Welcome from Our Chief Executive, Michael Kearney
As Chief Executive of Carlton Hotel Group, I'd like to welcome you to the Carlton Hotel Group blog. The Carlton Hotel Group was established in 2004 and since then has developed as one of the premier Hotel Groups in Ireland. In the past 7 years Carlton has grown substantially from operating one hotel to having a presence in many locations throughout Ireland.
Through this blog it is my aim to give you an insight into what's going on in all of our hotels plus my opinions on current affairs, sports news, general activities and events. I will also occassionally invite some of my colleagues to write on the blog giving you more opinions and insights into what's going on at Carlton. If you have any questions or queries on any of the posts please leave a comment and I will respond at my earliest convenience. Enjoy reading.............
Posted: 2010-08-27 17:00:00
Back in Dublin now and back to reality as the Rose of Tralee is now over. It’s been a busy week for us as we’ve hosted a lot of the events at our hotels. But I must say it was well worth it as the festival was a great success overall. I would like to say a big thank you to Thys Vogels and his team at the Carlton Hotel Tralee for looking after us all for the past few days.Now its time to focus on Kildare’s journey to the All-Ireland final of the Senior Football Championship! I was disappointed for Dublin last week as I do feel they deserved to beat Cork but unfortunately they let it go towards the end of the match. However, I’m convinced my adopted county Kildare have what it takes to beat Down on Sunday. I’ll definitely be watching the match on Sunda ...
Posted: 2010-08-26 10:30:00
Tuesday night was a great success and I must admit the ‘socialising’ went on well into the wee hours this morning. However, the BBQ organised by Tralee County Council on Wednesday afternoon definitely helped to nurse a few sore heads!My official duties as a judge of the Rose of Tralee have now come to an end and I must say it was a great experience. It was my first time in Tralee for the entire festival and I would definitely recommend marking it in your calendar for next year as it really is a fantastic event. Unfortunately I had to head back home on Wednesday evening so I didn’t get to see Alexandra Burke perform. However, I did get to meet her and I found out the celebrity lifestyle isn’t as glamorous as you would think! After her live performance in th ...
Posted: 2010-08-24 23:50:00
After two very early starts in a row it was nice to get a bit of a lie-in this morning after a late night at the live show last night. There were no official duties to take part in this morning but I did have lunch with my fellow judges and the all the Roses this afternoon. Lunch was followed by an afternoon studying the profiles of all the Roses and the notes I had made about each of their interviews. I had to prepare myself for the difficult decision that was ahead of me!The live shows kicked off at about 8pm, but as with the previous evening I had been in the Dome waiting since 7.30pm. It was a great show with the remaining 14 Roses coming across very well and of course Dáithí almost stole the show again! Following the show we only about five minutes to make our ...
Posted: 2010-08-23 23:45:00
I had an early start this morning with the final set of group interviews beginning at 8.30am. Once the interviews were over I headed up to my room at the Carlton Hotel Tralee to prepare for the first round of live interviews in the Dome. As one of the judges of the Rose of Tralee I had to be in the Dome by 7.30pm in plenty of time for the live broadcast to begin at 8.00pm. I must say it was a great night with the first 18 Roses coming across very well on the stage. Dáithí Ó’Sé almost stole the show from the Roses though as he was brilliant in his role as compere for the night.There are another 14 Roses to see tomorrow night but I’m definitely not looking forward to the tough decision ahead of choosing a winner! ...
Posted: 2010-08-22 20:00:00
Fireworks and dancing completed last night's festivities, but it was off to bed early for me as I had an early start this morning.I was down for breakfast at 7.30am as I have a full day of Judging ahead. Twelve hours later and all the individual interviews are now complete. There are definitely a very interesting bunch of Roses this year, with many varied qualities.The final set of interviews in a group format will start from 8.30am tomorrow. After this we will rely on the TV presentation to confirm the Rose for 2010.Heading down town now to take in the great pubs of Tralee! Oh and the Roses are attending the biggest fashion show in Ireland tonight, the style and fashion around the Carlton Hotel Tralee is amazing. Well done everyone.Until tomorrow bye..... ...
Posted: 2010-08-21 21:00:00
Today saw the first round of interviews taking place and although they went very well, there were lots of hoarse and nervous ladies. I'm not sure whether it was the ball last night that left them hoarse or if it was just the nerves!All the Roses were on a high this evening getting ready for the highlight of the weekend, the big parade through the streets of Tralee. It has been a great night so far with what seems like the whole town turning up in support of the Roses. Along with all the residents of Tralee there are also plenty of celebrities around including former Roses. I'm enjoying the weekend in Tralee, especially in my role as a new judge but I am a bit nervous about the live shows starting on Monday! ...
Posted: 2010-08-21 10:00:00
The Rose Ball at the Carlton Hotel Tralee last night was full of glamour and excitement as the 32 Roses were introduced to the people of Tralee. Charmaine Kenny, the current Rose of Tralee, made a wonderful speech describing her action packed year and all the interesting places that she visited through out the World.Earlier in the evening, before the festivities kicked off, the judges and Dáithí Ó'Sé were introduced to the Roses and their Escorts. I had already met most of the Roses briefly at events throughout the week but it was great to get the chance to speak to them all individually.Throughout the night there were some early nerves visible as the events gets closer to the judging process. I'm really looking forward to the selection nights where my ...
