Steve and Chas have worked hard to find a new venue and negotiated to get the best possible prices for the 2027 Reunion. We are pleased to say they have been successful in doing so and the details of the 2027 reunion are below

 

THE VENUE

 

A few weeks ago, Steve and Chas travelled to Sheffield to meet with the events team at The Royal Victoria Hotel, Sheffield. The hotel is part of the Crowne Plaza Hotel Group (IHG) and is a much nicer hotel than the Derby venue we have been used to.

 

The events team are enthusiastic, and the lead, Jessica, has worked at the hotel for 13 years and she definitely knows her stuff. She was making suggestions to improve our event as we were discussing it.

 

We have been offered the hotel ballroom as our dinner venue for Saturday evening and it will easily seat all of those who attend in greater space and comfort than at the Mickleover.

 

The ballroom has a dedicated bar which will be open throughout the evening and until 1am. After that, the main hotel bar will be available as long as people want it.

 

Sheffield is about as central in the UK as we can get and is about 40 minutes north east of Derby with excellent access by road and rail. The hotel is a 10 - 15 minute walk from the city centre but has the facilities and the comfort to ensure that people are more likely to stay to socialise in the hotel.

 

The hotel website can be viewed at the following web address.   HOTEL WEBSITE.

 

THE DATES

 

We initially enquired about the event taking place in April, however, the prices were much higher and we were able to get a much better price by moving the date a few weeks left. We have therefore selected the weekend of Friday 19th to Sunday 21st March 2027.

 

THE COSTS

 

It is inevitable that, as time passes and standards of the hotel we have chosen are much higher, there will be an increase in costs. However, by moving the dates slightly we have done our best to minimise those increases and, to help people budget for their attendance, we will be offering monthly payment plans over 6, 9 and 12 months to help people spread the cost. We offered a 10 month payment plan for the 2025 reunion and it was very well received. Several people told us that it made the difference between them being able to attend or missing the reunion. It must also be remembered that the prices we would have paid to hold the event at the Derby venue would also have been increased over the 2025 prices.

 

Steve has now examined the documents from our arrangements with the previous hotel and has been able to determine what they were going to charge us for the 2027 reunion. Below is an updated table showing the available options, the costs we paid at the last reunion, the costs we would have paid had we stayed at Derby in 2027, and the cost of attending the reunion at Sheffield. Steve and Chas hope this helps you see how hard we have worked to keep the prices as low as we possibly can. Even  as we speak, Steve is still speaking with the hotel to see where we are able to cut the costs, even a little, to help people attend. We are looking at, for instance, having the normal overnight parking fee waived.

 

All packages include bed and breakfast and include the reunion dinner (including 1/2 bottle of wine and toasting spirit) on Saturday evening.

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        PACKAGE                                2025 DERBY COST             2027 DERBY COST           2027 SHEFFIELD COST               COMMENTS

 

Sat only - 1 person                               £124.00                             £145.00£                              £158.60                      +£13.60 per person per night. 

 

Sat only - 2 persons                             £186.00                             £200.00                                £215.85                      +£7.90 per person per night. 

 

Fri & Sat - 1 person                             £205.00                              £248.00                                £270.00                      +£12.00 per person per night

 

Fri & Sat - 2 person                             £288.00                              £299.00                                £336.50                      +£9.38 per person per night. 

 

Sunday night if reqd - 1 person          £82.00                                £86.00                                  £91.15                         +£5.15 per person per night 

 

Sunday night if reqd - 2 persons        £102.00                              £105.00                                £99.00                          -£3.00 per person per night

 

Meal Only - per person                       £42.00                                £47.00                                  £47.21                          +£0.21 per person. 

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PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COSTS INCLUDE A 2.2% TRANSACTION FEE +20P WHICH IS THE CHARGE LEVIED

BY OUR 3RD PARTY PAYMENT PROVIDER WHICH WILL EXPLAIN THE RATHER UNEVEN FIGURES

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WE WOULD LIKE TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THE FINANCIAL BEFITS OF SHARING WITH YOUR OPPO. FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU CAME FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT IN A SINGLE OCCUPANCY ROOM IT WOULD COST YOU £270.00. IF HOWEVER YOU SHARED A ROOM WITH SOMEONE YOU CAN PUT UP WITH FOR JUST 2 NIGHTS, IT WILL COST EACH OF YOU £118.25. I LEAVE THAT WITH YOU. 

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​​​​​​​It should be remembered that the hotel itself is of a better standard with excellent bedrooms, good facilities, ample parking and easy access routes by road and public transport.

 

• The hotel has told us that, during the event, they should be able to offer a number of guest beers and ales available which will be sold at a discount.

 

• As we have been able to negotiate early we can take more time to plan and this will give us the option of offering monthly payment plans over 6, 9 or 12 months to allow people to spread the cost of the reunion. The monthly costs per package are laid out below showing payments over 6, 9 and 12 months. All packages include the reunion dinner on Saturday evening, which in turn includes1/2 bottle wine and toasting spirit. (Please note, total price includes a 2.2%fee + a 20p per monthly payment transaction fee charged by our 3rd party payment provider. This is considerably less than Paypal who would charge in excess of 3% and a monthly transaction fee of more than 40p). 

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        PACKAGE                                       TOTAL COST                      6 MONTHS                       9 MONTHS                     12 MONTHS

   Saturday only single                                   £158.60                              £26.64                              £17.82                              £13.42

   Saturday only double                                 £215.85                               £36.18                              £24.18                              £18.19

Friday & Saturday single                              £270.00                               £45.20                              £30.20                              £22.70 

Friday & Saturday double                             £336.50                               £56.30                              £37.58                              £28.30  

Saturday & Sunday single                            £249.50                               £41.58                              £27.72                              £20.79

Saturday & Sunday double                           £317.10                               £52.85                              £35.23                              £26.42

Friday, Saturday & Sunday single                £361.00                               £60.36                              £41.30                             £30.30

Friday, Saturday & Sunday double               £428.50                               £71.62                              £47.81                              £35.91

                  

• Finally, there is a golf course (Hillsborough Golf Club) within easy distance of the hotel for those who like to spoil a good walk by battering a ball with a stick!

 

As stated earlier, Steve is still, as you would expect of Steve, trying his very best to strike further deals and reduce costs wherever possible. For instance, as is normal these days the hotel charge for overnight parking at £6.00 per night. This will be waived for our reunion attendees.

 

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have and would welcome comments. Questions and comments can be submitted via the contact form on the Contact Page Please do look at the hotel website to ensure you have seen the improved accommodation.

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Some images of the new venue are shown in the gallery below, more photos are available on the hotel website (link above).

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