2015 Forum trip to Heidelberg (Summer Breeze) booking info

[mike020150]

“Summer Breeze” booking information

The time has arrived to firm up your booking for participation in the 2015 XK8 Forum “Summer Breeze” Tour to Heidelberg in Germany and this update includes the information to allow you to make your own hotel reservations; as well as reminding you of the previously supplied information to make the appropriate ferry reservations. If anyone has any specific questions, please e-mail me at j.mann@fugro.com and I will try to get you an answer as quickly as possible:

Thursday, Jun.18.15 at the Novotel in Maastricht where the special Bed and Breakfast rate is Euro 97.50 per double room; Plus City Tax of Euro 4.53 per person per night; making an overnight B&B rate per couple of Euro 106.56. At this time the hotel has not placed a time limit on keeping the special rate open but I advise you not to delay too long. The booking code for our Members is:
Jaguar Club and the contact details are:
Website: http://www.novotel.com/Maastricht
Address: Sibemaweg 10 Ms Danielle Jongenburger, or
6227 AH Maastricht Ms Daisy Hanssen, on
Netherlands Tel: +31 43 6096822, or
e-mail: H0991-SB@accor.com

Please note that my advice is to telephone the hotel to make your reservation as opposed to contact by e-mail, through which you can receive the confirmation.

Friday, Jun.19.15 to Monday, Jun.22.15 at the Crowne Plaza in Heidelberg (3 nights) where the special rate(s) are:
• Standard Room Euro 169 per double room per night
• Club Room: Euro 249 per double room per night; see website for “extras” that are part of the Club Room package
• All room rates include:
o Parking (normally €22 per 24 hours)
o Complimentary use of the Business Centre
o 1 bottle of water per guest per day in the guest room
• Breakfast at Euro 24 per person per day. Note: I would advise against booking breakfast at this rate as there will be an alternative rate offered at time of check-in (typically €25 for a couple) or there are ample little cafes located immediately adjacent to the hotel where you can take breakfast at a more leisurely pace
• Please note that this special rate to XK8 Forum participants is only open until Mar.02.15, so please don’t delay. The booking code for our Members is:
JEC – 2015 and the contact details are:
Website: http://www.crowneplaza.com/Heidelberg ‎
Address: Kurfurstenanlage 1 10 Ms Alexandra Schonith, on
69115 Heidelberg Tel: +49 6221 917190, or
Germany Fax: +49 6221 21007, or
e-mail Heidelberg@hdbge.crowneplaza.com

Please note that my advice is to telephone the hotel to make your reservation as opposed to contact by e-mail, through which you can receive the confirmation.
Given the timing and nature of the trip, we plan to have a “farewell dinner” in the hotel on Sunday evening, Jun.21.15 to unwind, swap stories and chill-out before we all head off to our individual destinations. With many of you indicating that you are planning to travel further on the Continent, to other parts of Germany, Austria and even Italy I hope for a lively evening. The hotel wants to do their best for us and that means planning on their part and choice on our part. The hotel needs to fix things like numbers and menu a minimum of 4 weeks ahead of the dinner, so when you make your reservation at the Crowne Plaza, you will also be asked if you want to sign up for the Sunday dinner, which is a very reasonable Euro 28 for 3 courses – drinks will be extra on the night and paid on consumption. Mike and I are hopeful that we may even attract some of the Germany Region Members to be a part of the dinner, which would be excellent. In my covering e-mail with this note, I have asked you to provide me “recognition details”, so if cars are on the same ferry / crossing / road we can hook-up. In addition, any dietary requirements should be advised so that I can update the hotel in regards to the dinner. Please ensure you provide the requested information when you reply.

Information previously supplied:
With the Members coming from across the UK, and possibly beyond, the plan is to meet up on the Continent (Maastricht in Holland); so most people will probably leave home / the UK on Thursday, 18th June (the choice of ferry or Tunnel crossing and timing will be yours), but for some (like me) who live further North, the option of taking an overnight ferry from Newcastle or Hull on Wednesday, 17th June is there. Alternatively; you may already be on the Continent and therefore simply be making your way to Maastricht. The plan is to meet late afternoon / early evening in the picturesque town of Maastricht (Additional Note: Please be ready to leave the hotel for your “evening with a difference” in Maastricht by 18:00 hours), at the Novotel, which is only 2Km from the city centre, has decent parking (outdoor) and runs a shuttle bus to take guests into the city centre. Note that Maastricht is around 200miles from the Channel ports.

Day two, Friday, June 19th, will offer the possibility of a run past the Belgium town of Spa and through the north German vineyards to our weekend destination of Heidelberg, which again is approximately 200 miles from Maastricht. We will be staying in the centre of the city at the 4 star Crowne Plaza Hotel, which has excellent amenities and a secure, underground, car park. Heidelberg is built around an ancient castle and pretty old town. It’s only 15 miles from the Hockenheim race circuit and racing museum; and close to Germany’s superb sister transport museums at Sinsheim and Speyer. Speyer also has a cathedral worthy of a visit – but bear in mind that Sinsheim, in particular, really needs a whole day to do it justice.

For days three and four, you will be free to choose from the many attractions of the area in and around Heidelberg, either exploring on foot the many shops and attractions of the city, or taking the car out into the wonderful countryside of the (Schwarz Wald) Black Forest – the Porsche museum at Stuttgart is an easy drive from Heidelberg, take small roads out and come back via the autobahn.

Some of the attractions have been mentioned above and for information on these attractions, and more, check out the links below:
Maastricht http://www.holland.com/uk/tourism/citie ... tricht.htm
Heidelberg: http://www.heidelberg.de/english,Len/Home/
4 star Crowne Plaza Hotel http://www.ihg.com/crowneplaza
Hockenheim Racing Museum http://www.hockenheimring.de/en/museum
Sinsheim Transport Museum http://www.sinsheim.technik-museum.de/en
Speyer Transport Museum http://www.speyer.technik-museum.de/en

In Maastricht on Thursday evening we plan to have a ‘meal with a difference’ and there will be more on that later. A Forum dinner has been arranged in the Crowne Plaza for Sunday evening ahead of our departure on Monday 22nd June. In between, you will be free to make your own arrangements for lunch / dinner based on the activities you are looking to participate in – no prescription here. For those hurrying home, it will be possible to reverse the outward route and choose either to drive directly home or stop another night in Maastricht, or perhaps another interesting location like Mulhouse where there are two super museums, the very interesting Bugatti museum and the French National railway museum. Others might like to continue their European holiday further into the continent and we can offer advice on options there too.

In the meantime you may like to check out the options for crossing from the UK to the Continent and starting your personal plan on what you may want to be doing on this XK8 Forum trip.
UK/Europe ferry crossings:
Hull/Zeebrugge, Hull/Rotterdam:
Operator P & O; website: http://www.poferries.com Tel: 08716 64 20 20 (10p per minute)
Approximate return crossing cost (car + 2 passengers) starts at £379, but expect to double that for a premier cabin plus dinners out and back.
Dover/Calais:
Operators: P & O; DFDS Seaways; My Ferry link
Websites: http://www.myferrylink.com Tel: 0844 2482 100
Approximate return crossing cost (car + 2 passengers) from £90
Chunnel:
Website: http://www.eurotunnel.com Tel:
Approximate return crossing cost (car + 2 passengers) from £152

Participants may like to explore the crossing options and book return crossings on dates to suit their own arrangements. Note: It is possible to reach Calais from Heidelberg in a day’s drive for those who only have limited time to spare on the return leg. Alternatively, Members may reverse the outward journey and stay at Maastricht or continue to holiday on the continent.

After booking your crossing please contact me, Jim Mann (j.mann@fugro.com), to confirm your participation in this exciting XK8 Forum German jaunt and to register for news and information updates.
Best Regards
Jim Mann
Assistant Co-ordinator, XK8 Forum JEC