Rod Pascoe Photography @ Serendipity Sam’s Romsey

We are delighted to announce that Rod Pascoe Photography will be at Serendipity Sam’s in Romsey on Easter Monday (Monday 5th April 2010)
from 9.30am – 6.30pm.

(Please note: Normal Serendipity Sam’s entrance prices will apply, even if you wish to only visit the photography studio)

Rod will be operating a mobile studio complete with backdrop from Party Room 2.  This will allow him to take professional photographs of your children in privacy and in an environment they love!

This is a great opportunity to capture some great memories, and have professional photography at a fraction of the normal studio cost.

Rod is a professional photographer with over 15 years experience, and is a member of the The Association of Elite Photographers

The following photography packages are available, please note these are introductory prices for studio photos taken in Party Room 2…

All photography packages purchased include 1 x FREE Play Voucher for Serendipity Sam’s.

Package 1 £19.95

• 1 9×6 print in mount
• 2 6×4 prints in mounts
• Facebook size photo included

Package 2 £24.95

• 1 9×6 print in mount
• 4 6×4 prints in mounts
• Facebook size photo included

Package 3 £34.95

• 1 12×8 print in mount
• 4 6×4 prints in mounts
• Facebook size photo included

Package 5 £44.95

• 1 12×8 print in mount
• 5 6×4 prints in mounts
• 5 wallet prints in mounts
• Facebook size photo included

Package 6 £89.95

• 1 12×8 print in mount
• 8 6×4 prints in mounts
• 8 wallet prints in mounts
• CD with all pictures taken at 9×6 and copyright to reprint
• Facebook size photo included

Other options available on request.

For further information contact Rod Pascoe on 02380 871009 or Serendipity Sam’s on 01794 514242.

I want a laser tag party…

Did you know that Serendipity Sam’s hosts laser tag parties after closing?

They’re a great option for the older children (8 years+) and offer an exciting and fun party option.

Sam’s Laser Tag is a laser tag game played in the play frame after closing. We turn the lights down, and the music up to create a fun laser battle atmosphere. During laser parties you have exclusive use of the centre for your party guests.

Prices start at just £100. Visit our laser party page for full information and for a preview video… just click HERE

Further information can be found by calling our friendly party team on 0845 450 7200

How to have a great party… Our tips…

When you are booking your childrens party, there is so much to do, which is why at Serendipity Sam’s, we make the experience as stress free as possible.

Our top 3 tips for a great party…

• Book Early
  This will help you ensure you get the date and time you are looking for. If you are a member, it will also help you to save money on some of our party options (see Special Offers page for details)
• Send Your Invitations Out At The Right Time
  With all Serendipity Sam’s parties, we provide FREE invitations once we have received your deposit. It is vital you time sending them correctly, sending them too early will result in a poor response, and leaving them too late will only make you panic. Always try and send invites around 3 weeks prior to the party, this leaves people with enough time to get back to you, and not enough time to forget (in most cases). Always make a list of the people you have invited, as this will help you with our third and final tip…
• Chase RSVPs
  You want your party to be a hit, and that rests on having the right number of guests. We ask for final numbers due to attend your party, 24 hours in advance of the party. It is always a good idea to chase those people who you have invited, but you have not yet heard back from. Put a mark next to those who have replied (a tick for attending, a cross for not attending, and a question mark for maybe). Then send out reminders or notes to those who you have not heard back from at least 1 week before the party.

Remember, when you book a party with Serendipity Sam’s you only need to worry about cake, candles, napkins (for wrapping the cake), and party bag fillers.

You may also wish to provide party room decorations, due to the number of different age groups we cater for our rooms are decorated neutrally to make them suitable for both sexes and all ages. We allow party organisers to place decorations in our party rooms, but ask that in doing so they only use tack, not tape, and that decorations are removed prior to leaving.

Please remember to book early to avoid disappointment, you can book a Serendipity Sam’s party by calling 0845 450 7200.

Party Discounts… Party For Less

Don’t forget if you’re a Serendipity Sam’s member there are some very special discounts available for you to party with us…

Full information on our party options and discounts can be obtained by calling the Party Hotline on 0845 450 7200 or by clicking here to visit our dedicated party website.

Please remember the best discounts are available when you book at least 1 calendar month (or more) in advance. Discounts are only available to members with valid membership cards.

Members can also take advantage of our credit crunch special, the ‘Budget Buster’ find out more by clicking here…. or here

PS: If you’re not a member, joining for a one-off fee of £10 will entitle you to the fantastic discounts not only on our parties, but also on your visits to our centres. Most customers who join when they book a party, easily cover the cost of their membership and more in savings! Talk to one of our team now on 0845 450 7200 or find out more about membership by clicking here.

Children’s Parties

This time of year we are always really busy taking bookings for children’s birthday parties. This year has been no different, so please do book early to avoid disappointment.

Please remember that members are entitled to discounts on some of our party options, but only if you (a) Have your membership card; and (b) You are booking at least one calendar month in advance. You can find out what discounts you maybe entitled to, as well as the range of party options we provide by visiting our party website just click here.

Remember we don’t just offer play parties, we also offer other exciting options including disco, laser and exclusive use – making us the ideal party venue for under 11′s.

We even have a ‘Budget Buster’ option exclusively available for our members, who are feeling the pinch. Find out more at our party website.

Booking a party is easy, all you have to do is call our Party Hotline on 0845 450 7200 and we can book everything for you over the phone. Once your party is booked, we will send you a confirmation letter and free invitations.

So if you’re looking for a really exciting party for your child call our team today.

The Party Hotline is normally available Monday – Friday from 9.30am – 3.30pm, and at the weekends from 11am – 1pm. If we are unavailable or our lines are busy, an answering service will take your message, and we will call you back as soon as we can.

Team Member Profile: Hannah (Romsey)

Hannah (Romsey), Play & Party Host

Here’s Hannah who is another of our brilliant team members at our Romsey play and party centre. Hannah is part of our Play & Party hosting team looking after the needs of the lucky birthday boys and girls that have parties with us, and helps keep play safe and fun in our fantastic play frames.

Those of you that have met Hannah will definetely remember her, she is one of our most popular team members with the children that visit, and most know her by name. It’s probably because she loves to make every visit really memorable for all of our visitors, but especially those who have chosen to have a childrens party with us. Having achived her Silver customer service award through our internal customer service recognition scheme, Hannah really does like to make sure there are smiles all-round. You can often see Hannah organising games and races with some of the children, her favourites are our ‘Sams Snap’ game where she hides a picture card in the play frame for children to find, and ‘Bellas Ball’ where she hides a stickered ball in the ball pool for children to find.

Hannah understands the importance of keeping our centre clean, and thats why you will often see her around keeping tables clear, and ensuring the toilets are always at there best.

Hannah has been working with us since the beginning of 2009, and started as a Play Host helping to ensure rules within the play areas where being adhered to and making sure everyone was having a good time.

Hannah quickly progressed to our Party Host team, where she works now helping to make sure parties at Serendipity Sam’s are the best! We regularly receive letters of thanks from grateful parents who have been able to relax and enjoy their child’s party, leaving Hannah to organise everything for them.

On your next visit to Serendipity Sam’s in Romsey for a childrens indoor play party, or just a normal visit to have a play – make sure you say hello to Hannah, she will be waiting with a big smile ready to make your day.

Hannah’s favourite part of the play frame is the spinner where you stand on the base, hold on to the pole and spin around. It’s really good fun! Hannah’s favourite dish on our menu is the childrens Chicken Nugget meal, made from 100% chicken breast – they are delicious, and very popular.

Hannah is a valued member of our team, and looks forward to welcoming you to our Romsey centre soon…

Childrens Party Options – Fantastic Party

We thought we’d bring our blog readers some information on our popular ‘Fantastic Party’, we know that when looking to book your child’s birthday party it isn’t easy, there are many options available these days – but with 10 years experience, and regular ‘excellent’ markings on our after party questionnaires, we like to think (and believe those who have had a party with us, would agree) that we offer great parties that children of all ages enjoy. Our team understand that a child’s birthday party is a very important day for them, and invest heavily in ensuring that our party host team operate at our very high standard and monitor feedback through our after party questionnaires to ensure we are achieving this.

Serendipity Sam’s Fantastic Party is a great childrens party option at our big indoor play and party fun centres in Dorset & Hampshire.

Before the party

On booking a date and time for you, we will then take a deposit payment from you of £25 (in some cases we may require a larger deposit, for example- last minute bookings)

We will then provide you with a confirmation letter, detailing price, dates, times and any other important information. We will also provide you with FREE party invitations.

One of our team will then be your main point of contact, although using our computerised booking system any of our booking team can access and help you with anything related to your booking.

What happens?

When you arrive at our centre (Romsey which is near Southampton, in Hampshire or Christchurch which is near Bournemouth, in Dorset) you are taken to your own private party room, which is yours for the duration of your party. Our party host who will be with you for the party will explain to you what will happen, confirm important details, and register the children as they arrive. The children take their shoes off and leave them in the party room.

Now to the exciting bit…

The children are then let free for 90 minutes of fun in our fantastic indoor play space, they can climb up, slide down, run around, and of course make lots of noise. They love it out there, don’t forget that you too can be part of the fun as at all Serendipity Sam’s centres, adults (18+) are allowed onto the equipment to supervise their children. Please remember to have enough adults to supervise the children, we suggest at least 1 adult (18+) to every 4 or 5 children.

I’m thirsty!

After all of that running around, the party guests may have worked up a thirst – that’s why throughout the duration of the party, your party host will keep their drinks topped up – unlimited squash for all of the party guests, is included in the price of your party.

…can I have something to eat

Yes, included in the price of your party is either a Hot meal, or a Cold food buffet. So after the 90 minutes of running around, the children are called over our sound system back to their party room. For the hot meal choice, we take the childrens orders at the start of the party (as they arrive) so you don’t need to worry about trying to get everyone’s food orders in advance. The choices for the hot meal are similar to our ‘Favourites’ childrens menu, they can choose from Chicken Nuggets, Fish Fingers, Beef Burger, Sausages, or Vegetarian Fingers all served with chips and a choice of beans, peas or mixed vegetables (please note all options are subject to availability on the day) For the cold buffet we offer sandwiches (normally Ham, Jam, Cheese Spread and Marmite) along with carrot and cucumber sticks, crisps, chicken nuggets and cold sausages.

Happy birthday to you…

After the children have eaten we will start the cake ceremony, that’s a 1,2,3 – “Happy birthday to ….” we encourage all of the children to join in singing happy birthday to the birthday child (you will need to provide a birthday cake), once the singing finishes, we put out some biscuits whilst the cake is cut and put into party bags (see the note below about our party bags)

That’s a wrap

That’s the end of the party! We get the children to pop their shoes back on, and hand out party bags (please see the note below about our party bags). The children all receive an ice lolly on their way out, and all leave with big smiles on their faces

How much will this cost me

Just £9.00 per child, with a minimum of 10 children gets you a Serendipity Sam’s Fantastic Party. If the birthday child is a member of Serendipity Sam’s you could be entitled to a discount if you book a calendar month or more in advance – call our Party Hotline on 0845 450 7200 for details, please have the child’s membership card to hand.

Party bags

Our Fantastic party includes a party bag and discount voucher for each party guest. We do not provide any fillers for the bags (we only supply the actual bag itself alongside a Serendipity Sam’s discount voucher). You are free to add your own fillers to our bags, or to provide your own bags and fillers.

How do I book…

Please book early to avoid disappointment, for the best choice of dates and times book a good 6-8 weeks before the party.

To make a booking or to find out more about our parties call our party booking team on 0845 450 7200, the team are available to help you Monday to Friday from 9.30am – 3.30pm, and are also available at the weekends between 11am – 3pm. An answerphone operates outside of opening hours, and when the team are on other calls.

All information subject to change without prior notice. The managements decision is final in all regards. Terms apply, contact Serendipity Sam’s for further details.

Team Member Profile: Mark (Romsey)

Mark (Romsey), Customer Service Host

In the latest of our team member profiles, we introduce Mark who forms part of the customer services team at our Romsey (near Totton, and Southampton in Hampshire) play and party centre.

Those of you who have been lucky enough to meet Mark will agree that he really loves to please our customers, he has a really genuine customer service ethic which has won him many internal awards through our ‘Going for Gold Customer Service’ award scheme. Mark can often be found at our diner, where he will serve you the best of our food and beverage offerings with a big smile on his face – he is also very keen to help keep our centre clean and tidy, and often helps both during, and after our trading hours to make sure the entire building is at its best.

Mark has been with Serendipity Sam’s for just over a year now, starting initially as a ‘Play Host’ helping to ensure that the play area’s remained safe, helping children find their way around and generally making sure everyone was safe and happy!

Earlier this year Mark was transferred to our customer service team, which is where he works now hosting parties, serving on the diner, and keeping our customers happy. Recently Mark was awarded the Romsey Team Member of the Year 2009 award for his outstanding contribution to the team where he always delivers, and ensures that his colleagues and customers all have smiles on their faces. When you meet Mark, just see if his enthusiasm for fun, politeness and overall great customer care doesn’t inspire you – we are very proud to have Mark on our team, he is a shining example of our team and the efforts they put into delivering a fun experience for all of our customers.

Mark’s favourite part of our play frame is the Astra Slide (the big blue central slide), you can often see him racing kids down it in his spare time (all part of the service!). Mark is a big fan of the food available at Serendipity Sam’s Intergalactic Diner, and his favourite dish is our Chicken Burger (which contains 100% chicken breast).

Mark looks forward to welcoming you for a visit at our Romsey centre soon…