Summary
A day at the racing or the rugby earns its keep on the day. A weekend earns its keep for the month after. The Sunday lunch in a country hotel and the Monday return to work in a different shape are the difference between a corporate day out and a corporate trip.
Below: eight two-day pairings ICE books, each anchored to a major sporting day and a confirmed hotel or restaurant for the Saturday night and the Sunday lunch.
Cheltenham Festival + the Cotswolds
Cheltenham Festival in mid-March is the four-day jumps racing meeting. Take a Wednesday or Friday for the racing, stay at Ellenborough Park on the Friday and Saturday night, drive back through the Cotswold villages on the Sunday. Ellenborough Park is the spa hotel a mile from the racecourse; the Sunday breakfast is the underrated bit.
Royal Ascot + the Waterside Inn
Royal Ascot in mid-June. The Waterside Inn in Bray is twenty minutes from the racecourse and is one of the few three-Michelin restaurants in the country that still feels comfortable for a corporate Saturday dinner. Roux family kitchen, riverside dining room, the Thames at the bottom of the garden. Book the Saturday after Ladies' Day; the table is the centrepiece of the weekend.
Wimbledon + central London
Wimbledon's middle Saturday of the championship pairs naturally with a stay at Hilton London Kensington for the walk-in-Wimbledon-friendly side, or at the Ritz London for the formal-evening version. Dinner at HIDE Restaurant on the Saturday night is the canonical close to a Wimbledon Saturday; the Ritz Restaurant is the more formal alternative.
British Grand Prix + the Cotswolds
Silverstone's Sunday is at the limit of a single-day trip; the Friday-Sunday version with a Cotswold stay turns the weekend into the trip. Ellenborough Park works on this side of the country too; the Daylesford estate is the food-led version. Drive in on the Friday evening; race Sunday; Cotswold lunch and the slow road home Monday.
Henley Royal Regatta + Le Manoir
Henley's five days in early July pair with Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Great Milton, twenty minutes from the regatta. Two-Michelin Raymond Blanc kitchen, the gardens, the long Sunday lunch. Stay Friday and Saturday at the hotel; regatta on the Friday and Saturday afternoons; Sunday lunch back at Le Manoir before the drive home.
Goodwood Revival
The Goodwood Revival in mid-September is the country-house version of the motoring weekend. Period dress, vintage cars, the Sussex Downs. The Revival ticket includes access through the estate gates. The Friday is the easier crowd day; the Sunday is the marquee.
The Open + the host course's nearest hotel
The Open Championship rotates around UK courses; the host venue is announced years ahead. ICE pulls a stocked hotel near the year's course at the time of booking. Recent rotations have put the championship at St Andrews, Royal St George's, Royal Liverpool, Royal Birkdale and Royal Troon. The pairing is venue-specific; the principle is the same: stay at a hotel close enough to walk in for the Saturday and Sunday rounds.
King George Racing Weekend + Berkshire Saturday roast
Ascot's last Saturday of July. The pairing is simpler than the bigger meetings: stay at one of the Berkshire hotels close to the course on the Friday and Saturday, the King George on the Saturday afternoon, a Berkshire Sunday roast at one of the village pubs (the Royal Oak Paley Street, the Hinds Head in Bray) before the drive home.
How to book a two-day weekend properly
- Two days minimumA day-trip to any of these has been compressed too far. The Sunday is the trip.
- Stay nearbyPre-book the hotel as part of the package. Hospitality bookings the Saturday before find no rooms.
- Book the Sunday lunch firstThe destination restaurants book up before the hospitality slots. Lock the Sunday before you lock the Saturday.
- Pre-book parking and transfersMost pairings include a parking allocation; some don't. Check before the day.
- Plan for two dress codesRoyal Ascot dress code on the Saturday, country-hotel-relaxed on the Sunday. Pack both.
“The Sunday is the part of the weekend nobody plans and everybody remembers. The fix is to plan it harder than the Saturday.”
Cameron Cleaver
Senior Account Manager
Senior Account Manager at Imperial Corporate Events, building long-term client relationships across the UK sporting calendar.
