ORGANIZE AN EVENT IN STUNNING VIHULA MANOR – BEST HISTORIC HOTEL OF EUROPE
If you want to organize a conference or corporate event in the middle of nature and away from the noisy city, then the best historic hotel of Europe 2020 Vihula Manor offers many great opportunities for that and is only one hour away from Tallinn.
In the middle of Lahemaa national park, you’ll find one of the prettiest manor complexes in North Estonia. The buildings are scattered on the shores of the river and pond. Not far, you’ll find sandy beaches, mossy pine forests and historical fishermen villages Käsmu and Altja. Here you’ll experience silence, pure nature and peaceful countryside life.
Vihula is also a feast for those who are hungry for history and architecture. Even though Estonians have historically been farmers and fishermen, we have hundreds of manor houses. It’s because of Baltic Germans who built these little palaces for themselves. And many manors, including Vihula, are still in perfect condition and pretty spectacular. The whole complex was built in the 16th century and consists of 27 different buildings. Why so many? Manor houses needed many buildings because they were like little self-sufficient households where everything one needed for life was produced on the spot and even more. So a well-functioning manor house like Vihula needed cellars, laundry place, mill, stables, distillery, a forge, warehouse and so on.
During the renovation, renovators made sure to keep the buildings in a way that they looked. So you can still admire here the narrow, steep staircases, old wooden floors and thick limestone walls. But inside of these thick historic walls, you find all the modern-day luxuries.
Enjoy the historic atmosphere in the conference rooms
Vihula is the best place for your event if you want to offer something extra for your people. Rooms here are full of history, which gives a special feeling for your meeting, seminar or training day.
Vihula Manor has plenty of meeting rooms to offer and something for any kind of event:
- Constance Conference & Concert Hall is the largest meeting room located in the old barn house. It holds up to 160 delegates in theatre style, which makes it perfect for conferences and meetings. Due to its great acoustics, it’s also perfect for concerts.
- Ursula Conference Hall is a middle-sized meeting room with old limestone walls and elegant wooden beams that holds up to 90 delegates.
- Dora Conference Hall is the smaller meeting room in the conference center. It’s cozy and perfect for meetings up to 30 people.
- Palm House Banquet Hall is a stylish event room with large windows, mirrors and chandeliers. In this multifunctional room, you can either have a meeting for up to 80 people in theatre-style or organize gala dinners and banquettes.
- Vodka Distillery is a room with a very special atmosphere. Sitting around the brown table under the medieval-looking chandelier and being surrounded by grey bricks, it almost feels like you’re one of King Arthur’s knights. Why not organize a seminar or meeting here? This empowering and unique setting will surely produce some great ideas. Or you can go and visit the vodka museum after the work is done and gather around the very same table for vodka tasting.
- Oil Granary Seminar Room is perfect for small gatherings like round-table meetings or brainstorming. The wooden interior creates a perfect atmosphere for thinking and work. It would also be perfect as a teamwork room for a larger event. If the weather is good, we recommend you to have a coffee break in a close-by teahouse which is a great change for a tense meeting.
- Teahouse. This tiny house in the middle of greenery is straight out of fairytales. A yellow wooden house that looks like a mini-manor house is a wonderful setting for meetings in the summer. It also has a balcony overlooking the river, and it fits 10 delegates.
- Wine cellar is located in the manor house basement and has a wonderful historic look. Here, you’ll find a fine selection of vintage wines, and it’s a perfect location for small private dinners.
- von Schubert Presidential Suite – Alexander von Schubert was the last owner of the Vihula before it got nationalized after WWI. This intimate room is perfect for your most demanding clients. The stylish room holds 8 delegates, has a fireplace and offers exquisite views to the manor park, river and the tea house.
Check out also various seminar packages that make organizing your event so much easier. There are also packages that include transfers from Tallinn.
Unique coffee breaks
As you already know, a good event is an event that is thought through until the smallest details. Of course, it’s crucial to make sure that all the important meetings and seminars are going well, but just as important is to think about breaks. This is when we recharge our batteries to be fresh for the new speech or activity. Traditionally people enjoy coffee and snacks during the breaks, but why not stir things up a bit and change the traditions? How about offering people 15 minutes of energizing exercises, express beauty treatments or a sauna ritual? In Vihula, you can also send people to their spice garden to pick their own mint leaves for the cocktail. Surely that all sounds more interesting than the old boring coffee and snack, doesn’t it?
After-conference and team building activities
Maybe you’re wondering what is there to do in the national park after work hours or during your team building event? Actually, Vihula manor has a lot to offer.
For starters, why not book a tour of a manor house? Or to learn about the flavors of vodka distillery and legends? A lot of fun is to have a tour with a golf cart or tour the park with a horse carriage. Those who are brave at heart can also book a bear watching event.
Another fun way to incorporate yourself into the rich history and culture of the manor are through all kind of hands-on activities. Learn how to make salt scrub, felt soap, make your own berry schnapps.
It’s also a great idea to get creative after a full day of work. Making something beautiful relieves stress and helps you to be in a moment. How about trying to felt a poppy brooch, or let your creative juices flow with porcelain painting? There is also an awesome workshop where you can make a vase or lamp from an old bottle. Or why not transfer a photo on wood?
If your group consists of active, sporty and outdoor people then don’t keep them indoors more than necessary. Let them row a boat on the pond, go together for a long bicycle ride or have some fun playing minigolf “Tour the Baltics”. There are also a couple of nice hiking trails close to the manor. Don’t forget to ask about walking sticks for nordic walking.
But of course, there’s no better way to relax than to use the manor house spa. Make a couple of laps in a pool and sweat after in smoke, steam or juniper sauna. The idea of going to a sauna with your colleagues may sound strange at first, but know that it is a very common practice in Estonia and a great way to get to know the local culture. And if you feel like the 80-95 C saunas are a bit much, then there’s also an option to visit manor lady’s sauna sanarium, where the temperature is much lower.
It’s definitely worth checking out also the variety of spa treatments in eco-SPA.
Enjoy the food
Food is often something that makes or breaks the experience. Luckily there’s nothing to be afraid of in Vihula. For the best food experience, you simply need to book a dinner in Vihula Manor Restaurant.
From the big windows of this second-floor restaurant, you can admire beautiful views of the manor park and enjoy new exciting flavors. The concept of this restaurant is interesting: it combines hearty traditional Estonian countryside dishes with a bit fancier manor cuisine. Some recipes even come from manor’s historical cookbooks, so be ready for surprises. The restaurant has space for over 100 guests. The restaurant interior is elegant and stylish. It combines original parquet floors and ceiling ornaments with modern Scandinavian furniture.
Of course, the manor also has a wine cellar, and if you just fancy a dessert or a simple sandwich, then we recommend checking out the Water Mill Cafe. Yes, here in Vihula you can enjoy your coffee or beer in a functioning watermill.
If you need to fix lunch or dinner for your group, you can do it also in a traditional Estonian Kaval-Ants Tavern. Here in the historic Ice Cellar, you can imagine how Estonians used to eat. Limestone walls are decorated with farm tools and waitresses walk around in traditional costumes, and if you wish there’s a possibility to organize a folk-dance show.
Vihula also offers different food-based activities for groups like a workshop on making handmade candies and truffles. You can also learn how to make Vihula Manor’s signature cocktail. If the weather is nice, you can organise a picnic in the park.
Unique guest rooms for accommodation
Vihula offers 78 nicely decorated suites and rooms in various categories. Rooms are located in different manor buildings, and each of them has a unique charm.
Contact and book your event in Vihula
What we recommend next is to take a virtual tour in their webpage to learn more about this wonderful place and then contact the sales team of Vihula Manor to ask for the best offer for your event.
Marketing Manager
Posted: 07.03.2022
Categories: Hotels | Activities | Blog | Conferences
