The Four Nations Chess League does not accept responsibility for the content of other websites, to which this site links.

 

This website includes information on participants in the Four Nations Chess League in respect of name, grade, title, nationality and sex (team registration lists), as well as telephone number(s), email address(es) and postal address(es) in certain circumstances (team captains/managers, management board members, arbiters etc).

 

Participants wishing this information not to be included on the website should contact the webmaster to have it removed, but should be aware that in this event they will not be permitted to play in the league.

 
 

 

     
 

 

 

   

De Vere Venues, Harben House,

Tickford Street,

Newport Pagnell,

Buckinghamshire, MK16 9EY

Tel: 01908 215602

Fax: 01908 215 610

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

 

Wendi Mayer on 01608 215602 (weekdays)

See larger map

Alternatively call reception on 01908 215600 (weekends).

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De Vere Venues, Latimer Place

Latimer Place, Latimer, Chesham,

Buckinghamshire, HP5 1UG

Telephone: 0844 980 2312

Fax: 01494 762 473

latimer@deverevenues.co.uk

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Directions click here

 

See larger map

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

Between 8.00am-6.00pm call 01494 545553

latimerreservations@deverevenues.co.uk 

After 6.00pm call 0844 9802312 to be put through to central reservations.

 

 

De Vere Venues, Staverton Park,

Daventry Road, Staverton,

Daventry, Northamptonshire, NN11 6JT

Tel: 0844 980 2317
Fax: 01327 311 428

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Directions click here

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

See larger map

Annette Lee  or Katie Hancox
Tel: 0844 980 2317, then press '2' and '2' again to get through to the Reservations Department

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De Vere Venues, Sunningdale

Sunningdale Park, Larch Avenue,

Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 0QE

Tel: 0844 980 2318

Fax: 01344 634 233

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Directions click here

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

See larger map

Nicki Rapley or Jo Egelton  Tel: 01344 634395
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De Vere Venues, Wokefield Park

Wokefield Park, Goodboys Lane,

Mortimer , Reading, Berkshire, RG7 3AH

Tel: 0844 980 2322

Fax: 0118 933 4031

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

Caroline Mullins  Tel: 01189 334076

 

See larger map

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De Vere Venues, Wychwood Park

Wychwood Park, Weston,

Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 5GP

Tel: 0844 980 2323

Fax: 01270 829 201

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

Claire Pittard  Tel: 01270 829205

 

See larger map

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Barcelo Hotel, Daventry

Sedgemoor Way, NN11 0SG.

Tel: 01327 307000

Fax: 01327 706313

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Email: Daventry reservations

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

 

Please quote CHESS when making your booking

See larger map

0870 161 0797 (Lines open Mon - Fri 9am - 9pm, Saturday - Sunday 10am - 6pm)

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Barcelo Hotel, Hinckley Island

Watling Street (A5),

Hinckley, Leicestershire,

LE10 3JA

Tel: 01455 631122

Fax: 01455 898579

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Directions click here

 

See larger map

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

Tel: 01455 898560 (direct line)

Tel: 0870 161 0797 (Lines open Mon - Fri 9am - 9pm, Saturday - Sunday 10am - 6pm)

Please quote CHESS when making your booking

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Barcelo Hotel, Majestic Hotel Harrogate

Springfield Avenue, off Ripon Road Harrogate,

North Yorkshire HG1 2HU

Tel: 01423 700 300

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Directions click here

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

 

Carly Marchant on 01423 700 300 and take option 2

See larger map

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Barcelo Hotel, Redworth Hall

Redworth, County Durham, DL5 6NL

Tel: (0)1388 770 600

Fax: (0)1388 770 654

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Directions click here

 

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

 

Claire Lumley on 01388 770614

See larger map

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Park Inn

Express Park, Manvers Way

Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham S63 7EQ

Tel: +44 01709 760666

Fax: +44 01709 760667

 

 

Room Rates | Website

 

Directions click here

Contact details (for reservations etc.)

 

Angela Holland on 01709 760666

Email: Angela Holland

See larger map

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BEDROOM RATES: 2011/12 & 2012/13 SEASONS.

 

Barcelo:

 

2011/2012

 

Single BB: £48.00

Single DBB: £63.00

Double BB: £61.00

Double DBB: £91.00

Triple BB: £74.00 *

Triple DBB: £119.00 *

Quad BB: £87.00 *

Quad DBB: £147.00 *

 

* Hinckley Island only - based on extra beds if necessary (sofa beds or Z beds) in the room.

 

JNCL: Please note that all JNCL rates are £2.00 per room (not per person) higher than the standard 4NCL rates.

 

2012/2013

 

Single BB: £50.00

Single DBB: £65.00

Double BB: £63.00

Double DBB: £93.00

Triple BB: £76.00 *

Triple DBB: £121.00 *

Quad BB: £89.00 *

Quad DBB: £149.00 *

 

* Hinckley Island only - based on extra beds if necessary (sofa beds or Z beds) in the room.

 

De Vere:

 

Calendar 2011

Single BB: £46.00 Double BB: £62.00

 

Calendar 2012

Single BB: £48.00 Double BB: £62.00

 

Calendar 2013

Single BB: £49.00 Double BB: £65.00

 

Park Inn:

 

Calendar 2012/2013

Single BB: £50.00

Single DBB: £62.00

Double BB: £64.00

Double DBB: £76.00

 

 

NOTES:

Barcelo Hotels have set up a bedroom booking facility for the 4NCL on their website which, as well as allowing captains/players to book online rather than by telephone, also compares the agreed 4NCL room rates with the currently best available online rate. This will allow captains/players to select the lower of the two rates (although we are assured by Barcelo that in the vast majority of cases the 4NCL rate will be lower than the best available online rate!).


To use this facility, please follow the instructions below:

  1. Type in www.barcelo-hotels.co.uk

  2. On the home page use the section titled BOOK A HOTEL

  3. Select hotel and arrival date, number of rooms etc

  4. In the box for the Promotional Code type in CHESS

  5. Then click on CHECK AVAILABILITY

This will then give access to the 4NCL rates. Follow the on-screen instructions for making bedroom bookings. Please note that it is important to use the Promotional Code for two reasons: (a) The 4NCL rate will not be displayed without the code (b) If the code is not used bedroom bookings cannot be tracked back to 4NCL-related bookings, meaning that the 4NCL will not receive the agreed commission on room bookings.
 


FURTHER GUIDANCE:

  1. All the hotels will expect to take credit card details at the time rooms are booked, in line with practice at most if not all hotels in the UK.
     

  2. Captains/managers/players booking rooms should mention the 4NCL National Chess League to the hotels' reservations staff. This will ensure that the get the agreed rates, and will also allow the hotels to keep a record of rooms booked overall, which is important because the commission the league receives from the hotels is calculated on the basis of rooms booked - the more rooms are booked, the more commission the league receives to e.g. increase prize money and keep entry fee increases down.
     

  3. At the Barcelo hotels, to make your room reservation please call 0870 161 0797 (lines open Mon - Fri 9am - 9pm, Saturday - Sunday 10am - 6pm). Please quote CHESS when making your booking. You can pay by Access/MasterCard, Visa, Switch and all major credit cards. On receipt of your booking you will be sent a confirmation showing your reservation details and amount payable at the host hotel. All reservations must be made through the central reservations office; please do not try and make a booking direct to the hotel.

    Please note that the 4NCL block booking will be released four weeks before each weekend, so people would be advised to book rooms before this deadline if they want to avoid taking pot luck with room availability thereafter.
     

  4. All the hotels will expect final lists of room occupants no later than seven days before the relevant weekend, failing which there is a risk that the rooms will be let go.
     

  5. We have evening buffet and mid-day packed lunch arrangements with many of the hotels/conference centres. In many cases, however, these need to be booked beforehand at the time rooms are booked to allow the hotels/conference centres to plan ahead. Players will not necessarily be able to turn up on the day and expect to avail themselves of the evening buffet or mid-day packed lunch arrangements. We therefore recommend that players check with the venues beforehand as to whether special arrangements are in place for evening buffet/mid-day packed lunch arrangements and, if so, whether pre-booking is necessary or not.

    At Barcelo venues the pre-booked dinner rate is £13.00 (see DBB rates above). Otherwise the rate is £15.00.
     

  6. The hotel websites all give details of how to get to the venues.
     

  7. None of the hotels allow food or drink to be brought in for personal consumption, and in practice take a very dim view if this happens. Such behaviour threatens the league's relationship with the hotels.
     

  8. BARCELO: Bedrooms which have been booked on an individual basis may be cancelled up to 2.00pm on the day before the weekend. Different arrangements apply for block bookings - see below.
     
    DE VERE: If the booking is cancelled within seven days of the day of arrival 100% cancellation charge will apply unless the accommodation can be resold. Different arrangements apply for block bookings - see below.

  9.  

  10. And finally, you’ll like this one, ... All players are expected to be ambassadors for chess and to behave in an appropriate manner in the hotels. Again, poor behaviour threatens the league's relationship with the hotels.

 

BLOCK BOOKING ARRANGEMENTS

 

As many of you will know, the issue of block-booking (block-overbooking) followed by late bedroom cancellations has been an issue for a number of seasons, and has also been commented on from time to time by our various venues. Matters came to a head at our last weekend at De Vere Staverton, when there were so many late cancellations that from a position of thinking that they had sold 200 bedrooms, the venue finished up with only 150 bedrooms sold. Some individual examples given were:
  1. One captain who was originally holding ten rooms released all but two of them two days before the weekend.
  2. One captain who was originally holding fourteen rooms released four of them three days before the event, with a further three no-shows at the weekend itself.
  3. One captain who was originally holding twenty rooms reduced this to seven rooms two weeks before the weekend.
This had three main consequences:
  1. Staverton lost at least £2,500 in bedroom bookings (not to mention lost food and beverage takings) because the cancellations happened so late in the day that they were unable to resell the rooms either to other chessplayers or to higher margin non-chess business.
  2. The 4NCL lost at least £250 bedroom commission, receipt of which is as you will know important in keeping entry fees down.
  3. Players who would otherwise have stayed at the venue were forced to find accommodation elsewhere given that so many cancellations happened so late in the day.
As a result, De Vere and Barcelo intend to change bedroom booking procedures for the future as follows: 
  1. When captains call or email venues with their room requests, they will be expected to provide a telephone number, email address and credit card details. Fourteen days before the weekend in question the number of rooms being held at that point will be treated as the definitive booking for billing purposes (fourteen days has been chosen as a compromise between giving the captains a fair chance of finalising their teams and the venues a fair chance of reselling the rooms in the event of cancellation). Any shortfall between the rooms held fourteen days out and the rooms paid for at the weekend itself will be charged to the credit card at or shortly after the weekend. 
  2. Captains can reduce or increase the number of rooms they require at any point before the fourteen day deadline, and of course can confirm the rooms at any time before the deadline. 
  3. Should a cancellation need to be made at short notice through illness, bereavement or similar circumstances venues will apply discretion when considering whether cancellation charges should apply (and I am always happy to be involved in any conversations where captains feel that a sensible outcome has not resulted).
  4. Captains who block book 10 rooms or more have the right to cancel one room without penalty so long as this is done by the Thursday before the weekend.
  5. Venues will endeavour to send out a reminder to block bookers in advance of the two week deadline that they need to finalise their room numbers, and Neville and/or I will try to do the same.
  6. The above arrangements will apply to bookings of more than four bedrooms.  
As regards the 4NCL's bedroom allocation at weekends, both De Vere and Barcelo have reconfirmed that even once any balance on the allocation has been released back to the general public, any 4NCL room bookings made after that date will still receive the discounted 4NCL room rates so long as there are still rooms available. 

 

Mike Truran

23rd May 2011
 

 

 

 

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