New venue for the 2025 Annual Gathering
2025 Annual Gathering on Saturday 5th April at an exciting new venue
Introducing the Eastleigh (Southampton North) Holiday Inn
The Southampton Holiday Inn is unavailable for a 2025 Annual Gathering due to a refurbishment. A search was set up to try to find another central Southampton hotel, but this failed to discover a viable alternative. Therefore, we looked more widely and discovered an ideal alternative at the Eastleigh (Southampton North) Holiday Inn, north of Southampton.
During a visit we were impressed with all its facilities. The hotel completed a £3.5m refurbishment in 2023 and has 129 bedrooms on four floors including 25% on the ground floor, which members can request when booking accommodation, subject to availability. There is a large car park, and we will have free parking with the usual registration at reception. The entrance, foyer, reception area, lounges, bar, restaurant, and outside sheltered area with tables and seating area are all attractive, colourful, well decorated and all on one level. The Spirit Health Club includes a gym, sauna and swimming pool which is available free for hotel guests. We viewed a typical standard room which was also very good and obviously newly refurbished.
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| Scenes in the main bar and restaurant area |
2025 Annual Gathering in a nutshell
- Venue - Eastleigh (Southampton North) Holiday Inn, Leigh Road Eastleigh, SO50 9PG
- On - Friday 4th and Saturday 5th April 2025
- Accommodation - B&B - Single: £105; Double: £115 – rooms available at this rate until 5th March. As usual, no money is payable until arrival and reservations can be cancelled up to 2nd April.
- Friday night dinner - In the restaurant from the full hotel menu; guests to book own table when reserving rooms but may combine with others if they wish.
- Saturday main event: Two course buffet lunch in the restaurant, hot and cold drinks, and ‘treats’ at 10am and 3.30pm for £35; Islanders living overseas £20; Resident islanders free.
- Dinner Dance with two course buffet – £26
Stylish room for main Saturday events
Both Saturday events will be held in the Oak Suite of the Academy Centre which is a much larger space than we are used to; so all the stalls and theatre-style seating will be in the same space which could accommodate up to 150 people. For the dinner dance a bar will also be here with a quiet lounge area available in the foyer outside.
Outline Saturday programme
We will publish more detailed programme later but can confirm that our keynote speakers will be Nick Schonfeld and Julia Gunther who are presently on Tristan and have reported on their work on the island in the August Newsletter. Their recently shot film sequences will be a highlight of the gathering.
As usual there will be a morning AGM, auction of donated Tristan artefacts and an evening Dinner Dance with our resident band and DJ providing music for dancing.
Locality
The hotel is opposite a residential road with Fleming Park to the south and rear with paths leading from the hotel car park to extensive grassed areas bounded by wooded hedges of a former golf course. Nearby is a large leisure centre with pools, sports pitches and a well-equipped children’s playground. Eastleigh town centre shops and services are a 1 km walk. The hotel also provides a convenient base for travel to other area attractions.
Access
The location offers excellent access as it is only 500 m from J 13 of M3 (saving time for drivers); 1.5 km from Eastleigh Railway Station and 2.5 km from Southampton Airport and Parkway Station.
Booking accommodation
We highly recommend joining us for our 2025 Annual Gathering and urge early accommodation booking with hotel reception on 02380 626000 to secure your room. The hotel would prefer bookings to be made 9.30 - 17.00 Mondays-Fridays. Also inform reception of your intention to have dinner in the hotel restaurant - we recommend 7.30pm if you are on your own and want to join with other TDCA members.
Please use the TdCA Order Form to apply for tickets.