Back in April this year, one of our lovely Global Consulting clients briefed us for their 2026 Executive Offsite Event; a chateau, castle, large country house or boutique historical hotel. Paris, Seville, San Sebastian, Porto or somewhere in Italy. For 50 guests with a U Shaped meeting room it was going to be challenge to find a chateau, castle or large country house!
We did find a gorgeous boutique historical hotel though!
The brief:
- Chateau, castle, large country house or historical boutique hotel in either Spain, near Paris or in Portugal.
- 50 delegates U-Shape for the day meetings. 70 guests for the dinners and accommodation
- Two nights accommodation
- First night dinner, informal, bringing in the local culture
- Second night dinner a formal sit down meal
- Half day activity for the partners, not a vineyard as this was last year’s activity
- Meeting room must be 50 U shape with lots of natural daylight and ideally doors to the outside area
- Somewhere culturally interesting with activities and facilities locally
- Not a chain/corporate style hotel
It was a very bespoke brief with the 50 U Shape and all the other requirements – but we LOVE a challenge! Niki and Jacqui got their heads down and set to research suitable venues.
Our initial proposal included Le Louis Versailles Chateau Hotel in Paris, the Radisson Collection Magdalena Plaza in Seville, the Catalonia Donosti Hotel in San Sebastian and the Douro Royal Valley Hotel & Spa in the Douro Valley amongst others.
All of these venues ticked most of the boxes on the Client’s ‘wish list’. But they weren’t quite ‘the one’.
Over the course of the next couple of months dates and locations changed and we sourced more venues, with a number of venues being shortlisted.
We organised a Virtual Site visit to a stunning property in Mallorca for the clients which had great promise and was really well-received by the team.
Then we found ‘The One’ the Tenuta di Artimino Melia Collection. A stunning property nestled in the Tuscan countryside. The historic Medici estate with breath-taking views over vineyards and olive groves, just a short distance from Florence. Steeped in history and culture, the estate began as an Etruscan settlement before becoming a medieval village and then the beloved hunting lodge of the Medici family. The property is made up of a hotel and lodges, all beautifully decorated.
We organised and coordinated a site visit for the clients, where once they had met the team and viewed the property for themselves, thought it was the perfect fit.
The staff at the venue are very passionate about the property and how special it is. The venue itself have been a joy to work with in the initial phases – which we feel always bodes well for a great event planning and event delivery for our clients – so important!
Our Clients are very much looking forward to the event in 2026.
