Who wants a drink at the LAN?

[TeaLeaf]

The Hotel
We have a fantastic time at the Oliver Cromwell and we're very lucky to have found such a well-appointed, comfortable and cheap home for dMw's LAN parties.  The hotel is just about the perfect size for us, large enough to accommodate us all, but not so large that we get lost in it and become 'unimportant' to the staff and hotel management - and they pretty much let us take over the hotel for 3 days twice each year!

The Bottom Line:  
It's recession time and everyone is watching their cashflow and the Oliver Cromwell is no exception; it's been a tough year for everyone.  In this respect we have had an email from the Oliver Cromwell and the Finance Director there has asked us to not bring our own drink onto the premises.  In my opinion this is a fair request - we used to have only a couple of people with a couple of cans in their bag with the rest using the bar, but more recently we have seen some people bring entire crates of beer into the LAN room and this really should stop.

The Deal
We have a cracking deal with the Oliver Cromwell at the moment in terms of the room prices we get (a very substantial discount to normal price) and the fact that they do not charge us the Ã,£800 or so that renting the Cromwell Suite for three days would usually cost anyone else.  This means that we can keep the price of the LAN exceptionally low to save YOU money.

The OC's Bar
Very unusually, the OC's bar is a Free House and thus has a fantastic range of beers, lagers, ciders, perries and spirits.  The prices they charge are also great and as far as I recall far lower than I would normally expect to find in a hotel and much akin to pub prices.  

The Risk
It would be awful if by bringing our own supplies of alchohol onto the premises we did anything to jeapordise our current arrangements with the Oliver Cromwell and we'd encourage members to think about this.  The hotel covers its costs by us renting us their rooms, providing us with drinks from their bar & food from their restaurant.  If they start losing money or the turnover from us is not high enough then they might need to start charging us for the room and that cost goes directly onto the fee we charge YOU for the LAN.

Whisky Tasting - Friday Night
We have a special exemption for the whisky tasting on Friday night (after all, the Manager, Rob, even donated a bottle of whisky to us for a previous tasting) so this will continue, but I am not sure we need any more whisky than has already been pledged and don't want to end up with more bottles of whisky on our table than the OC has on its own spirit shelves.

We're not trying to spoil the fun, but let's respect the fact that like many thousands of businesses in the UK at the moment,the Oliver Cromwell is trying to stay in business through this recession and I for one would rather like them to still be there for our future LANs.  It's a nice fit at the moment for both dMw and the OC, so let's try to keep it that way and not abuse our host's hospitality!

Thank you.

[delanvital]

If we don't support Cromwell, the LAN prices will just go up for us all.

/Annoying moan on

*** am I doing, not coming to this LAN... snif... whisky ffs...

/Annoying moan off

[Gone_Away]

... and besides.. The Beer there is tops!

[Penfold]

Aye it's a no-brainer really.

If they got hacked off and started charging us their normal prices then room rates would raise between 50% and 100% (that's one large discount we get) and everyone's LAN fees would be increased by Ã,£25 to cover the room hire.

So if you're in a (nice) double room then you'll be paying an extra Ã,£125 for the weekend (or an extra Ã,£75 for a standard double / twin room) :blink:

Besides, who can name one half-decent licensed venue which allows people to bring their own drinks on-site (you'd be charged corkage at the very least!).

Simples.

[Lameduck]

I've been looking for an excuse to open the 2nd Glenlivet - so by the time I get to the LAN it will be a half bottle. Least I could do
They're all nice folk at the OC and we wouldn't like to upset 'em.

[Penfold]

I've been looking for an excuse to open the 2nd Glenlivet - so by the time I get to the LAN it will be a half bottle. Least I could do
They're all nice folk at the OC and we wouldn't like to upset 'em.

Copied this to the Whisky Tasting - who's bringing what thread here

[big-paddy]

Would it be possible to have an official Cider tasting afternoon? The bar has a good range of ciders too and any contributions really would be appreciated.

Is this whiskey thing class raising its ugly head? Dewey would never live down a whiskey tasting whereas a ciderthon would give him some real cred down the estate.

[Lameduck]

Is this whiskey thing class raising its ugly head? .

Yus Paddy, its the drinking class :yahoo: