Tourist Destination goes the Extra Mile for Wheelchair-bound Customer

Posted on March 11th, 2010
 

Ribby Hall Village has provided the ideal solution for a wheelchair-bound customer and his family, searching for a special kind of holiday home in the UK. The Jolley’s from Liverpool wanted somewhere reasonably close to home, wheelchair accessible and with great facilities and activities to keep the children entertained.  Not only did Ribby Hall Village provide the perfect location, they even went as far as to create a bespoke holiday home for them.

Following an accident in 2001, George Jolley was left paralysed and in a wheelchair.  Fortunately he had the support of his family and when he had recovered sufficiently, they resumed family holidays.  The family had previously enjoyed activity holidays in Cumbria, but the setting in a forest meant endless journeys up hill and down dale which took their toll on Mr Jolley’s arms and shoulders and they could not use their car on site.

They looked for an alternative and found Ribby Hall Village.  It offered many of the activities they wanted, was closer to home and there were no hills to climb!  They took a trip to Ribby Hall Village and stayed at the hotel, which has accessible bedrooms, for a weekend to see what facilities and activities are on offer. 

When Mr and Mrs Jolley decided to invest in a holiday home that would be available for all the family to use, they remembered Ribby Hall Village.

George Jolley says; “From the moment we enquired at Ribby Hall Village we couldn’t believe how very helpful and supportive they were.  Having discussed my particular requirements, they set about finding a suitable pitch for a holiday home and also a manufacturer of bespoke accessible lodges that could meet all my needs.”

The Holiday Homes Manager at Ribby Hall Village, Toby Durston, contacted Reiver Lodges in Carlisle who build superior timber-framed lodges, and suggested creating a bespoke home for Mr Jolley.   The home is a ‘Reiver Cosmopolitan’ which has been completely re-designed to Mr Jolley’s personal specifications to accommodate his disability.  Everything has been changed to suit Mr Jolley, including room sizes, furnishings, low threshold doors and low work surfaces and a special decking area and disabled ramp for access to the Lodge.  The decking will be the largest in the UK for a holiday home at 1000 sq ft at a cost of £25k.   The holiday home will be ready in March 2010.

Toby Durston, Holiday Homes Manager at Ribby Hall Village comments: “We haven’t created a bespoke lodge for a customer before, however, this was a special situation and we always try to accommodate our customers to the best of our abilities.  Luckily we work with great suppliers who are happy to do something different and help us to create the right holiday home for Mr Jolley and his family.  We hope they enjoy their beautiful bespoke holiday home at Ribby Hall Village for many years to come.”

George Jolley continues: “The whole family is excited and looking forward to spending long weekends and holidays at Ribby Hall Village, starting with a birthday party for our Granddaughter, Isabel in April.

Ribby Hall Village is ideal for trips out to the Lake District, Blackpool and for the Open Golf Championship at Lytham St Annes – and that’s just for starters!  We look forward to many years of enjoyment at Ribby Hall Village.  All we need is some good weather.  Everything else is already catered for.”

 

Posted in Holiday Homes for Sale

Oldest Health Club Member at Ribby Hall Village Shares Secret to his Youthful Appearance and Outlook on Life

Posted on February 23rd, 2010
 

John Greenhough and his wife Diana swim half a mile twice a week at the Sport & Leisure Centre, Ribby Hall Village.  This sounds pretty unremarkable until you learn that John was 90 in February!

The couple come to Ribby Hall Village to swim in the adult-only 25m swimming pool.  Both go to the gym for stretching, working out on the rowing machines and doing resistance training in the state-of-the-art gym.  Over a cup of tea in Harrison’s Bar after a workout, John and Diana spoke of their history, how they met, and how they stay so fit and positive. 

John and Diana have always exercised, starting with running.  Now they stretch every day for at least 15 minutes.  John comments:  “Ribby Hall Village is ideal as you can take exercise in various different ways.  The swimming attracted us but we also use the gym for rowing and resistance.  And we usually have a cup of tea in Harrison’s Bar afterwards.”

The former High Sheriff of Lancashire and a senior Colonel in the British Army during the Second World War, tells how the love of his life, Diana keeps him happy and motivated.  On first seeing Diana on D-Day while in the UK for reinforcements, John says, “It was as though Cupid’s arrow was shot through my heart.”  John returned a year later and they have now been married for 62 years.

After the war John went into publishing in London and started up Cheshire Life, Yorkshire Life and Lancashire Life.  Eventually he moved North and became the Managing Director of JR Taylor Department Store in St Annes from 1968 to 1976.  While there, John started up the Danish Kitchen restaurant.  They ended up with seven restaurants where Diana and a team of cooks did all of the baking.  They ran the restaurants for ten years before retiring. 

They may be retired, but this couple’s lust for life shows no signs of abating.  When the weather improves, they will increase their visit to the swimming pool to three times per week.  As John says: “We love coming to Ribby Hall Village, everyone is so welcoming and helpful, we always have a chat with the staff.  We like to exercise regularly, meet new people and we just like living.”

 

Posted in Fitness and Leisure

Ribby Hall Village Announces Results of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies List 2010

Posted on February 16th, 2010
 

Ribby Hall Village held their first ever staff conference, getting over 200 staff together in the Woodland Suite for a motivational session and the announcement of the results in their endeavours to join the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies List.    

All employees enjoyed a lunch in the Garden Room before the Conference was opened by Simon Clarkson from Advance Training with a motivational talk about the organisation’s culture and individuals’ roles within it. Ribby Hall Village continues to work closely with Simon Clarkson for their motivational staff training. Paul Harrison, Managing Director, then spoke about Ribby Hall Village past, present and exciting future developments.

After this, the Director of Business Development, Susan Houseman, shared the results of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Results 2010 and was delighted to announce the winning of one star signifying Ribby Hall Village as a first class company to work for.  Ribby Hall Village’s first ever awards then took place with Dick Williamson who has worked in Outdoor Maintenance for over 15 years, winning an award for Long Service & Outstanding Achievement.  Karl Mynott from Business & Banqueting won Employee of the Year. 

Susan Houseman, Director of Business Development, comments: “As an established business, we felt this to be the right time to bring everyone together and acknowledge and thank them for all their hard work.  We want them to know that the reason we are so successful is largely because of them.  As a company we will build on this first conference and continue to work with all our staff to keep them involved as we drive the business to an even more exciting future.”

The second half of the afternoon focused on the unveiling of the NEW Ribby Hall Village uniform, designed and supplied by, ‘Incorporate-wear’. This was followed by the Ribby Hall Village Fashion Show when representatives from all departments at Ribby Hall Village strutted their stuff in the new uniform.  The conference was rounded up by the inspiring Simon Clarkson and closed at 5pm.

 

Posted in General

Ribby Hall Village’s Health Club Member Loses a Record 10 Stone in 10 Months

Posted on January 19th, 2010
 

Andy McDonald, a Health Club member who joined Ribby Hall Village on 31st March 2009 is celebrating losing  a record TEN stone in just TEN months!

Husband and father-of-two Andy, became inspired by a story in the Blackpool Gazette by the news editor, Jon Rhodes, who had run the New York marathon.  The story really struck a chord with Andy, and he decided to finally do something about his health and fitness levels.

Andy, and his wife and children, joined Ribby Hall Village and, although Andy initially joined to lose weight, it has now become a lifestyle choice.

“I’m addicted,” comments Andy, “From the moment I walked in the front door the friendly, welcoming atmosphere made me feel comfortable and not intimidated.  I don’t have a goal or target weight; I just really enjoy the exercise and the social element and want to keep on coming. ”

Andy uses all the facilities and equipment and his family are equally addicted, buying each other presents of a personal training session with trainer, Tony Albanese.  Despite the fact that Andy’s wife is a Baker starting work at 4.30am and finishing at 6.30pm plus the family live near Thornton Cleveley’s, she still makes regular trips to Ribby Hall Village with her daughter after work to wind down.  Andy comes several times per week, usually with his son, to spend a few hours in the gym lifting weights, working out and socialising.

Andy, who jokes his favourite form of exercise is “lifting a beer in the bar afterwards”, now can’t imagine not coming to Ribby Hall Village.  “Being a member here is not just a health purchase, it’s a lifestyle purchase. As well as a gym there are swimming pools, fitness classes, racquet sports, a bar, a shop and Starbucks.  Everyone’s really friendly and me and my family are thoroughly enjoying the benefits.”

 

Posted in Fitness and Leisure

Health Club Membership going for GOLD!

Posted on December 18th, 2009
 

As previous winners in 2008 of the Club Mirror Awards, the scene was set for what we hoped would be another successful year.   Following a long and difficult short listing process, the Sport & Leisure complex at Ribby Hall Village is proud to have made it to the final short list once again.  This prestigious National Industry award recognises the ‘best of the best’ in health clubs nationwide as Ribby Hall Village continues to strive for excellence in every aspect of its business.

 

Posted in Fitness and Leisure

A Ribby Hall Village Favourite gets a Facelift

Posted on December 18th, 2009
 

The much loved and firm favourite with many guests is The Thatched Coach House.  This beautiful property hosting up to 12 guests is situated in its own private grounds with easy access to all the Village has to offer.  The thatched roof has been completely replaced, and all bedrooms have had a complete makeover.  Other rooms within this quirky property also have many new pieces of contemporary furniture, modern fixtures, fittings, bespoke light fittings and rich coloured soft furnishings throughout.

 

Posted in Short Breaks and Holidays

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