When you hear the word Goodwood, you think of the world famous Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival and Glorious Goodwood but we know that Goodwood is much more than this with 11 key areas within the Estate that are all perfect for us event professionals!
The Goodwood Estate consists of over 12,000 acres within the beautiful countryside which dates back to 1570 and is home to the Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon, their family have lived within the Estate for over 300 years!
Our group all stayed in Goodwood Hotel which has just over 90 bedrooms, they are beautifully presented with ample room for delegates to work within their bedrooms if they wish to do so. Within the hotel there is also a health club and a spa.
After we checked-in, we enjoyed some light refreshments in one of the cosy lounges within the hotel. After catching up with each other, we were ready to spill the beans to our group of what they would be up to over the next 24 hours – they had been bugging us all week trying to find out as they were so excited!!
First up….we got to try out the latest addition to the various team building options at Goodwood….the off road experience in the classic Land Rover!!! The Estate has a fleet of beautiful Land Rovers that your delegates can navigate Goodwood in and that is what we did!!!! We were divided into groups of 3 – 4 people between each Land Rover – up to 5 Land Rovers can be used at a time. The beauty of Goodwood is that your group could be experiencing a number of activities at the same time and then they can swap so they get to experience everything! Once we went through the safety briefing we were off, in each Land Rover you have an experienced dedicated driver, not only do they have experience of the Land Rover but they also have excellent knowledge of the Estate providing you with lots of fascinating facts as you explore Goodwood. It was everything we hoped it would be and more – a thrilling experience off the beaten track which included driving down super narrow and bumpy tracks, driving to the highest point within the Estate to take in the incredible views and testing our driving skills on a obstacle course! Everyone gets a chance to drive throughout the experience but for those who don’t wish to do so can still take part by being a passenger. You can also add on hamper refreshments to enjoy in the woods, half way through the experience. It was so much fun and is a must do when at Goodwood.
After our thrill seeking afternoon, we had worked up an appetite so we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before we headed to Goodwood House in our very own classic bus! It was a great way to be transported from the hotel to the house and really is a great idea for your own events at the venue. The House is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Richmond and Gordon – it has all the glamour of a English country house! The House has an amazing collection of art work and all the State Apartments have been restored reflecting how they would have originally been. The House provides ample opportunities for conferences, board room meetings, private dining and gala receptions – read all about the capacities here. After a tour of the House all whilst enjoying delicious canapes and sipping on English sparkling wine, we were escorted into the Egyptian Room which was set up beautifully for our private dining experience. It really was an amazing evening with the perfect setting and fabulous food.
The following morning, some of us enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in our beautiful rooms whilst some of the group enjoyed breakfast in the main restaurant space within the hotel. After fuelling up, we were ready to explore what else Goodwood has to offer…..we started with a tour of the meeting and conference spaces within the hotel itself, which can accommodate conferences within a dedicated events space which includes access to a great outdoor terrace. Full information on the meeting spaces within the hotel can be found here. We also explored Hound Lodge which is a private residence within the Estate, it is stunning and would work really well for senior c-suite clients requiring privacy but also wanting to explore the rest of the Estate. Opposite Hound Lodge is the Kennels which also offers event spaces for private dining, board meetings etc, the views from the Kennels looking down to Goodwood House are amazing – the perfect setting for a drinks reception on the terrace!
We were then ready for some more thrill seeking activities so we jumped in the cars and checked out the motor circuit which provides ample opportunities for team building experiences as well as offering some smaller meeting spaces. As well as the motor circuit, there is a beautiful racecourse which is the perfect setting for Glorious Goodwood and the many other hospitality events they hold at the racecourse throughout the year. If this wasn’t enough thrill seeking for you, the Estate has an aerodrome where you can fly planes or incorporate grapefruit bombing from the planes onto targets!! There are so many experiences at Goodwood for your delegates and next up up for us was to try our hand at clay pigeon shooting which was so much fun and it got very competitive!
Our final stop for the FAM trip was for a lunch at Farmer, Butcher, Chef which is located within the hotel. The menu consists of local produce from one of the only self-sustaining organic farms in Europe. The food was wonderful and we dined in the private section of the restaurant which would accommodate a group up to 50.
We had such an amazing time at our FAM trip at Goodwood Estate. The versatility of all the different spaces for meetings and events combined with so many different options for activities would make for an amazing event that your delegates would not forget for all the right reasons. Thank you so much to Goodwood Estate for your amazing hospitality, for further information contact Russell Cox and let him know that we sent you!
