We organized a company team building event in the Avar Hotel on the Mátra Hill at the beginning of February. The team-building event consisted of two parts: an evaluation of the previous year and a vision for 2022, followed by informal, experiential team-building activities on the Kékes Summit from late afternoon. We report on the event below.
Avar Hotel is located on the southern side of the Mátra Mountains, in the village of Gyöngyös-Mátrafüred. The hotel was built in 1976, then closed in the 2010s for renovation, but the expected renewal has been delayed for years. In fact, several articles have been published referring to the Avar Hotel as a “ghost hotel”. Looking at the pictures, you can understand why.
Source: szellemvarosok.blog.hu
After an extensive renovation, the Avar Hotel was reopened to guests and event organizers alike in 2020.
The hotel has a modern, stylish and welcoming atmosphere.
I would especially like to highlight the helpful attitude and courtesy of the staff. Most of us would think that impeccable staff, both humanly and professionally, would be a basic requirement for a hotel of this standard. However, years of experience in event management have proven the opposite in most cases.
There is no hotel today that has such a highly trained team: event organizers, receptionists, room managers, waiters, bar staff, chefs, technicians, maintenance and cleaning staff are all part of the happy equation. Their efforts make a few days in this nice hotel or the work of an event management company a pleasant memory. At this place, that was as much relaxation as hard work. Well, never a worse thing for an event management company to do. 🙂
After receiving their rooms and enjoying refreshments, guests took their seats in the conference room. At the Avar Hotel, we had several options to choose from for the professional programmes and conference venue. During the coffee breaks, guests were greeted with delicious food, decorative cakes, mini sandwiches and fruit.
After the end of the meeting, everyone got dressed for the winter team building activity and then we headed to the Kékes ski slope in shuttle buses.
We rented one of the ski slopes exclusively for the evening hours of the company team building, with use of ski lifts and music. Guests were divided into 4 groups, who completed 4 stations, and their performance was rewarded with a score by the animators:
1. Ski hut with bonfire, marshmallow roasting, mulled wine, hammer throwing. From the terrace there was an unparalleled view of the snowy track, the Mátra and the other teams.
2. Airboarding: a special winter team-building activity, where you can slide on the track with a rubber mat-like device. Team members could learn the tricks of airboarding from the animators.
3. Snowshoeing: a simple but fun activity. After practicing the basics, the animators organized a snowshoe race.
4. Snowscooter: a fun winter team-building activity based on the merge between a snowboard and a BMX bike.
All teams tried the four stations, results were announced and then we headed back to the hotel in the shuttle buses. Dinner was served at the Avar Hotel, and then the party continued until dawn by renting the hotel’s bowling alley. After breakfast the next morning, the programme came to an end and the team left the venue.
Not only as guests, but also as an event management company, we are very satisfied with the standard of the hotel, the quality of the rooms and services, the professionalism and courtesy of the staff as mentioned earlier. We look forward to hosting many more of our corporate team building events and professional conferences and we will return to the Mátra Hill as soon as possible.
Author: Kinga
