Accor recently invited some of their elite members to an event in Oxford, I am not sure why I was invited but have recently qualified for Platinium with a London address. From speaking to the guests here, it seems like these events might happen annually. There were just under 50 people, so maybe 20-25 people invited who could bring their +1.

On the Accor side, we met the GMs of both hotels and some Accor group VPs/directors (VP of Operations, Director of Limitless events and someone leading new hotel openings), so it was nice to be able to chat with some of them!

The events during the day were free, and there was a group rate offering a ~20% discount for the Mercure Oxford Hawkwell House (slightly outside of town, better hotel if you are driving) which we booked which was convenient as it is where the event started and ended.

The event was really well organised and went along these lines:

• 14:00 champagne reception at mercure hawkwell house (with finger food)
• 15:30 bus transfer to mercure oxford eastgate (=in town)
• 15:45 warm cider at the mercure before the guided tour
• 16:00 walking tour with, for some reason it was harry potter themed! Which seemed to be beyond the knowledge of most people (including myself)
• 17:00 snacks and cocktails at Mercure Oxford Eastgate showcasing local ingredients with some live cooking
• 18:00 bus transfer to Mercure hawkwell house for the evening
• Dinner and open bar, with live cooking stations and some great food actually! This was by far the best food I have ever had in a mercure

Regarding the stay at the hotel, it was really good, we were warmly welcomed and there were people from the event waiting at reception to escort us to the event.

Our room was upgraded and a welcome gift of 2 gin & tonics and some nuts was in the room + the traditional drink voucher (not much use given that there was an open bar just about all day!)

We had lunch in the restaurant on the next day as we were impressed by the food the previous evening and it was as good. We are actually planning on returning for a weekend trip, we enjoyed the hotel and the experience so much.

Some photos under the spoiler