February Newsletter

Bath Flooded? No!

We’re all settling into the New Year of 2014 here at Villa Magdala, although we have been strongly disliking this awful stormy weather we’ve been having of late and we can only hope that it means for a long beautiful warm summer in Bath for our guests to enjoy. We’re thankful to say that despite this weather that Bath has remained flood-free and we’d like to take this opportunity to address anyone who has booked to stay with us that all is fine, assuring that your travel connections are all well!

New Year New Website

We’re incredibly excited to announce that our current website is getting a complete revamp! Our new website will be launched at the end of February. It will be responsive to mobiles and iPads, be full of beautiful new photography and most importantly full of information on things to do in this wonderful city of Bath. Please let us know what you think via our socials – Facebook and Twitter, we’re looking for some expert feedback from our wonderful fans and followers!

Things to do in March and April

For something a bit different, why not try a Hawk Walk? Currently the best attraction near Bath on Trip Advisor at the moment, Hawk Walks are run by the wonderful West of England Falconry a short drive out of Bath into Wiltshire. The Hawk Walks start at 10am, 12 Noon and 2pm Monday to Saturday and teach you everything from flying a hawk to their behaviour habits- it really is something special to experience.

If you’re up for a laugh, then the Bath Comedy Festival running from 28th March to the 4th April could be just for you! Always a popular event, it’s advisory that you book tickets in advance to see the big acts! We’d recommend also popping along to The Porter on the 27th March for some pre festival stand up- at just £5 a ticket and in such a lovely venue, it seems laughable not to!

Billy News

Billy has been of on vacation for a few weeks during January- sorry to those who came to stay and missed his appearance! He was off exploring the New Forest enjoying long muddy walks and beautiful scenery.

The Bath Half Marathon takes place on the 2nd March and Billy has decided to not take part this year as he wants to give everyone else a fair chance at winning;) All our rooms are currently booked for the 1st of March but there are a couple free on the 2nd- please book now to avoid disappointment!

Thank you to everyone who’s given us lovely comments and reviews on Trip Advisor, Twitter and Facebook recently, it’s truly wonderful to hear such lovely feedback and it truly spreads the word for us and keeps our B&B going; please do keep recommending us to all your friends and family!

The Villa Magdala Team x

December Newsletter

To start off our December Newsletter we think it’s fitting to finally reveal Billy’s Christmas Outfit for 2013… After a lengthy decision making process, Billy has opted for reindeer antlers, elf ears and a fluffy Santa Scarf. Over on the Villa Magdala Facebook page we had some fun coming up with some captions, please feel free to add your own over the next few weeks of Christmas. The best we’ve had so far is ‘Is he in charge of Elf and Safety?!’.

New Year’s Eve

Soon we’ll be heading into a whole New Year at Villa Magdala and we’re looking forward to sharing you with more monthly news from the B&B. We still have rooms available for New Year’s Eve if you fancy spending the day in Bath! There are a few events taking place on New Year’s Eve which we are only just a few minutes walking distance away from us which we think you would enjoy:

New Year’s Eve Ball at the Pump Room

For the romantics and groups…

“Join us at the Roman Baths to celebrate the arrival of 2014.

Black tie, Sparkling cocktail reception around the magical torch-lit Roman Baths, Superb five course dinner with half a bottle of wine, Light entertainment provided throughout dinner, The Pump Room – Kim Cypher Quartet, Reception Hall – Jeanne Marlow Duo, Fun casino and Champagne bar, After dinner entertainment, The Pump Room – Live band Dancin’ Easy and a disco, Reception Hall – Disco, 7.45pm arrival with carriages at 1.30am”

New Year’s Eve at Clayton’s Kitchen at The Porter

For the sophisticated foodies… “Enjoy a lavish menu at The Porter this New year’s Eve.” 

Circo Bar and Lounge Vintage New Year’s Eve 

For Cocktail lovers… “Come celebrate the year that was 2013 with cad about town and musical maverick Lord Antony B (Sunday Best Compare) and his Vintage Sound System playing all the hits and more besides from through the decades!”

Thinking about Valentines?

You may think it’s too early to start talking about the most romantic day of the year but as this year the day coincides with a weekend, it’s bound to get booked up rather quickly! The team at Villa Magdala have kindly put together a list of the ‘Top three places for a romantic dinner in Bath‘ and here they are…

Circus Restaurant

“This family run restaurant has consistently great food and great service, and it’s fabulously romantic. Candlelit dinner here is a must. ”

The Porter- Clayton’s Kitchen

New to the Bath scene, The Porter has been re-vamped into a place fit for relaxing, socialising and most importantly…eating. Dishes like their Cannon of Lamb are already becoming a favourite here at Villa Magdala.

Kilted Chef 

‘The Kilted Chef have a fantastic set lunch menu for 2 Courses £15.45 and  3 Courses £19.65, they also cater for people with Coeliac or Food intolerances extremely well’

We’ll be offering our standard package of complimentary Bucks Fizz, Award Winning Cooked and Continental Breakfast, Independent Big Ben Discount Card (Getting you up to 10% off the majority of independent restaurants and attractions in Bath), Free Wifi and Free parking. Book here now for a special stay.

Thank you for such a wonderful year, to all we’ve spoken to via social feeds and all the lovely customers who have stayed at the B&B this year. We hope to see you again very soon,

The Villa Magdala Team x

November Newsletter- Have a very Bath Christmas

It’s been a wonderful past month here at Villa Magdala with all things foodie and wonderful happening throughout October due to the Great Bath Feast. We enjoyed serving our award winning breakfast as part of the Great Bath Breakfast, and if you didn’t catch any of the events this time year we would highly recommend going next year and teaming it up with a stay with us of course!

Christmas is only around the corner, and although people don’t usually like to talk about anything Christmassy until December 1st, we would love to just express how lovely Bath is during the run up to Christmas. Although Bath is a fantastic place for Christmas shopping it just has this magical air around the tiny cobbled streets, nooks and crannies of the streets and surrounding the stunning architecture.

The infamous Bath Christmas Market fills the main square with lights and gift offerings next to the Abbey which sits near the Fudge shop which will be handing out their handmade mulled wine late every thursday complimentary. The smells from the Pretzel, cheese and gingerbread house sellers just bring smiles to everyone’s faces. We still have a few rooms available over the christmas market period from Thursday 28th November – Sunday 15th December 2013. As it’s one of the most popular times to visit Bath we expect these will be filled very soon, so if you would like to visit do head over and book now.

Our Favourite Shopping spots this year would have to be Grasse, December 25th and Charlotte Brunswick.   Grasse on 3 Argyle St features very very special homeware pieces with all sorts to please anyone who loves that shabby chic style, we particularly love their rustic gorgeous candleabras and candles from Neom. December 25th offers a treasure trove of lovely christmas decorations in every colour, every size, every kind of glitter- you name it; If you need Christmas decorations and trinkets this is the place to get it! Charlotte Brunswick is a new addition to the Bath shopping scene and in our opinion, a very welcome one because who doesn’t love chocolate? Great little independent chocolate shop for tasting and buying those essential handmade chocolate for your hampers and stockings this year.

If you’re sightseeing this winter, make sure you take the most comfortable tour in bath! Mad Max Tours have been running for over 20 years on their comfy mini buses around the sights of stonehenge, Lacock Village (Harry Potter film sights), Castle Combe and Avebury- during the winter these villages really come to life with christmas decorations and the pub lunch is always the most coziest at this time of year! Mad Max Tours are also giving you a chance to reimburse a price of your ticket this winter too- if you tweet in a creative photo on the tour to @MadMaxTours #MadMaxTourPhoto, great fun!

Looking for a cosy place to catch a bite to eat before the theatre or after browsing the Christmas Market? We’d recommend going for a drink at the Porter Bar and Lounge on George Street then walking up to the Marlborough Tavern , who after many staff christmas meals here, never fail to lack the christmas spirit!

Last but not least make sure you enter our Facebook Competition for a chance to win a free two night stay at the B&B, complete with our usual additions- Breakfast, Bucks Fizz and Free Parking! Enter here now.

The Villa Magdala Team xx

August/September Newsletter

August at our Bath B&B was a crazy busy month! Full of people on holidays, celebrating with their kids, getting married and couple spending romantic weekends away together. Summer in Bath is truly a wonderful time and we were lucky to get some fantastic sun for at least a good few weeks; our lovely new terrace and sun chairs have been well and truly put to good use- especially on those sunny mornings at breakfast time.

Now the autumn weather is starting to show and soon in the colours of the leaves, we find ourselves getting out our Villa Magdala umbrellas for journeys around town. We actually cannot wait for this time of year to start. Bath has so much to offer in the autumn and winter months and with the Great Bath Feast starting in October there has never been a greater time to visit if you are a lover of cosy, seasonal food and events associated. We have a good few rooms available throughout October currently, why not pick an event to go to and stay the night? We’ll be offering our award winning breakfast as part of the ‘Great Bath Breakfast.’

Villa Magdala has been lucky to get some attention from the Press lately- we were so happy to be including in a round up of places to stay and things to do in Bath in the Sunday Times with praise such as ‘Sets the Bar High for B&B’s’ , we were truly delighted.

Crumbs Magazine came round to Villa Magdala to take some food photos and interview us for a ‘House Call’ piece in their magazine! Billy enjoyed also being in the spotlight once again and is dreaming of what he will do when he becomes even more rich and famous…

When we know more details on when it will be published we will shout them out on our Facebook and Twitter pages- make sure you follow/like us!

Christmas, dare we say it, is slowly creeping towards us. Although you may not be thinking about it just yet- our rooms are booking up incredibly fast for the infamous Bath Christmas Market starting on the 28th November -15th December 2013. It is undoubtably one of the most special times to visit and we’ll always give our recommendations on what stalls, food spots to go to. You can check our online availability for rooms during this period here.

Hope to see you very soon

The Villa Magdala Team!

June/July Newsletter

Summer is finally here!

And my gosh did we wait for it! These past two weeks have been simply gorgeous in Bath, as soon as the sun comes out the city really comes to life. Lots of smiles all around, people enjoying ice creams and picnic-ing along the rivers or in the parks; or if you’re feeling romantic, a few couples i have seen sharing a bottle or two of Prosecco. Our guests over the past weeks have been so lucky and we’ve even been enjoying serving breakfasts and cold complimentary Bucks Fizz’s outside in the morning sun – a rarity in England it has to be said- on our new terrace outside.

 

Our New Mini Orchard!

If you’ve been following our Facebook or Twitter pages you’d have heard that we have planted our very own orchard at Villa Magdala as well as a rhubarb planter, our chef Will is extremely keen to get as much fresh produce as we can on the menu and it will be another welcome place for guests to enjoy when they come to stay with us. Our gardening team have been watering like mad over this heatwave but we’re sure the effort will be more than worth it!

Billy News

Our dog Billy has been up to all sorts these past few months but first of all he would love to congratulate Andy Murray on his great victory at Wimbledon this year. He was hoping next year that he may compete himself next year (we’ll be humouring him until then!:)

In order to keep himself cool over the past few weeks Billy has mostly been in the shade in the garden and getting into every spot of water he can! As he is a keen, regular sailor this is quite easy thankfully! Here he is modelling his lifejacket … Dog Baywatch anyone?

 

Things to do and offers

If you’re staying with us over the next month we have some exclusive discounted rates for exhibitions and shows in Bath! Please contact us directly for more details on these on 01225 466329.

We have a good amount of free tickets for the Holburne Museum’s Rembrandt and his Contemporaries: Paintings from the Royal Collection Exhibition running up to the 29th September. Tickets are subject to availability so ensure you contact us before you stay as soon as possible for your best chance to see this great exhibition for free!

We will be giving out exclusive rates for the Bath Mozartfest shows in November which book up very fast, please phone us and register your interest when you book a room with us to take advantage of this!

One of the places we would love to give a quick shout out to is Cafe Lucca, it really is a lovely, special place to go and grab a coffee and a sweet treat to eat. We absolutely love the florentines! Perfect to treat yourself after the walk up the hill!

Facebook and Twitter

If you haven’t already, do have a peek at our Facebook and Twitter pages as we do like to interact daily with our followers and we love to offer advice on where to go in Bath and inform you of latest last minute reduced room rates. We’ll also be running a few competitions on Facebook soon in the run up to the Great Bath Feast and ..dare we say.. Christmas, so always worth giving us a like or follow if you’d like to win yourself a free holiday!