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Christmas Festival Success

Thousands flocked to Falmouth’s first Christmas Festival for two days of festive fun, with live music, a Christmas market, children’s entertainment and lots of Cornish food and drink on offer on Discovery Quay in Falmouth. 

Sponsored by Cornish Cottage Holidays, Rick Stein’s Fish & Chips and the Greenbank Hotel the two day event was a celebration of all things local. Originally scheduled to run from Thursday evening through to Sunday, predicted storms with heavy rain and gale force winds led to the decision to delay the opening for safety reasons and organisers were faced with a logistical challenge to get the show up and running in time for Saturday once the storm had subsided.

Despite the poor weather conditions on Thursday and Friday the festival went ahead over the weekend with festive cookery demonstrations from the region’s top chefs, including three dishes from well-known restaurateur and TV chef Rick Stein with Paul Ripley, of Rick Stein’s Seafood Bar in Falmouth headlining on Saturday morning.  Fiona Were, Head Chef at The Greenbank, Falmouth finished the show on Sunday afternoon with a stunning set giving the packed audience some creative ideas for Christmas leftovers.

A large Cornish Food & Drink market was the focal point, situated on the square in front of the Maritime Museum. Organised by Cornwall Food & Drink, the market incorporated the very best of Cornish produce with everything from wine to wassail, savoury sausages, meats and pies to hot puddings, pastries and seasonal desserts. The Sharp’s Brewery bar proved popular, where visitors enjoyed a drop of their award-winning ales, including a very special Christmas brew Abbey Christmas.  Ruth Huxley, Cornwall Food & Drink director, commented: "We had a great weekend with a really festive feel to it.  As usual, our wonderful Cornish chefs and producers have shown why Cornwall has such an enviable reputation for food and drink.  Lots of people will now have a clutch of tasty recipe ideas for the festive season and their cupboards stocked with fine produce to enjoy"

The Greenbank proudly helps the Cornwall Air Ambulance

Fundraisers present new equipment to Cornwall Air Ambulance paramedics

The fundraising efforts of an iconic Cornish hotel and a country house have paid for important new equipment for the county’s air ambulance.

The Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth and Trereife House near Newlyn held special events this summer, which raised enough money to buy three new combination scoop spinal boards for the Cornwall Air Ambulance.

The bright-green boards are crucial for transporting trauma patients who may have head, neck, pelvic or spinal injuries, from the scene of an accident to hospital. Trauma incidents account for around 50% of the missions flown by Cornwall’s air ambulance helicopter, making this type of equipment essential cargo on board.

This new “two in one” equipment replaces the traditional long board and scoop boards, and removes the need to move patients from one board to the other during emergency rescues.

Air crew paramedic Stuart Croft said: “The new boards are designed to separate into two pieces, enabling paramedics to place it underneath the patient and avoiding the traditional “log roll”, which can present additional risk to patients.

“These boards will be in regular use on our daily missions and will help us transport patients safely and efficiently.

“It’s great news that the fundraising efforts of the Greenbank Hotel and Trereife House have paid for a crucial piece of kit to help us do our job.”

The Greenbank raised almost £1000 through a charity ball in June as part of the Greenbank Fal River Festival, and also through discretionary donations from guests staying at the hotel.

Duncan Ayres, corporate sales manager for the hotel, said: “We were very keen that our fundraising was used effectively to buy kit for the air ambulance and paramedics. The scoop spinal boards serve as an excellent legacy from the donations of our guests.”

Meanwhile, Trereife House has so far raised £650 from proceeds through their Easter Craft Fair and Summer Fair. The estate has chosen Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust as its charity for the year and will continue to collect money from its guests and visitors.

Event manager at Trereife, Rob Lewis, said: “This donation is just the beginning of our efforts to raise money for what is a crucial service in the county. The air ambulance helps people throughout Cornwall, from all walks of life, and you never know when you might need its help.”

Fundraising is crucial to helping keep the Cornwall Air Ambulance flying – it costs around £1.6 million each year to run the helicopter, covering up to five missions a day during the summer season.

Another GOLD for the Greenbank!

Greenbank Hotel described as ‘one of the most responsible hotels in Cornwall’ by Green Tourism Award judges

The four-star Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth has once again achieved the prestigious GOLD Green Tourism Award – but with a considerably improved percentage mark.

The GOLD standard is awarded to businesses with a strong dedication to reducing their environmental impact and, whilst The Greenbank has held a GOLD award for several years, their grading has now increased to an impressive 87%.  The judging board described the hotel as “one of the most responsible hotels in Cornwall” in their final report.

Stuart Park, Senior Grading Advisor at Green Tourism, said, “The staff at the Greenbank Hotel can be proud of their accomplishment, achieving the Green Tourism Business Scheme GOLD award once again.

“While Cornwall and the South-west has a high number of GOLD graded businesses it takes real dedication and effort to maintain this prestigious award, as well as increase the scoring quite significantly.

“With any accreditation scheme or audit process it is continual improvement that is required to maintain standards, as well as keep up with the demands of  technology constantly moving forward, and  the customer’s knowledge of wider environmental issues.”

Kearan McVey, the hotel’s general manager, said: “we are delighted to not only have achieved the award again, but to have increased our percentage mark by a significant amount. 

“We are completely dedicated to reducing our environmental impact, and have our own in house ‘green team’ that continuously monitors standards.  It’s fantastic that this hard work has been recognised by the judging panel, and I’d like to offer a big congratulations to all of the hotel’s staff, who have really dedicated themselves to setting the highest standard”.

The Green Tourism Business Scheme is the only tourism certification program in the UK endorsed by VisitEngland, VisitScotland and VisitWales.

Businesses are graded by qualified environmental assessors and those that meet the standard are awarded either: BRONZE, SILVER or GOLD. This is based on fulfilling a number of criteria incorporating; energy and water efficiency, purchasing, waste minimisation, management and communication.

Cornwall Food and Drink Festival

Greenbank’s Head Chef Fiona Were is appearing at the Cornwall Food & Drink Festival on Saturday 24th September at 2.30pm

Come along to this year's Cornwall Food and Drink Festival and taste for yourself why this county has one of the finest reputations for food and drink in the whole of the UK.

Running from 23-25 September on Lemon Quay in Truro the festival will be action packed with foodie fun and FREE ENTRY, everyone can make this a date to remember.

Come and meet the faces behind the reputations, learn some new tricks and pick up some new products, as award-winning food and drink producers and chefs from all over this exceptional part of the UK share some of their secrets.

With more than 50 exhibitors, a packed timetable of chef demos, foodie talks, fun for kids in the Funky Food Zone, new evening events and more, there's something to tempt everyone’s tastebuds.

Early Bird Offer

Book any of our rooms 3 months in advance and receive a 15% discount on your booking

(Based on 2 people sharing a room and subject to availability.  Must be booked 3 months in advance of date of stay and payment must be made in full when booking)

Great News for Weddings!

With sunlit waters and stunning vistas everywhere you turn, it's hard to imagine a more romantic setting for your special occasion than the Greenbank.

And now our fabulous Riverbank Suite can accommodate up to 130 guests for your evening reception.

Click here for more details on weddings and functions at the Greenbank Hotel.

Countdown to Red Arrows

Excitement is building across Falmouth as the countdown begins to the spectacular Red Arrows display, which will be wowing crowds once again this year thanks to sponsors Falmouth Harbour Commissioners (FHC).

The Royal Air Force's world-famous aerobatics team is back for the third year on Wednesday August 10th in Falmouth inner harbour, as part of Henri Lloyd Falmouth Week and will be flying directly above the Greenbank Hotel!

The Red Arrows will perform at 1815 on Wednesday, August 10th 2011, weather permitting.

HMS Cornwall visits Falmouth

The Royal Navy’s Type 22 frigate HMS Cornwall payed a flying visit to her affiliated county and was alongside in Falmouth last week. Guests at the Greenbank Hotel had the best view of her from across Falmouth Harbour in her final days.

The 5,900-tonne warship, adopted by the county of Cornwall has been taking part in exercises off the west coast of Scotland but is due to be scrapped as part of government cutbacks and following her trip to Falmouth sailed into Plymouth at the end of her final deployment. 

The Greenbank has Mussels!

From 1st May 2011 guests of the Greenbank Hotel will be able to have a complete Falmouth visitor experience thanks to the new Fal Mussel Cards.

The Greenbank has put together two unique packages that includes accommodation and a Visitor and Visitor Plus Fal Mussel Card which gives unlimited use of all transport on and around the River Fal and access to all the attractions on the river so guests will be able to leave their car and travel around the area unrestricted.

To find out more click here

Greenbank on Best Fal River Festival Ever!

This year’s Fal River Festival has a brand new sponsor and is now announcing a brand new name. 

The Greenbank Hotel has taken the opportunity to become the one and only title sponsor of this year’s popular event, which has now been renamed the Greenbank Fal River Festival for 2011.    

Growing year on year, this is the first time that the event has presented the opportunity for one title sponsor.  Celebrating life on and around the River Fal, the 2011 Festival takes place from May 27 – June 5.  Each year it attracts more than 100,000 people to over 150 events, making it one of the largest festivals of its type in Cornwall. 

Kearan McVey, General Manager of The Greenbank Hotel explains the decision to support the Festival: “As a local business we strongly believe that we should support our community.  This festival is a valuable addition to the local calendar, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to small and large local attractions alike, full of interesting art, musical, food and sporting events and we are proud to put our name to it.”

Kearan continued, “Celebrations and events are an important part of life on the Fal and the Festival fits extremely well with the things that the Greenbank Hotel are passionate about.  We host weddings, birthday and anniversary celebrations, naming ceremonies and business meetings, so supporting a week of celebrations for the local community is a natural extension of this.”

The hotel has a strong history of supporting local charities and this sponsorship has been agreed at an exciting time for the Greenbank Hotel.  Plans are underway to build on and enhance the Greenbank’s reputation a as a “foodie” destination and Head Chef, Fiona Were, is in the process of completely revamping the restaurant’s menus.

Helen Mulhern, Director of Eventy – Marketing & PR who is managing the Festival’s sponsors and corporate supporters, welcomes the Greenbank Hotel as the new sponsor. 

“We are delighted that The Greenbank Hotel will be closely aligned to this popular event. Their support will ensure that the festival is placed squarely in the company of the larger events that take place in the area.  This is a great result for the festival which has grown steadily for years in visitors and events.”

Helen continued, “The festival is built around events, celebrating, eating and drinking - all of which The Greenbank Hotel are well known for.  They only use free range poultry and fish caught using ethical methods, from sustainable resources.  A true advocate of Cornish fare, Fiona and her team support small, local producers and make the most of what is in season.  Plus their Harbourside restaurant has arguably the most stunning view in Falmouth!” 

Take a break in the UK's Top Holiday Destination!

Cornwall Named Top UK Holiday Destination in British Travel Awards for Second Consecutive Year.

Cornwall has once again fought off competition from across the country to be crowned ‘Best UK Holiday County or Region’ in the British Travel Awards for the second year running. 

The county attracted the lion’s share of the public vote outshining neighbour, Devon, which along with Cumbria in the Lake District, was announced as a runner-up. On top of this the Eden Project also scooped silver for ‘Best UK Day Out Experience’. 

Over 220,000 people voted in this years British Travel Awards which boast over seventy categories and span every type of holiday experience, making them the largest awards programme in the UK. They are widely referred to as the “Oscars” of the travel industry and are the most recognisable and sought-after accolades in the sector.

Christmas comes to the Greenbank

The festive season is well and truely under way but with a traditional twist!

The Greenbank function suite and staff have been transformed into a Dickensian scene for a real Christmas feeling of Yesteryear.

Party nights are underway with a stunning four course meal and live entertainment and everyone is getting in to the Christmas spirit.

Falmouth itself is offering a whole host of events throughout December click here to find out more

Strictly Oysters!

The hot favourite in this year's Strictly Come Dancing took time out from training last Monday to cook oysters on Swanpool Beach.

TV presenter Matt Baker left the sequins at home to film an episode of Countryfile, which will be aired on the last day of the Oyster Festival on Sunday, October 17th.

The 32-year-old swapped the shimmy for shucking when he went out with oyster fishermen to get a taste for the Cornish delicacy at the start of the season.  Afterwards he cooked tea-smoked oysters on a bed of samphire, picked from the rocks, on the beach with Greenbank Hotel Head Chef Fiona Were.

Matt, who was staying at the Greenbank together with the Countryfile crew, told the Packet:

"We got into Falmouth very late because I am training every hour that God sends and we were out first thing with the fleet."

After catching oysters with Barry Prynn, Matt went through the purification process with Chris Ranger and then onto the beach to taste some oysters.

"I love coming down to this part of the world and the weather is always kind to us."

Chef Fiona said that she enjoyed cooking on the television.

"I was a bit nervous at first but I really enjoyed it.  Matt was fantastic and what a lovely day to do it."

If the excitement of being in the company of a Strictly contestant was not enough for beach-goers on Swanpool, Matt's co-presenter Ellie Harrison, arrived by helicopter after a visit to RNAS Culdrose.

Credit article and photograph to Packet Newspapers

Catch Fiona demonstrating at the Falmouth Oyster Festival on Sunday 17th October from 2pm.  For more information click here

New Head Chef Appointed

The Greenbank Hotel are pleased to announce the appointment of a new Head Chef.  Fiona Were joined us in August and is already putting her stamp on our excellent dining experience. 

To find out more about Fiona please click here

Greenbank Hotel Gets 4 Star Rating

The Greenbank Hotel in Falmouth, Cornwall, has been awarded a 4 star standard by the AA in their recent inspection.  Not only is it now Cornwall’s newest 4 star hotel, with a Rosette award for the restaurant, but it also achieved the highest result from over the last few years for any hotel being upgraded from 3 to 4 stars, by achieving a Merit score of 74%.

Falmouth Fish Festival 2010

The Greenbank Hotel is partnering with the new Rick Stein Fish and Chip restaurant in Falmouth to organise Falmouth’s first Fish Festival, taking place over two days on the 30th and 31st of May.  Live Cooking demonstrations from top chefs, fish and market stalls and live music events.  Taking place in the Events Square, Falmouth, plus other venues around the town. For more details call us on 01326 312440.

Rick Stein Comes to Falmouth

It has been confirmed that Rick Stein is opening a new Fish and Chip restaurant in Falmouth, in March 2010, his first restaurant outside of Padstow.  Rick Stein’s Fish and Chips will also have an Oyster Bar as well as being a restaurant and takeaway.

If you want more details on this during your stay in Falmouth, just call us on 01326 312440.

Green Tourism Gold Award

The Greenbank Hotel has been awarded a Gold Award for Green Tourism.  We have taken significant steps to make the hotel as environmentally friendly as possible.  Here are a few highlights :

• 80% of our food is now sourced by our Head chef Sanjay Kumar from within a 30 mile radius of the hotel, including local oysters, sausages and salad leaves.
• The majority of light bulbs throughout the hotel have been replaced with LED lighting, which is both cost effective and carbon neutral.
• Three more low water usage shower heads are purchased and replaced each month, which saves considerably on water consumption in showers, and reduces wastage.
• £411.50 has been raised in 2009 for the Mothers Union soup kitchen, helping to feed hundreds of Aids victims in South Africa.
• £628 has been raised in 2009 for Surfers Against Sewage, a local drive to keep our beaches and seas clean.

See our Green Page for more details.

7 Nights for the price of 6

Why not take advantage of our ' 7 nights for the price of 6 ' offer available all year round (not to be used in conjunction with any other offer).