Above image: Toby Lowe Photography The time has come to bid a sad farewell to Bill, a much-loved member of our team. Bill has worked at the hotel for over thirty years in total, and during this time has played a huge role in helping to refurbish the hotel and to restore the building to its former glory. Having worked at the hotel for a contractor previously, the opportunity arose eight years ago for the hotel to employ Bill on a full-time basis. Since then, Bill has helped refurbish over 30 bedrooms as well as many function rooms including the magnificent Restaurant, Ballroom, Millbay Suite and Hayward Room. The Duke also maintain the train and boat ...

Drake Circus is well and truly ready for Summer with the welcome addition of an array of colourful flowers. The following details were provided by Theatre Royal, who have teamed up with Drake Circus in a unique creative community partnership. Plymouth’s Drake Circus shopping centre, will be filled with giant flowers this Summer, turning the South West’s leading shopping centre into a garden paradise. The centre, which recently won a top national award for best customer service in the UK at the REVO – ACE Awards, worked with the award-winning Theatre Royal Plymouth team who manufacture and produce stages and sets for the Theatre Royal Plymouth, to create a Summer ‘outdoor in’ concept for the shopping centre. The result is giant flowers ...

As a large hotel with a busy calendar, using locally sourced produce is of the upmost importance. Each year, the hotel welcomes a number of Weddings, Corporate Events, Formal Lunches, Meetings, Conferences, School Proms and so many more. It is therefore important to use suppliers who can not only keep up with demand, but also provide sustainable, good quality ingredients. We chatted to David from Tamar Fresh, one of our wonderful suppliers to see why he loves working with The Duke. When did you start Tamar Fresh? My dad started the business 30 years ago as a retail farm shop. Dad had previously spent 25 years in the retail trade and as a result of his experience saw ...

However you are planning on travelling to MTV Crashes Plymouth, here is some important travel information including details about road closures. Walking: Plymouth Hoe is less than half a mile from the city centre Bus: A number of bus routes pass through Royal Parade in Plymouth city centre, which is less than half a mile from Plymouth Hoe. For all bus service timetable and further information please call Travel Line SW on 08712 002 233 click here. Train: Plymouth Hoe is a short 15-minute walk from Plymouth Railway Station. For train services and timetable information click here. Car: There are 19 car parks in and around ...

Here is a lovely story to brighten your afternoon! The following information was provided by the team at Onshore Media. Ten new, brightly coloured picnic benches have been installed around Plymouth’s City Centre hand made by jobseekers with learning difficulties. The benches have been made by talented jobseekers at Pluss Training, an award winning national organisation that helps thousands of people with disabilities find careers. They have replaced existing benches in the centre – which had seen better days – and 20 undergraduate BA (Hons) Printed Textile & Surface Pattern students from Plymouth College of Art decorated them. The degree-level students were asked to come up with the best design for the benches and painted competition winner, second year Printed ...

Are you aged between 18 – 25 and planning on attending MTV Crashes Plymouth next month? The organisers have announced that they are looking for volunteers!! Whether you want to gain event experience, or simply love festivals, this is a fantastic opportunity! All you need to do is send a creative ‘expression of interest’ to show why you deserve the opportunity! The following details were provided by RIO (Real Ideas Organisation). Interested in music, marketing or event management? Aged between 18-25? We are looking for enthusiastic and energetic young people to get hands-on with a number of exciting work experience opportunities behind the scenes when MTV Crashes Plymouth returns on 27-28 July with two nights of chart-topping acts ...

Yesterday saw the return of the Inspiring Volunteer Awards. This wonderful event recognises the efforts and achievements of an array of local volunteers, who work to make this fabulous city what it is today. The Inspiring Volunteer Awards is a partnership between Improving Lives Plymouth, Plymouth University and the Plymouth Herald and will be in its 9th year in 2017. We are so proud of Leila Nottage, our fabulous Director of Marketing who was awarded the prestigious title of Employee Volunteer of the Year! Leila has led on the Mayflower 400 campaign, which works with businesses around Plymouth to ensure that the city is looking its best in time for the 2020 celebrations. ...

Above images – Liberty Pearl Photography Yesterday we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon welcoming many of our regular guests and friends to the opening of our newly refurbished Millbay Suite and we took the opportunity to launch our Christmas (yes we said the C word, sorry!) brochure. Above images – Liberty Pearl Photography Wally and his team spent the first few months of 2017 lovingly restoring the Millbay Suite. The long function space can be divided into two – the Millbay Room and the Station room. It is finished to the highest standard, restoring every detail including the intricate ceiling. The original windows have been restored, one of which was hidden since the 70’s behind a bookcase! We ...

We are so delighted to share a sneak peak of today’s Spring stylised shoot with the fabulous Meg from Mimosa Photography! Meg has brought together an array of wonderful suppliers to create a simply sensational shoot! Meg’s vision was to create a traditional shoot, perfectly in keeping with the history and decor of the hotel. The shoot took place in various locations around the hotel, including our newly refurbished Millbay Room which was set up as the civil ceremony room (we will be sharing the images following the official Millbay launch next week!). The colour scheme of the room perfectly complimented the shoot, with the gold detail in the wallpaper accentuating the décor flawlessly. Following two ...