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OK I know it's a bit OTT but hell,its my first hotel based weekender and review and it really was that good.
In truth it is not practical to do a good,bad and ugly review because it would be a tad lopsided in favour of the good so lets make this one a bit observational.Of course it's all very personal to me,some of you who have been may look at it completely different but then again it doesnt appear that there are many of you that go to Swish,preferring the cheaper somewhat downmarket option offered elsewhere and I dont mean that in a derogatory way but quite frankly you can see why Potters are a thriving year long business when others appear to be struggling.
Sorry I digress,back on track.
First impressions on arrival.Very imposing hotel,neat,tidy and clean and very modern looking.Reception was efficient and hassle free and the neat,tidy,clean and modern theme runs thro the place from front to back.
The accomodation was excellent.Nice clean bedlinen and exceptional facilities.
To be fair some of our friends did complain that their chalets were cold but we struck lucky,ours was warm,no,I am doing it an injustice,it was hot.
If there had to be a downside it would have to be the fact that we were some way from the main complex-which doesnt help when your feet and knees are so painful that they appear to want to stop working.
In fact there was only one other row of chalets behind us and on a weekend that was both b****y cold and wet the fact that the chalet was so hot kind of made up for the long cold and sometimes wet walk,but only at that point when you open the door and the warmth hits you.
The food was excellent.Now,I like my food and for me the choice,variety,quality and quantity was right up my street.I have to give a mention to the pancakes and fillings.My Sunday rasberry,cherry filling and chocolate sauce was delicious.
My wife who is a vegetarian was quite happy with her choices albeit a little limited.
So accomodation wise it was a big plus.It could be argued that you would expect nothing less from a modern hotel but the chalet's (well ours anyway)mirrored the quality of the hotel and for the little amount of time I spent it,I have no complaints.
So thats all my creature comforts satisfied.What about the dance/music.Did that hit the button at all?
You bet your life it did.
Most of my time was spent in the main room which I think is my level-I would love to feel comfortable in the chill room but it doesnt seem to be me,but maybe more of that later.
The main room,which was quite large and coped well with the numbers had a sound system that a dj like myself would die for-loud and lots of base-bl**dy heaven.The tracks were normal main room eclectic Ceroc fare.Well I say normal,most of them were but some of these guys(and gals,not forgetting Tiggerbabe) slip in little gems that irritate the hell out of me because I neither have them or know what they are called.And I Want Them.
I think the track of the weekend would possibly be Dirty Dancer by Enrique Thingwychig and if I had to pick a set that hit the button more than any other it would be Mas on Sunday night.His best button pushing track for both my wife and I was Rise by Safri Duo.You can probably guess why I am a main room man rather than chill out zone person.Loud,lots of base and relatively fast.I know,at my age I ought to think about slowing down but how am I going to work off three big meals a day if I dont move my butt.
The Chill room and Karaoke Bar were nice rooms with relatively small dance floors but they seemed to cope ok on the occasions I ventured in there.
The Chill room was where the Sack the DJ slots were played but as this was a dining area for a number of people the 8.00 slot was wasted because they were still serving dinner and the DJ(it had to be me didn't it) was asked to turn it down twice.What a waste of a four Mackie sound system.Ugh!!
The Karaoke bar was not used in the main by dancers but it was a good drinking hole that was also the place to be at about midnight when they had another meal for you just in case you might have thought that a break of longer than 6 hours between dinner and breakfast was too much!!!!
The Karaoke competion was won by a very good singer,Dave,who had the opportunity to sing his song in the evening theatre show,which incidently were very good and well received.
Classes.I only did 4 over the weekend.It wasn't planned that way but I realised that if I tried to dance all day and night I wouldn't be doing myself any favours.My legs and particularly my feet just cant make the distance these days.
I opted to do the first one of the weekend which was one with Tim Sant,whose energy and enthusiasm and teaching style were very refreshing.Its a shame I can only remember half of the lesson.Thank goodness I bought the dvd.Thats another reason I only opted for 4 lessons.
The other three lessons were strictly first time lessons in WCS,Blues and Tango.First of all let me say that I would have felt more at ease doing the WCS/Blues with a fixed partner.I struggled to a degree and felt uncomfortable and slightly intimidated.The Tango I did with my wife and we seemed to cope quite well and I did enjoy it and I actually remember all the moves.Marc and Rachel took this class and made it clear and concise.Enjoyed it.
The teaching in general was very clear and slick and it is so nice to see so many young people teaching dance.Their ability and energy is a joy to watch and if I can be forgiven for a ageing sexist remark,some of those young teachers and dancers are stunningly attractive people.
I managed to introduce myself to Rachel Marc and Sheena and Dazzler.
All in all a brilliant weekend for me and we have booked again for next year-with one small change.We have booked the chalet right outside the door of the complex.
Sorry if I have bored the pants off you with my inane ramblings but once I got going I didnt feel like stopping.
Ceroc weekenders dont seem to really need 'selling',they 'sell' themselves.
Whether its up or downmarket,dear or cheap,you get what you pay for but you can rest assured whatever it is you paid you will have a weekend to remember and look back on.
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Is/was it worth it? Absolutely!
and it just stayed at that amazing level until the last dance on Sunday night/Monday morning.
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