Hotel opens courtyard marquee with Moroccan feel

A NEW Bedouin-style marquee has opened in the courtyard of the Relais Henley Hotel.

Mayor Tom Buckley cut the blue ribbon to “The Oasis” in view of specially-invited guests on Friday night.

The marquee had a soft launch in time for Henley Royal Regatta three weeks ago and is decorated with palm trees and Moroccan-style sofas and cushions.

Chris Cooper, the chief operating officer of Relais Retreats, said he could already see the return on the investment. He said: “The regatta and festival really put us through our paces and we had two fantastic weeks.

“I think having the marquee accounted for about a quarter of our additional revenue that we otherwise wouldn’t have had if people didn’t have a reason for coming in.

“Overall, I think it’s had a fantastic impact, so it’s well on its way to paying back its investment. I’m very pleased.”

Mr Cooper said that the marquee was an idea of Grace Leo, who co-founded the hotel in 2021. He said: “We had such an under-utilised space in the courtyard so we thought it would be great to develop something that we could use in the winter as well as summer.

“We had a lot of requests from guests wanting shade but not necessarily an umbrella so we decided to go with the dome shape. Alex Fountain, who is our food and beverage manager, worked with Grace on bringing the dome to life.”

Mr Cooper said that guests would be able to use the space throughout the day for food and drink and could choose from a modern British menu with a Moroccan slant.

He said that the space, which accommodates up to 50 people, can also be hired out for events and small weddings. Mr Cooper said: “You can enter from all sides, it’s fully electrified and it’s got heating, which will be very useful in the winter.

“We also sell it as a blank canvas, so if people want it to book a private event they don’t have to have the themed bit, you can have it however you like.

“We’ve got a very powerful heater, it does heat up very quickly, so I’m not worried at all about heating in the winter.

In fact, we’re thinking about hot chocolates, blue vine, melted Swiss cheese with the old dunkers from the Seventies.”