Updates & Photos

As it is the off season we have started to redecorate some of our bedrooms.  The first one is on the third floor - room 305 which has had all new wallpaper, gloss and repainting ceilings and new carpets.  We have still to put the room back together but below are some photos of the new decor.

We are also working on another double on the second front - 216 which will be getting the same treatment.  A couple of photos are below showing the work in progress.  The first shows the old wallpaper and the second 2 have the new.  Still ongoing...

The last thing we are about to start on is fitting new carpets on the stairs and corridors.  Some areas are starting to get a bit worn, especially the stairs with all the traffic they see.  They should hopefully be done in the next week or two.  


We have updated our online prices to include the Illuminations.  They are only available as Special Offers due to the coach bookings we already have.  We have added another Special Offer as well so check out our website for more information and to check availability.  You can also call us direct to book on 01253 624888.  


We are open every weekend now for room only or bed and breakfast (certain dates) and Mothers Day weekend we also include evening meal.  From 2 April we are open pretty much every day until the end of the Illuminations.  If you would like to have transport included with your trip there are various coach companies booked in from all areas of the UK, so contact us to find out who will be travelling here from your neck of the woods.


Bring on Spring!
EALT  

Magicians Conference & Showzam Festival

It isn't very long until the Showzam Festival starts which also incorporates the Magicians Conference.  We still have a few rooms left for £30 each person per day including breakfast.  Call or email us now to make your reservation.


We also have a Valentines Weekend break available too, arriving on Friday 10 Feb for 2 nights.  If you book with Blackpool Breaks (based in Glasgow) your trip includes coach travel, dinner bed and breakfast, a welcome drink and cabaret in the evening.  Minimum numbers are required.  Call them now to book on 0141 332 7078.


There are various other Special Breaks we are doing through Blackpool Breaks and other companies.  We are open for Mothers Day weekend, the Grand National in April, a Psychic Weekend in early May and various Winter Warmers too.  Get in touch now to make your booking.


EALT

Pigeon Festival

It is the annual Pigeon Festival this weekend and we still have a few rooms left for any last minute bookings.  Bed and breakfast is £30 each per day and room only is £20 each per day.  


We also have a new Special Offer available from April till August - £200 each person for 7 nights.  Arrive on either Monday or Friday.  Either call or book online.


We are in the process of printing new brochures for the hotel and will be taking some more photos of the bar area.  We found some old photos of the hotel and the different decorations we've had throughout the years.  A lot of the photos are on slides so as soon as we can get them digitised we shall post them on here for all to see.  Only those guests who've been staying with us since we bought La Tour in 1978 will recognise some areas.


EALT

Happy New Year

We have had a busy Festive season and only had one room left for New Year.  Everyone who stayed told us what a fabulous time they had at both Christmas and New Year.  We always receive a lot of repeat bookings for our festive breaks so why not book now to ensure your room is available.  If you want to book for New Year then contact Aberfeldy Motors in Perthshire as they are allocated the majority of our rooms.

All the decorations have been taken down now and we are getting prepared for the 2012 season ahead.  The first guests we have booked in are for the Pigeon Festival in mid January.  We still have some rooms available so give us a call to make your reservation.  It is £30 per person per night for bed and breakfast. 

We are also open for the Magicians conference and Showzam Festival in February.  The rate is the same as the Pigeons although we are very low on single rooms at this point.  After that it will soon be Mothers Day and Easter and then we are pretty much into the early season. 

Check out our online booking page for availability and prices.  Wishing you all a wonderful 2012 and we hope to see you soon.

EALT

Turkey Tinsels

It has been a busy time these last couple of months!  The Illuminations are in the last week and today we start our Turkey Tinsel breaks.  We always try to do a trial run of the TT's during the last week of the lights so this past weekend we have been digging out all the Christmas decorations.  Last night we put up the trees in the hall, bar and dining room.  We seem to have lost one tree since last December so we may have to get another for the dining room.  
With redecorating the bar this February we have had to make some changes to our usual Xmas decorations.  We now have a black tree in the bar and a white tree in the hall.  We also managed to get a lot of snowflakes too and so the bar looks really good with everything put up.  We will post some photos asap to let you see.
We had a couple of TT's tours cancel so we're not doing as many this year.  We still have space available on the 14 & 28 November, 5 December (all 4 night stays) and some space on the weekend trips too.  Call us for availability.
Our Christmas and New Year breaks are coming along too but there is still space available.  If you'd like to spend your Festive Break without all the hard work of cooking, cleaning and so on then why not come stay with us?  We have a special offer right now for 23 Dec to 3 Jan for £700 each person.  We are open all the way through and will be providing excellent entertainment, great food and lots of fun every evening.  Get in touch for more information.
Happy Hallowe'en!
EALT

It's been a busy few months

... since we last posted!  Thankfully we've had a lot of new guests visiting us from various locations.  We've had some coach tours booked in from Scotland, Wales, south England and Wales and with the Illuminations still shining there are more to come.  We've had some great reviews on Trip Advisor too from our recent guests so please spread the word about us if you've had an enjoyable stay too.


Our Special Offer breaks went down really well and our next promotion is for our Turkey Tinsel breaks.  We have a few midweek and weekend dates available for all types of rooms so get in touch if you'd like to get your Christmas shopping underway and have a great time with our lovely food and evening entertainment.


Dates available are for Monday - Friday: 7-11 Nov, 14-18 Nov, 21-25 Nov, 5-9 Dec.
Friday to Sunday or Monday: 4-6/7 Nov, 18-20/21 Nov, 2-4/5 Dec, 9-11/12 Dec, 16-18/19 Dec
Contact us on 01253 624888 for the best prices and to check availability for your room type.  


We are also accepting bookings for both Christmas and New Year.  We have a few rooms left for each and with a coach booked in too for each date it is sure to be lots of fun.  We're already booking our cabaret artists and Santa has been busy organising his gifts for you too!


Finally we have started accepting bookings for 2012.  If you book with us for next year before the end of the Illuminations you will get your stay at the 2011 price.  The Lights end on November 6th so you have a few weeks left to get this year's rate.  The first weekend Turkey Tinsel also has the benefit of the Lights still shining so why not book that one for a 2 in 1 break!?


EALT
PS It's almost October and the sun is still shining - hurrah!

It's August Already!

Wow we are already into August!! It's been a hectic few weeks lately as our bookings have been coming in thick and fast.  We're pretty much full up for most dates in August and the midweeks of the Lights are busy too.  We still have rooms available for the opening weekend of the Lights so book now to enjoy the Switch One show.
This past weekend was the Airshow featuring the Red Arrows.  It's always fun to watch and it looked like it might be a washout in the morning.  But by the time the first plane took off the sun was out and barely a cloud in the sky.
The Punk Festival finished this weekend too.  On August 14 there is a SkyRide in town from 10am.  It looks like it may be a busy weekend so if you're planning on visiting for that make sure you check the route as there will be a lot of road closures in effect.  
Our special offers are coming to a close so if you haven't booked one there are only a few spaces left.  We're also holding a few more Turkey Tinsel dates than originally planned.  Check back later for specific dates and also on the website for more info as they are confirmed.
We'd love to hear from any guests who have recently stayed with us so we can add more comments to a Testimonials page on our site.  Please leave us a comment or send a message with your name, location and what you liked about La Tour.
Thanks
EALT

Sunshine & Special Rates

This past weekend has been glorious even though there were threats of rain.  And to top it all off the sun is still shining.  There is barely a cloud in the sky and it looks like it may well hold out for the week.  Why not have a stay-cation and join us for a fab few days this summer?  
We've had some coach tours cancel due to low booking numbers so we have extended our Special Offers.  You can stay with us for any Monday to Friday in June, July or 15 or 22 August for only £70 each person B&B.  This is a fantastically reduced rate - saving you £50 on the usual booking price!  The only date that isn't available is the week of 4 July when we are already booked up.  Any other date as above is available at this Special Rate and you can book with us online or call us on 01253 624888.
The revamped Promenade headland is due to be reopened this week so here's hoping that the traffic problems will ease off.  Let's hope that the sunshine lasts all through the summer. 
Hope to see you soon
EALT

It's already June!!

Can you believe it ... we are already almost half way through the year?!  The Dance Festival finished last night so all our international guests left this morning - some as early as 4am - to make their journeys home. We had some new guests visit us as well who were very pleased and have said they want to book again for next year.  We had some people from Thailand and South Africa as well as our expected Japanese, Dutch and Americans.  We're hoping to have some more people join us next year and will be advertising in Dance News to drum up some more business.  
We've added some links on various websites to let people know we are a dog-friendly hotel.  We're listed on Dog Friendly Britain, Dog People and will soon be up on Dogs Invited and The Good Dog Guide.  There are a couple of sites who list other-friendly options including cyclist, walker, business, smoker, etc etc.  Check out our page on Friendly Places.  
The weather has improved a lot over the last week and today it is lovely and warm.  The sun is shining and we're hoping it'll last the rest of the month!! Optimism eh?
EALT

Room Photos

We took some photos yesterday while it was still a bit grey and now that it is gloriously sunny when we go to take some more, the camera battery has died!  Ah well.  Hopefully you will still be able to see some of our new decor in the rooms.  

This is one of the smaller twins on the first floor back corridor.  Needs more light for the photo unfortunately.

 We are redecorating this single and moving around the bed - still a few bits and pieces to be done!

 These are two of our doubles located on the back corridor of the first floor.

 We are redecorating one of the triples on the first floor, so hopefully it will turn out like the other triple pictured further down! 

 This is one of the singles on the smoking corridor (second floor).

 This is one of the doubles on the smoking floor, recently redecorated and swapped from being a twin room.

 This is one of the larger twins on the smoking corridor (there are two rooms this size) and one slightly smaller.

 This is one half of the redecorated triple room on the second floor (Room 215).  

 And the other half of the room, now with bunk beds instead of a single bed with a pullout bed.

Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.  As soon as we have the other rooms finished we shall post some more photos.  

Updated Website

We've made a few little changes to our website and will be adding some new photos to the gallery this week too.  We were hoping to add them today but as it's a bit grey looking outside the light isn't so great for photos!  Booo!

Unfortunately we've had a few coach trips cancel their bookings this month and in early June too!  It seems the economy is still keeping people at home.  We've introduced some Early Bird discounts on the online booking site as well as Late Availability discounts too but they don't seem to be coming in as much as we'd like.  It's very sad especially when the weather for the most part has been pretty decent. 

There are lots of events happening in Blackpool over the summer including Armed Forces Week, the UK Taekwondo Festival, Manchester to Blackpool Cycle Ride and the Car Run to name a few.  If you're planning on particpating then we hope you'll choose to stay with us for a few days. 

Can you believe it is already the third week of May?  The year is just flying by... before you know it, it'll be Christmas!!
EALT

More Updating Projects

have been going on in the last few days.  We started to redecorate and move around some furniture in 3 of our bedrooms.  One of them is now finished (bar the headboard needing re-attached) and the second is underway.  We are also refitting a new shower unit to one of the first floor bedrooms.  We seem to have had nothing but problems with it over the last year and so now we have a quiet week it is getting a new shower tray, having new taps and shower head, the walls are being re-plastered and cladded and fingers crossed the moved pipework will give us no more issues!  There is certainly always something needing to be seen to in a hotel with it's almost constant use.  Hopefully we manage to stay on top of it as best we can without a resident Mr (or Mrs) Fix-It-All!
Our lovely Enderby brass band guests left on Sunday after the competition.  This coming weekend there is the Electric Garden Festival held at the Beat club in the town centre.  We are a featured accommodation on the website so if you have tickets or are planning to get some, we still have some rooms left for the weekend.  If you like Progressive Rock then this is the newest Festival for you.
The Dance Festival starts on 26 May and this is the 86th year it has been held!  At least 60 countries were represented last year and this year is bound to be the same.  Blackpool certainly has a good reputation for Ballroom and Latin dancing as there are 5 Festivals held here throughout the year.  We have previously had a lot of champions stay with us but lately we've had more people involved behind the scenes - dressmakers, hairdressers, stall holders and so on.  
We are getting a lot busier for the Punk Festival held in August.  All our singles are taken so we have only doubles, twins and family rooms left.  There is an extensive list of bands performing between 4-7 August and tickets for the event are still available from the site.  If you book now for the Rebellion event you will qualify for an Early Bird discount on our online booking page, saving you 10%!
We'll post some photos of our updated rooms as soon as we can.  Unfortunately the weather has been a bit miserable the last couple of days so the light isn't so great for photos.
EALT

Young Farmers

We are in the middle of a very busy Young Farmers weekend.  We always have the same club stay with us who book out the whole hotel.  Mostly they are well behaved but there are always a few (and not even from our resident club) who cause some problems.  Everyone leaves on Monday and then we have a quiet week before we have the Band Competition over the next weekend.
After that the Dance Festival starts until June 6.  We have a group of Japanese guests staying with us as well as people from the Netherlands, USA, Russia and so on.  A very international group.  We still have a few rooms left for the Festival as well as the Band event so please get in touch.
We've changed our prices on the third party online booking sites and have also added numerous Special Offers including breakfast and some with dinner.  Our Festive Breaks have also been added so if you're looking for a Turkey Tinsel or a few days away at Christmas or New Year then check out the deals on offer.  We certainly have a lot going on over the Festive Season and all our guests have a great time.
The weather in Blackpool has been spectacularly good for the last few weeks.  Lots of lovely sunshine and temperatures are mostly over 16 degrees.  The last couple of days though have been a bit miserable and rainy.  Although now the sun is out again and fingers crossed it will stick around again!
Why not book a quick Monday to Friday break on our site to take advantage of the sunshine?  Bed and breakfast for 4 nights for £70 per person - a definite bargain!
EALT

Updates

We have updated the online booking prices through our third party sites and included lots of Special Offers for our Turkey Tinsel breaks as well as our Christmas and New Year Festive stays.  We know it might seem early to be this organised but we have already had some enquiries!  
We have a coach booked in for Christmas with Harry Shaw, so if you're from the Coventry area and surrounding then get in touch with them to include your transport in the package. 
Aberfeldy Motors have been bringing a coach or two to us at New Year for a long time and this year is no exception.  If you live in Scotland then please get in touch with them to make a Hogmanay booking including transport to La Tour.
We have some Early Bird discounts online too if you book more than 60 days in advance (but these don't apply to our Special Offers).  And certain dates have Late Availability discounts too, so check back regularly for a great last minute deal.  There is always a 2 night minimum throughout the year so when searching be sure to check that.
Only two days to the Royal Wedding now and unfortunately our flagpoles have yet to arrive! So much for getting them up and flags waving for Friday morning...
Have a lovely double Bank Holiday!
EALT

Easter

...is here and we have a busy weekend ahead of us.  We have a regular group visting from Scotland and a few individuals too.  Still have about 7 double rooms left if you are looking to get away for the weekend.  Two nights bed and breakfast for £60 per person. 
We also have about 8 twin rooms left for the Royal Wedding Weekend, again £60 each person for 2 nights or stay for 3 nights for £90 each.  Speaking of the Wedding we have organised some flags to be fitted to the front of the hotel.  We are planning on flying them for the rest of the year so have organised some proper flag poles to be fitted.  As soon as they are up and flying we shall take some photos to post here.
The weather this past week to ten days have been glorious.  It is a bit cloudy today but it's still warm enough for shorts.  VERY unlikely weather for April, don't you think?  Let's hope it lasts through the month and on into Summer. 
Happy Easter.
EALT

More Arrivals

Blackpool is hosting the USDAW conference and so we have a few guests here for that.  We also have another coach arriving from Scotland on Monday for the week.  Then next weekend is Easter and we are about 2/3 full.  If you want to take a short break in Blackpool over the holidays then please come stay with us and enjoy our cabaret and, so far, lovely sunny days.
We have been recruiting staff for the season and so have some new faces for those of you who are regular guests.  Considering the economic climate and the so-called high unemployment levels it has been quite difficult finding experienced and personable staff who will fit in with those already here and be capable of lending their hand to any task required.  
Our second floor twin has been finished off into a double.  I'll add some photos as soon as it's current occupiers leave!  The next project is another twin being made into a double but on the first floor.  However we may not start it until after the Royal Wedding as we have another coach here then.
Hoping to see some of you soon.
EALT

We Are Now Officially Open

every day until after the Illuminations!  It seems to have taken a long time for the season to get started this year but it's finally here and we're all set to go.  We have two coaches in this midweek - Aberfeldy Motors and David Urquhart Travel both from Scotland.  Neither coach is full so if you're in or around Blackpool we still have a few rooms available.
Our regular visitors will know that we offer sandwiches and tea/coffee in the afternoons each day.  We are also starting to offer other yummy treats/snacks too, such as chocolate brownies, flapjacks, scones with jam and cream and so on.  All will be made on the premises so you can be sure they will be delicious.
This weekend is the Grand National.  We have a coach arriving on Friday afternoon who are visiting the track on the Saturday.  We also have a few small groups of people but again there are still a couple of rooms available if you would like to come to Blackpool for a "flutter!"  We have a full programme of cabaret each evening too.
As for our updating projects we have one room being redecorated and changed from a twin to a double right now.  After that we will be slowly working our way through the rooms that need it.  There is another single to tackle and update, another twin changing to a double and a few that could do with some new wallpaper or repainting, just to keep things how we like.
Let us know what you think of our progress so far by leaving a comment.
EALT

More Updating Projects

... are in the works.  We've been redecorating some of the rooms on the smoking corridor and one of the singles is finished.  We're starting work on a twin room that we're making into a double as it is one of the smaller twins being located on the rear corridor.  As you can gather there is always work to do in a hotel!  We'll try to post some photos of the redecorated room but the weather today is very grey so we'll wait for a sunny day to take the pics.  It's been gorgeous weather the last few days so fingers crossed it will come back soon.

The Grand National is in two weekends time and we still have a few rooms available for it.  Then two weeks after that it is Easter!  Can you believe how fast this year has gone by? 

EALT

Online Booking Page

Our new online booking page is up and running!!  Why not check it out to make a reservation with us?  It's really easy to use too and similar to a lot of online shopping carts.  All you have to do is choose the type of room you'd like and click Add to Cart.  The default price shown is for our low season (January to June) and for Room Only.  If you want bed and breakfast or dinner, bed and breakfast then you can choose those in the options drop down box.  You can also choose to stay at a different time of year in the options too.  Once you've chosen your options the price shown will change and then again, you just click Add to Cart. 

Once you've chosen all the rooms and options you require your Cart will update showing you the total for the rooms booked.  Please note that the price shown is for one night's stay only unless you are booking for a stay in the high season (September & October) when it will show the total for the option you've chosen (either Monday to Friday or Friday to Monday or both).  The Cart is held by Paypal and is Verisign Secured. 

You will then click Proceed to Checkout where it will ask you to Login to Paypal (if you have an account) or you can choose the "Don't have an account" link to pay with your credit/debit card or bank account (where available).  If you choose the 'no account' option you will then be asked to enter your details including name, address, post code, telephone and email address.  You will also be asked to choose the type of card you wish to use for payment and be required to complete the details.  Please note that we do not receive your card details at any point.  You then need to click Review Order and Continue.

This will take you to a new page for you to double check that all the information supplied is correct.  The last and most important option you need to complete is the "Add Special Instructions to Merchant" box.  When you click on the link a box appears.  Please put the dates you wish to stay in this box and any special requests you have for your stay.  Perhaps you want a smoking room or need a room near the lift.  Click Save below the box and then click Pay Now at the bottom of the page.  Paypal will confirm your payment (if it is successful) and you will be able to print a receipt if you wish and create a Paypal account with the information you supplied.

We receive an email with your information and we will then send you a confirmation email.  If you have missed any required information we will request it at this stage.  Please note that your booking is not confirmed until you have received an email direct from us (not the Paypal confirmation email).  We will detail any balance due and cofirm whether your special requests are able to be met.

We hope it will be easy for you to use and you can make a booking in just a few short clicks!  Please let us know if you have any problems with it as it is a new service we're providing and we want to avoid any teething problems if we can.

Thanks
EALT

Patio Photos & Other News

So these are the new tiles on the patio area.  As you can see we still have a few smaller jobs to do, like repainting the walls and we're going to fit a new door to the under stairs cupboard.  But with the biggest job done it's now just a case of waiting for the weather to stay dry long enough to get the other bits done.

So what do you think?  Let us know by leaving a comment.  We're going to change the header photo at the top when we have our new flowers planted.

Next weekend there is a fitness convention in town at the Winter Gardens.  We still have a few rooms left for this so please get in touch for a great rate.  We're also adding our own online booking option onto our website.  We'll post more information on here when it's up and running.
EALT

Patio is finished

Hurrah! The patio has been re-tiled.  And it's looking great, we think.  We'll add some photos when it stops raining.  The tilers did a great job and managed to get it done before the week's out, even with the rain starting again.  Thank you fellas. 

Now all that's left is to put the chairs and table back, our little Buddha that overlooks the space and the planters.  We'll be adding some new hanging baskets and greenery into the space too but that won't happen for a few weeks.  We'll add some photos of it all once it's full and blooming.

We're getting closer to Easter now and the start of the season.  There's lots of exciting developments happening in the town too.  The Tower is having a major facelift and entry fees to the building have been scrapped.  The waxworks are also having an upgrade and are becoming a Madame Tussauds.  There is ongoing work on the Promenade upgrading the sea defences and extending the headlands.  And lots more!!  We hope you will come visit us at La Tour and check out our upgrades as well as enjoy the town.  Call us on 01253 624888 to make your booking.
EALT

The New Front Steps

are finished and looking lovely, we think!  Unfortunately it's not very sunny today so excuse the photos looking a bit dull.  But here they are ...

Similar to the previous tiles but these are non-slip (apparently).  The patio tiles have been removed and the previous layer of bright red paint is coming up today.  Going to be quite dusty I think! This is the patio as it currently looks:

Hoping to have the patio finished by the end of the week - weather permitting.  Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
EALT

We started our new project on Monday - the replacement of our front step tiles.  The weather held out all day Monday and Tuesday but it started raining a bit today so they've finished early.  The below photo is from Monday - the top level of tiles have come off and we found a couple of old tiles too underneath so they've all come off and it's been taken right back to the cement level.

The photo below shows the new cement being laid to even out any cracks and holes they found.  Has been quite the job not being able to use the front steps and so the mailman and deliveries have all had to find other ways to reach us!  It's been very tempting to go put a handprint in the wet cement!!

                              

The patio area is also being re-tiled so the step tiles have been taken off on Tuesday and the patio area was removed today.

The guys who've been working on it this week are heading to another job tomorrow so we have a new chap for the rest of the week.  They expect the steps to be done by the end of Thursday, weather permitting of course!  Will add more photos as work progresses.

What do you think of the work done so far?  Leave us a comment.

EALT

Spring is Coming

and just to prove it we have planted some lovely flowers in our boxes by the front stairs.  I certainly hope the cold spells don't come back and freeze our little lovelies.  The weather has been very good this past week so our Aberfeldy guests have had a ball.  They leave us tomorrow and it's over a month before their bus heads our way again.  
Our new tiling for the front steps and patio starts on Monday morning; fingers crossed the weather holds out.  We're also doing some reorganising of storage spaces so that the things we need can be found in the right places.  It's amazing the things that "disappear" in this building.  Stock taking is another project for next week too.  
Always lots to do in a place like this.  If you like our posts and photos then please let us know by leaving a comment.  Especially if you've been a guest with us recently or are coming to visit soon.

Thanks for reading.
EALT

More Work

We will be starting our next project next week.  This past winter was very very cold and consequently the tiles on the front steps have started to come loose.  Granted they have been down for over 10 years but until this winter they have fared very well.  So our plan is to re-tile the whole front steps and the patio area too.  You can see on the banner photo at the top what it currently looks like.  We'll add some more photos as the work begins and progress is made.

We've had some lovely comments from our Magicians and our current Aberfeldy Motors clients about the bar and hall area.  Jerry (the coach driver) says it "looks like the hall has been made wider" which isn't the case but the paint and new flooring does make it seem bigger.  Also one guest mentioned that the bar looks bigger and brighter with the raised area now gone.  Everyone is loving it so far and we hope you will soon pay us a visit to check it out for yourself.

Please leave us a comment below with your thoughts or ideas.
EALT