Monday, 8 November 2010

Weekend To Remember!

Well, got back from Convention on Saturday evening at about 10.30pm having left Croydon at 5.30pm and that was without any traffic jams, not the nicest of drive's I must admit. I went to Convention with 3 other local demo's, Keren, Linda and Nicci and I have to say I'm sooooo glad I was with them because we have formed a fabulous friendship through Stampin'Up! and I'm so grateful for that. Now to say the weekend was an experience could be a bit of an understatement! Firstly it took us 6 hrs, we left Liverpool at about 1.30pm and arrived at the Hilton, Croydon at 7.30pm just in time for the pre-convention party organised by my upline, the lovely Monica, so no time to freshen up just straight into party mode!

So party done and dusted, Keren and I thought we might go and find our hotel (we had booked into a Travel Lodge for the Thursday evening) but just as we were about to leave Linda came back from her room (in the Hilton) and said the smell was that bad she didn't think she would be able to sleep in it and the guy at the reception desk had told her they didn't have anymore rooms available and basically that was that! Oh no no no....... so off we goes, Keren and I, Linda in tow.....lol I asked very nicely to see the Manager and then preceded to tell the silly little man at the reception how disgusting and filthy the room was and the customer service was none existent. So the manager finally arrives, 30 minutes later (obviously wasn't in a rush) and Keren told him how disgusted we were with the service given their reputation and what were they going to do about it? (she was very good) So having been kept waiting yet another 30 minutes the manager finally reappears and as if by magic he has managed to find Linda another room (even though they were fully booked ;) what a guy! (not)

Just goes to show how we let ourselves be fobbed off by these people, I think they were glad to see the back of Stampin'Up! demo's......lol I must say though, the hotel on the whole was a disgrace, believe me that wasn't all of it, cold breakfasts, no coffee, no hot water, all the keys to the rooms stopped working one afternoon and it was mayhem! But the fun doesn't end there, when Keren and I finally found our hotel, it was in such a bad area of Croyden (is there a good one?) we were far too scared to stay and had to try and find another one, at 11.30pm. Anyway finally managed to get into a Premier Inn just at the back of the Hilton, (where we were booked into for the Friday evening) but at extra expense because we had already paid up front for the Travel Lodge.

Anyway all said and done the SU part of Convention was very nice, lovely location at Addington Palace, fabulous food and the staff were just super! (lots of freebies too, which is always very nice!!!) I have a few photos to show you but not many I'm afraid because the blinkin battery on my camera ran out. (typical)

Ok this is Linda, Keren and Nicci at Monica's party.


Another one with me on the end.


Bekka, Nicci's upline.


Linda and Debbie, queueing up at Memento Mall.


Waiting to pay for our lush goodies!




Swaps!


Grand hall.


How gorgeous do these look?! (YUM!)


Irene and her friend (German Demo's.)






Well, if you managed to stay with me to the end, well done!....lol Hope you enjoyed having a peek at some of what went on.

Hugs
Vicki x

5 comments:

Helen said...

Great pix, thanks for sharing! We were at the Croydon Central Travelodge. Was a bit disappointed there was no parking but other than that it was absolutely fine

Victoria said...

fabulous photos Vicki. Was so lovely to see you again. You made my weekend with your sweet comment 2nd day at breakfast!

Hotel was more than shabby wasn't it? Took 7 complaints for me in the end to get sorted!

Convention made up for it though, day 2 was awesome and I didn't want to leave!

Love
victoria
x

Monica Gale said...

My sweet Vicky so happy to have seen you again, I had such a fabulous time and was grateful to share my lunch in your calm presence, thank you for making my Convention so special and thank you for your thoughtful gift, I enjoyed it chilled on Sunday night. Big hugs Monica xxx

Stephanie said...

Sorry to hear about all the problems you had with travel & accommodation - not pleasant to say the least! I really enjoyed looking at your pics - what a fantastic experience in the end, thanks for sharing! xxx

Alex said...

Thanks for sharing photos from Convention Vicki, glad to see you had a fab time!

Take care,

Alex x