Disability access award for Sofitel
The Heathrow Sofitel has been praised for its disability facilities winning the Bronze Award for Access Excellence at the prestigious M and IT awards ceremony in London.
The Access Excellence award, the new name for the Disabled Services Award, is presented to conference venues, stadiums, airports, universities and other iconic public buildings.
The Sofitel London Heathrow was the only hotel short listed and was commended not only on the quality and range of facilities but the staff training, awareness and delivery of hospitality excellence in terms of guest and visitor accessibility needs.
A statement from the hotel welcomed the award and said “at the heart of Sofitel London Heathrow is the luxurious ‘art de recevoir’ and noble ‘hôtellerie savoir-faire’ – legendary Sofitel values that offer every guest moments of ‘plaisir’, élégance and ‘bien être’ during their stay”.
Surinder Arora, chairman of Arora Hotels, which runs the venue under the Sofitel franchise, said: “it is not an airport hotel; it’s a luxury hotel which just happens to be at an airport. Indeed, we have created a destination hotel in its own right which combines the ultimate in accessibility with world class facilities.
“Winning this prestigious award is recognition of the highest standards of service, accessability and genuine hospitality that our team consistently delivers to all of our guests. With such a range of facilities in the hotel we have always focused on excellence and this has brought many prestigious events to the hotel, most notably the MS society on three occasions since opening”, he added.
Surinder Arora and Albert Roux on Sofitel
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Surinder Arora, chairman Arora International, and consultant chef Albert Roux talk about newly-opened London Heathrow Sofitel
Business travel award for Heathrow Sofitel
Sofitel London Heathrow has been named the “Best Airport Hotel in the World” for 2009 by the USA Business Traveler Magazine.
“The Sofitel London Heathrow is not an airport hotel, it’s a five star luxury hotel which just happens to be at an airport,” says Surinder Arora, chairman of Arora International Hotels, owners of the Sofitel.
The five-star, 605-bedroom Sofitel London Heathrow is one of the world’s largest, luxury airport, meetings and events venues, linked to London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 (T5) by a bridge. Just 21 minutes from central London via the Heathrow Express it also offers the largest onsite, undercover parking facilities in the area.
The hotel’s Concept Architect is Stephen Williams, who previously designed the Conrad Hotel in Chelsea Harbour, while the hotel’s glamorous interiors have been designed by KCA International’s Khuan Chew, who is renowned for her work on the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.
Khuan Chew has focused on the concept of a ‘gateway to the world’ as her design inspiration and themes of country and continent resonate throughout the hotel. ‘Antarctica’, for example, takes centre stage in the entrance lobby with a dramatic water fountain centrepiece commissioned from RHS Chelsea winner, David Harber. Among Chew’s touches in the hotel’s fabulous 165m2 Imperial Suite are the first Swarovski crystal bathrooms featured in a European hotel.
The Sofitel features a wide range of food and beverage options. Chef Consultant Albert Roux oversees the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, Brasserie Roux, and brings a touch of fabled French gastronomy to Heathrow. The Sofitel also houses Tea 5, an exquisite tea salon complete with its own Tea Master and signature delicacies. The hotel’s Icelandic blue Sphere Bar is a vibrant and informal meeting place, while the more intimate Library Bar serves up signature cocktails taken from London’s hippest bars.
Sofitel London Heathrow introduces the UK to its first experience of ‘couture meetings’ facilities. The hotel contains 45 individually designed meeting rooms (with a maximum capacity of 1700 in the 1309m2 Arora Suite) along with a tiered theatre seating 117, and three high-tech boardrooms (with a choice of a private dining room or a Chef’s table in Brasserie Roux). Exhaustively equipped with the latest in technology of the highest standard, the hotel boasts Sofitel’s trademark world class service. ‘Couture meetings’ also includes the newest conference dining experience in ‘Vivre – l’expérience des saveurs’. This initiative allows the event’s pace and style to be matched with the theatrical sensation of 15 cooking styles.
‘The Spa at Sofitel London Heathrow’ provides a luxurious sanctuary for soothing relaxation and natural treatments using ESPA products. Spa wellness programmes include a specially formulated ‘Bodyclock’ programme.
