanted to give visitors to the Southsea Food Festival a taster of what our afternoon tea is all about. I’m hoping to spend some time on the stand too.”
For more information about Southsea Food Festival, please click HERE.
Chloe’s passion for pastry is palpable – and when you ask her to explain, the reason becomes clear.
“I love the fact you can take simple ingredients like milk, butter and flour and depending on the way you mix them, you can create so many different things. I love the variables.
“To me choux pastry is a beautiful thing – and then there’s a macaron. Simple ingredients and together they make something incredible,” she declared.
As a child growing-up she learned to love baking. This was largely as a result of watching her Mum create extraordinary celebration cakes for family and friends.
Skills she learned at home were further honed over three years studying at Highbury College in Portsmouth specialising in pastry. She then bagged a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on an all-expenses paid year in America.
“It was the most extraordinary year. I spent four months in Nantucket and then the next eight months in Florida working in the restaurant of a country club.
“It really helped me learn my trade. I learnt everything from bread-making and confectionery to desserts and cakes.
“We even got to do sugar-sculpting which was amazing. The display I worked on had a sea theme and I got to make a rainbow parrot fish just like the ones I saw when I went snorkelling,” she said.
Her love for baking runs so strong, Chloe even boasts a cupcake tattoo.
Looking to the future, Chloe has just put the finishing touches to a festive afternoon tea offering that will take Christmas to a whole other level.
She’s also working on a strawberry custard tart that promises to be a pink perfection on the plate.
“The colour is so beautiful and it tastes sublime,” she added.
Chloe’s Afternoon Tea Top Tips
Chloe’s favourite Victoria Sponge recipe
8oz butter or Stork margarine
8oz caster sugar
4 medium eggs
1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract or paste
8oz self-raising flour
3 splashes of milk (tablespoons)
.
The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Portsmouth have presented the Queens Hotel with a Freedom of the City certificate in recognition of the community work carried out during the first Covid lockdown.
This work saw the hotel cooking up to 600 meals a week and delivering them to vulnerable people. The hotel also welcomed frontline NHS staff who stayed at the hotel during the first wave of the pandemic.
Head chef at Gunwharf Quays Brasserie Blanc, Anghel Niko Nedelcu, joined forces with Queens Hotel Managing Director , Farid Yeganeh, to create up to 600 meals every week. General Manager, Chris Gilmore, and Head Chef, Paul Playford, from the hotel’s sister establishment, the Royal Beach, also joined them.
Thousands of pounds were donated to ensure the meals could be created for those most in need. Suppliers and city based companies such as PMC Construction and Southsea butchers, Buckwells, also donated to the cause.
Farid explained: “None of us could just sit back and wait. We wanted to help in a practical way and we are really enjoying cooking for our community.”
“The meals prepared at the Queens Hotel were really special. Receiving one was such a treat,” said Clare Martin, Director of Community Projects at Portsmouth Football Club.
Her team of volunteers worked with the strategic partnership of the HIVE Portsmouth to deliver meals and food parcels to the vulnerable.
“One person burst into tears when our volunteer arrived with food for them; they were so delighted.”
Commenting on the Freedom of the City honour, Farid added: “We are delighted to be recognised in this way for the work we did. We see ourselves as the hotel at the heart of Southsea and this has underlined that position.”
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We are really excited to be the home of Portsmouth and South Coast Business Week from April 25 -29.
The Queens Hotel will host the launch event, Shaping Portsmouth’s Business Leaders Conference and Facebook live sessions throughout the week with the Editor of Portsmouth News, Mark Waldron.
Our event spaces are perfect for gatherings large and small. We can host everything from boardroom meetings, training sessions, networking and conferences.
Head of Sales, Marketing & Events, Nicole Morris, said: “We look forward to welcoming the business community through our doors.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase what the Queens Hotel can offer when it comes to hosting business events.”
Aaron Butson, Assistant Principal for Work-Based Learning at HSDC and Chair of the Portsmouth Business Strategy Group, said: “The Portsmouth and South Coast business week returns this year with the aim of celebrating businesses across Portsmouth and the wider area.
“As Chair of Hampshire Chamber’s Portsmouth Business Strategy Group, I am absolutely delighted that this year we can do a whole timetable of live physical events right across the city. After last year when everything had to be online, what a delight to get people together once again.
“We are thrilled that the Queens Hotel is going to host Portsmouth and South Coast business week.”
If you are planning a business event, contact our events team at the Queens Hotel on events@queenshotelportsmouth.co.uk
When it comes to being bold with colour, Southsea stylist Roxanne Morris certainly isn’t afraid of making a statement.
While most of her time is taken up with styling for magazine shoots and music videos, Roxanne loves nothing more than working with businesses in her hometown to create colourful content for her social media.
She recently came to the Queens Hotel and used the public areas as a stunning backdrop for her own personal fashion shoot.
“I really want to encourage people to have fun with colour and to not feel daunted by it. I’m hoping that I can share ideas of how they can wear the clothes they already own and inspire them with a bit of a fashion boost,” said Roxanne.
Roxanne is a former accountant who decided to turn her back on figures in favour of a life of fashion. She ran ran Rokii in Albert Road for several years before taking the business online.
She has always loved colour and the psychology behind how colour makes us feel.
“I do have a few items of black clothing but I don’t wear it much. If I do, I use it as an accent. At one time, black was only worn for mourning. I think it’s a shame that so many women hide behind wearing black.
“Life is too short to always wear black. We’ve got a whole spectrum of colour out there and I want women to have fun with it,” she said.
Talking about returning to Portsmouth to live, Roxanne explained. “I love being able to spread my time between London and Southsea, especially as I became a mother and my daughter was 9 weeks old when we went into the first lockdown.
“I am 41 years old and I want to show women they can have fun with fashion whatever their age. I don’t use any filters – what you see is what you get.
“It’s important to make what you see on social media more real so people can relate to it.”
To launch our year of regal events to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, we’ve got a right royal tea party planned for you and your little princes and princesses.
It’s the perfect way to create a magical memory for you and your family this half-term. There will be plenty to keep your little ones amused.
The Queens Hotel already has a wonderful reputation for creating a fabulous afternoon tea experience. Now, we are rolling out the red carpet so parents can experience a magical time with their little ones.
On Wednesday February 23, King Charles will welcome you and your family. Our very own Fairy Godmother will ensure every prince and princess has a wonderful time.
She will be ably assisted by princesses Elsa, Moana, Rapunzel and Belle. Together, they will perform a coronation ceremony for each child as they arrive and will give out tiaras.
As well as being a teatime treat, the afternoon will be a feast for the eyes too. We will have balloon decorations and sparkles on the tables. We’ll also have a balloon feature wall for photos with the princesses and our very own Fairy Godmother.
While they tuck into sandwiches and cakes, the youngsters can enjoy activity packs on the table.
As if that wasn’t enough, each child will leave with a goody bag. Ask our events team about VIP packages for princes and princesses to enjoy a birthday party treat. Mums and dads pay £25 and £15 per child.
There will be two parties taking place from 12pm to 2pm and from 2.30pm to 4,30pm.
To book email events@queenshotelportsmouth.com
With so much talk about the hospitality industry struggling to fill thousands of jobs, we are delighted to welcome apprentice chefs, Ketan Dixon-Whiteaway and Jack Breach to our kitchen.
The youngsters are being supported on their career path thanks to a new apprenticeship programme offered at the Queens Hotel.
General Manager, Catherine Austen explained: “We are keen to promote the career opportunities that are available in hospitality. We want to develop the skills of our talented team.
“By offering an apprenticeship programme, we can develop the talent of the future. We can also help to retain team members who are gaining work experience at the same time as learning.”
Ketan,21, explained he has been working in local restaurants for a number of years. However, being supported to do his Level 3 qualification (the equivalent to an A Level) as part of a day-release at HSDC South Downs College means he can take his cooking skills to the next level.
“I love cooking and this will give me a chance to gain even more understanding as well as new skills.
“It would be great to be able to progress at the Queens and do more qualifications. Ultimately, I would love to run my own restaurant,” he said.
Jack,17, joined the kitchen team as a Kitchen Porter. Executive Chef, Simon Hartnett, soon spotted his potential and let him know about the apprenticeship programme.
“I enjoy doing different styles of cooking. I’m doing my Level 2 and loving it,” he said.
Simon said: “The great thing about working in a kitchen is that you can literally start as the pot washer and go all the way to the top. You just need a bit of determination.
“By offering the apprenticeship programme, we are helping people to progress in their career and providing the right structure for them to thrive.”
The Queens Hotel is developing more apprenticeship opportunities. Please take a look at our social media for more details.