Taylors of Harrogate and Cedar Court create a 5-star tea offering

As a tea drinker, I’m very fussy about my brew and it’s important to get it right – the devil’s in the detail when it comes to being a successful hotelier and you don’t want to be let down by a bad cup of tea”

This philosophy has served John Horvath, group hotel director of the Cedar Court Hotels collection, well during the last 20 years.

While visiting one of the 4-star hotels in Harrogate, Huddersfield/Halifax, Leeds/Bradford and Wakefield, or the 5-star Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa in the heart of the historic city of York, guests can enjoy Taylors of Harrogate’s range of speciality teas and infusions, as well as the award-winning Yorkshire Tea, one of the UK’s most popular everyday tea brands. The partnership has proved a positive move for the business, which has grown to become Yorkshire’s largest independently owned hotel collection.

“Our guests come from all over the world and look for provenance when they visit any of our hotels,” said John. “We needed a tea that matched our brand identity, provided value for money and most importantly a great cup of tea. We introduced Yorkshire Gold in-room three years ago at the Grand and the brand association with Taylors of Harrogate creates a positive perception of Cedar Court Hotels and it means customers get a better experience overall.”

Since 2010 Cedar Court Hotels has rolled out Yorkshire Gold across all of its rooms, with guests able to enjoy a range of Taylors of Harrogate speciality teas and infusions in any of the hotels’ lounges and conferencing facilities.

“We serve over a million cups of tea a year, so it’s very important to our business to have that quality and brand reassurance”, added John. “If you look across our offering, it’s about premium brands guests recognise, like Taylors of Harrogate and Yorkshire Gold – what we’ve found from a business perspective is that people don’t mind paying a little more if they know they’re getting a good deal. Plus, we’re proud of our Yorkshire heritage and proud to be showcasing another of the great brands that the region has produced.”

The presentation boxes are just one of the many ways Taylors of Harrogate uses its 125 years of hot drinks expertise to help its customers stay one step ahead of the competition, with the family owned business offering a wide range or POS and merchandise to support hoteliers. John summarised: “Conference and banqueting is a big part of what we do in our 4-star hotels and our lounges have become popular venues for business meetings. Getting our hot drinks offering right was crucial; from the quality of the blends, to how they were displayed. We had an amazing reaction from guests and the team when Taylors of Harrogate and Yorkshire Tea were introduced. The stylish presentation boxes are wonderful, they make it different and we’re finding people are trying different teas, like green tea and infusions – it’s similar to what happened with coffee a couple of years ago. The display boxes have gone down so well I’ve had to order more.”