Adelina Misina, Head of Guest Experience at The Reach at Piccadilly, shared with our Content Writer, Meghna Kanwar, her insider strategies on elevating guest experience. From personalised touches to cutting-edge innovations, she reveals what truly sets a remarkable hotel experience apart.
MK – Can you share your journey in the hotel industry and what led you to your current role at The Reach Hotel?
Adelina Misina, Head of Guest Experience, The Reach at Piccadilly
AM – I’ve spent the last 13 years working in the hotel and hospitality industry, gaining experience with brands such as Jurys Inn, Marriott, IHG, Kimpton, and DeVere across various guest experience roles. Joining the opening team at The Reach was a fantastic opportunity to work under the Marriott Tribute Portfolio umbrella while contributing to creating a unique, Manchester-inspired experience for our guests. We’ve been dedicated to providing an authentic and local offering, from the hotel’s design to the local partnerships and menu items.
MK – What were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the pre-opening phase of The Reach Hotel, and how did you overcome them?
AM – One of the biggest strategies within opening was exploring and solidifying the right local supply network that aligned with our brand, values, and vision for The Reach. As we wanted to create a carefully crafted experience built on the city’s industrial heritage, it was therefore important to source local products, giving our guests the best we could.
A key challenge was the opening delays we experienced; having plans postponed, we had to be flexible and adaptable to changes and adjust our operations accordingly, with clear communication to all partners and teams involved.
MK – How do you ensure that both back-of-house and front-facing operations align to create a seamless guest experience?
AM – We have implemented various processes to ensure that our back-of-house and front-facing operations work together seamlessly. These mainly include open, clear communication and collaboration between all departments, which helps us identify potential issues and find solutions together.
We hold regular meetings to discuss performance, identify areas for improvement, and celebrate successes. We also provide cross-training opportunities for our team members so that they have a better understanding of each other’s roles and responsibilities.
MK – What strategies do you implement to maintain high standards of guest satisfaction and service excellence?
The Reach at Piccadilly
AM – We strive to create a culture amongst teams here at the hotel, with regular reward and recognition of team members and individuals providing excellent service or getting highlighted in reviews.
We continuously gather guest feedback to refine our offerings and ensure they meet evolving needs. Additionally, we incorporate insights from employees and managers to ensure our training programs remain relevant and effective.
MK – What future developments do you envision for The Reach Hotel, and how will they enhance the guest experience?
AM – We’re always looking for ways to improve and adapt our offerings based on guest feedback and industry trends. We’re excited to launch new seasonal menus at our restaurant, Lock 84 and host special events such as themed supper clubs.
We’ll continue to strengthen our ties with the local community and trusted local suppliers – exploring more opportunities with local partners to create new and unique experiences for our guests.
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In an exclusive conversation with our Managing Director, Charles Thomas, Bluestone’s Director of Sustainability, Marten Lewis, shares his pioneering approach to environmental stewardship. From biodiversity net gain to carbon reduction, they reveal how Bluestone is setting new benchmarks in regenerative tourism-offering a blueprint for the future of sustainable travel.
CT – Your journey to becoming an environmental scientist is unconventional and inspiring. Can you tell us about it?
ML – Rewinding back to the beginning, I left school with no qualifications, disengaged by traditional academia; and so my early career began in the Army which was cut short due to a shin injury. Having gained an electrical engineering BTEC in the military, I went on to study Coastal Zone Management as a mature student where hands-on learning connected in ways that school never could. It was here that my passion for education and the environment began. I volunteered at the Darwin Centre’s Science Festival, developed a STEM educational programme called The Darwin Experience, offering free activities to schools with a practical learning style.
Marten Lewis, Director of Sustainability, Bluestone National Park Resorts
The programme was rolled out to all schools, over seventy, across Pembrokeshire, and thousands participated. I then went on to lead The Darwin Centre in Pembrokeshire as executive director; whilst studying and achieved a first-class honour bachelor’s degree, then an MSc with a dissertation on The Darwin Experience’s engagement strategy. The Darwin Experience continues to flourish in 2025, its twentieth year. It was there that I crossed paths with Bluestone.
CT – Bluestone has been praised for transforming former dairy farmland into an ecological haven. What was the vision when you joined the resort?
ML – Back in 2004, coincidentally the same year the UN coined the term ESG, our founder, former dairy farmer William McNamara OBE, laid out his vision for what could be achieved on dairy farmland. This was written down in the now legendary; ‘Green Book’. It focused not only on building a holiday resort, but on transforming the entire concept of tourism, with the core belief that Bluestone could be a force for good. The blueprint for increasing biodiversity and creating economic growth, while supporting the local community.
When I was Executive Director of the Darwin Centre, I discovered Bluestone National Park Resort, they were a fundraising stakeholder who genuinely shared my values. In 2019 Bluestone enlisted my expertise to help realise William McNamara’s ambitious targets laid out across sustainability in energy, the circular economy, increasing biodiversity, working towards net zero, supporting the local community via its charitable Foundation and helping local supply chains on their own paths to net zero. These ESG ambitions for the resort have since been exceeded manifold and strives to elevate its operations from sustainable tourism to regenerative tourism.
CT – How significant is Bluestone’s Biodiversity Net Gain of 50 percent?
ML – We hear a lot about carbon reduction in the race to net zero and less about the importance of biodiversity but the two are inextricably linked. Our model of increasing biodiversity means the landholding is set to sequester, or capture, around 1591 tonnes of carbon over 30 years, over what the dairy farm it replaced would have done.
The Adonis Blue Environmental Wildlife Trust Consultancy estimated that Bluestone’s site and its plans to further protect and transform its significant habitat and green space to a biodiverse rich mosaic of grassland, woodland and hedgerows could achieve more than a 50 percent net gain in biodiversity managed for future generations. In doing this, we are creating a natural area connecting habitats and species enhancing the national park. A biodiversity net gain of 50 percent is five times the ten percent introduced in February 2024 as required of most new developments in England.
CT – You have seen otters and harvest mice thrive at Bluestone. Why are these species so significant?
ML – Both species have been under threat. Otters had become nearly extinct in the U.K. by the 1950’s due largely to hunting and pollution in rivers but more recently, thanks to changes in the law they have been making a comeback and while still rare they are now widespread throughout the country. The Eurasian otter is now a European protected species, U.K. priority species and a Pembrokeshire LBAP priority species.
MK – What innovative practices or technologies have you implemented to enhance guest satisfaction at Legacy Hotels & Resorts and Hampton by Hilton?
Prior to Bluestone being built, the site was surveyed extensively for the presence of otters and though no evidence was found, surveys continued in the hope that the habitat available at Bluestone would prove suitable and attractive.
In 2019, the first signs of otters using the stream along Pen-Glyn brook were recorded. Later that year Bluestone teamed up with volunteer rangers from Pembrokeshire coast national park to construct an artificial otter holt near the stream to provide a safe place to rest during the day and make it easier for them to move around Bluestone’s waterways.
Otters are now frequent visitors to Bluestone to the stream and often visit the lake at the heart of the resort. Regular surveying allows us to monitor the health of our otter populations and also the state of the waterways on which they rely. As otters are secretive and active mainly at night, we rely on the signs they leave, such as spraint (poo) to carry out a monthly survey. Otter spraints are usually black or grey with a strong sweet musky smell. They are normally full of fish scales and bones but may also contain feathers or amphibian bones.
Bluestone’s Blackpool nature reserve is home to the U.K.’s smallest mouse, the harvest mouse weighing less than a 2p coin. The species is listed as vulnerable in Wales and is one of many thought to be in decline due to habitat loss.
This tiny mouse is the only British mammal with a prehensile tail, which it uses as an extra limb while climbing. Harvest mice weave spherical grass nests high above ground among tall grass stems and bramble. They feed on seeds, berries and small insects which are abundant in the purposely managed areas of rough tussocky grassland. They have been recorded at Bluestone since 2021 in areas specifically managed to provide this kind of habitat and are now widespread across the resort with some nests found less than 15 metres from guest accommodation.
CT – How does Bluestone’s sustainability approach differ from other resorts?
ML – We’ve transformed barren land into a thriving tapestry of ecosystems. Among our ESG initiatives Bluestone National Park Resort has a five hectare 3.2MW solar farm positioned on historic silage pasture, has fully transitioned to BioLPG, provides electric buggies for guests, is electrifying its fleet of cars and vans, and uses Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil to fuel its tractors, supporting carbon reduction while driving business growth. More than 900 people are employed by the resort which generates over £10m worth of business for suppliers in Wales each year.
Neighbouring businesses are supported through life cycle assessments relating to carbon reduction; and local communities benefit from the business’s charitable fund through three streams of funding spanning mental wellness and environmental projects. Since 2018 Bluestone has reduced its carbon emissions from purchased energy by over 90%; it was the first business in the world to recycle nappies and use these in road surfaces on its site, has planted over 60 acres of native woodland, and attained the international Green Key award in recognition of its environmental standards.
There’s a symbiotic relationship between nature and commerce that we’ve worked tirelessly to develop over the years. We welcome thousands of families who are aligned with our values and drawn to our resort to disconnect, unwind and enjoy our beautiful countryside.
CT – Air quality at Bluestone is among the cleanest in the UK. Can you elaborate on this achievement?
ML – Bluestone is our living lab, we partner with a number of specialists and scientists in the field to understand more about how we are tracking against our goals. Partnering with environmental data company Health and Wellbeing 360 to monitor air quality across a twelve month period is one of these fascinating initiatives. We are measuring the concentration of tiny particles in the air known as PM2.5 from the likes of tiny specks of dust to pollen. Of the annual average PM2.5 measured over the last year across the sixteen government monitoring sites, Narberth, Bluestone’s hometown, comes fifth, highlighting the better air quality in the area compared to many other parts of the UK. This underpins our continued efforts to contribute to understanding our local environment, and ensuring the health and wellbeing of our guests, staff and wildlife are considered at all levels.
CT – Sustainability is increasingly important for travellers. How does Bluestone align with this shift?
ML – Sustainability is increasingly important for consumers when booking a no-fly break. Mintel’s 2024 data shows travellers increasingly favour convenience and responsible environmental credentials while booking a holiday, and six in ten prioritise sustainability as a critical factor in their decision-making process. In keeping with this it follows that more people will start to visit national parks, areas of natural beauty and other beautiful parts of our island. Our blueprint can help local authorities and their respective communities to regenerate the land, regulate visitors and direct them to the places they would prefer them to be in terms of footfall.
We listen intently to our guests to really understand what their ideal holiday experience should be. In a survey completed by 3,500 of our guests in 2022, 97% said sustainability is important to them, 94% said climate change is something we all need to address.The Pembrokeshire coast line is famously a place of natural beauty but when you pair this with our environmental credentials, encouragingly, more and more people are choosing to spend their precious holiday time with us.
CT – What’s next for Bluestone, and how can others learn from your success?
ML – This is a regenerative tourism model, the Bluestone Blueprint is in motion and is something we are actively sharing with the industry both locally and internationally. If our model were to be adopted by a public or community, or non profit organisation the profits could be used for further regeneration. We’re hoping to inspire landowners to follow suit using Bluestone as the blueprint.
CT – What advice would you give to businesses looking to improve their sustainability efforts?
ML – It has to go beyond a Corporate Responsibility initiative. Sustainability has to be rooted in the foundations of the business plan, the culture and have a seat at the table when the critical decisions are being made. We champion individual members of our team on our internal app for sharing innovative ideas, department heads have sustainability goals which everyone plays a part in working towards, and staff own a thirty percent share of the business. Engagement is high, in 2024 our staff survey showed that 94% of our 900 staff understand Bluestone’s decarbonisation ambitions.
As we continue to advance our sustainability agenda, we remain committed to transparency and effectiveness, ensuring that our practices are not just claims but are backed by concrete actions and results. This takes a certain level of bravery, time and tenacity, we won’t always get it right but we’ll fail fast and course correct.
This quote from Nikhil Seth, Head of Sustainable Development, United Nations, sums it up: “We hope that what Wales is doing today, the world will do tomorrow. Action, more than words, is the hope for our current and future generations.”
CT – Finally, what does Bluestone offer guests beyond its environmental success in terms of experience?
ML – Luxury lodges and cottages nestled in 500-acres of rolling countryside, with a subtropical water park, ancient woodland trails, in-door outdoor play at the Serendome plus all manner of activities from archery and axe throwing to watersports and nature and bushcraft workshops. There’s something for everyone.
Over the last five years 35,000 families returned a survey to us saying their stay at Bluestone actually increased their knowledge of the natural world. Which is wonderful! We’re really in the business of providing wonderment, the kind you get from learning something new. Wonderment in a “cwtchy” as we’d say in Welsh, atmosphere, nestled in nature is all part of the magic.