The St Ermin's Hotel in London's St James' Park will play host to a series of interactive beekeeping workshops this Spring / Summer, with the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Hotel's own 350,000 Buckfast Bees – hosted by 'Queen Bee' Esther Coles.

Participants can choose from a number of masterclasses, ranging from a 'Meet the Bees' encounter out on the third-floor bee terrace, to a kid's 'Let's Waggle' workshop and bee hotel making; 'Products of the Hive' class with candle and cocktail making and even a 'Bee Friendly Planting' session to coincide with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Workshops will be led by the outgoing, larger than life Esther Coles who has kept bees in her North London allotment for over 12 years. As well as being a passionate beekeeper, Esther is a brilliant actress and co-hosts the hugely popular 'Queen Bees' podcast alongside her dear celebrity friend Jane Horrocks (best known for her role as Bubbles in AbFab).

Sure to be filled with as many laughs as important beekeeping insights, the masterclasses will range in topic and have a selection of food and drink options to be taken on the hotel's beautiful, al fresco gin terrace. Participants can enhance their fab-bee-lous experience with elegant cocktails - featuring the St. Ermin's own gin and honey; drinks and canapes or a delightful afternoon tea with Pommery Champagne. Details of all the events can be found here:

St. Ermin's Beekeeping Workshops:

• 13th May, 2-4pm: Meet and Drink with Our Bees, includes: an introduction to beekeeping with Esther (including interactive / up close encounter with the bees on our terrace) followed by a honey cocktail making demonstration (and tasting!) - £70pp
• 20th May, 1-4pm: Meet Our Bees and Pommery Champagne Afternoon Tea, includes: an introduction to beekeeping with Esther (including interactive / up close encounter with the bees on our terrace) followed by a champagne afternoon tea in the Tea Lounge - £90
• 27th May (Chelsea Flower Show), 10th June, 17th June, 1-4pm: Bee Friendly Planting and Champagne Afternoon Tea, includes: lessons on bee friendly planting and introduction to beekeeping with Esther (including interactive / up close encounter with the bees on our terrace) followed by a champagne afternoon tea in the Tea Lounge - £90
• 3rd June, 2-4pm: Products of the Hive and Cocktail Making, includes: products from the hive masterclass followed by a honey candle making session and cocktails on the terrace featuring St Ermin's own Gin - £70
• 24th June, 3-5pm: Cocktails, Canapes and Chat with the Queen Bee, includes: a session about the bees and why they are important with cocktails and honey themed canapes served on the terrace throughout - £80
• 1st July & 26th August, 2-4pm: Let's Waggle (Family Workshop), includes: a lesson on what bees do, why we need them, pollination and how we can save the bees whilst looking at them through the third-floor window. Kids can then make their very own bee hotels, followed by afternoon tea in the Tea Lounge - £48 adult £30 child (£85 total)

About the St. Ermin's Bees

The St. Ermin's 350,000 resident Buckfast bees reside both on its Victorian rooftop, alongside the thriving 'Kitchen Garden' and on the third floor 'Bee Terrace' – where guest can watch them go about their daily buzziness of maintaining the hives and making the delicious St. Ermin's honey used throughout all of the hotels' menus.

The bees have fantastic access to some of London's major parks, all within a three-mile radius, where they collect a wide variety of pollen and nectar, giving their honey a truly delicious taste. Cities like London trap heat, meaning these bees can start foraging earlier than rural bees and continue later into autumn.

For the bees that do not live in the hives, there is the 'Bee and Bee Hotel'. These special hexagonal suites offer a wide variety of bees a comfortable home; bamboo nesting areas and condominiums are for solitary bees such as leaf cutter bees, whereas the boxes are more suited to social varieties like the tree bumblebee. Following the hotel's ethos that everyone is welcome, the 'Bee and Bee Hotel' is also home to helpful insects such as lacewings, ladybirds, earwigs, woodlice and spiders that can rest in peace amongst the crevice stacks.

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For further information, visuals or review requests please contact WixHill: + 44 (0) 1483 203992. Tim Fordham – Moss tim@wixhill.co.uk or Dani West dani@wixhill.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

• Beekeeping suits provided for relevant classes
• Adults only (with the exception on family 'Let's Waggle' masterclass)

St Ermin's Hotel Property Highlights:

• Excellent location – around the corner from St James' Park tube – minutes from Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament
• Interesting history of involvement with the UK intelligence services from WWI to the present day
• Award winning, two AA Rosette Caxton Restaurant on site
• Third floor terrace Bee Hives – home to over 300,000 Buckfast Bees and London's only Bee & Bee hotel, with urban beekeeping workshops available.
• Fantastic family stay packages including 'Budding Bond' spy kits, 'A Bedtime Story' book stays and kids afternoon teas.
• Beautiful selection of Afternoon Teas, served in one of London's prettiest Tea Lounges
• Stunning ballroom and event spaces, showcasing dazzling chandeliers and magnificent plasterwork
• State of the art meetings facilities and private rooms
• Special wedding packages and wedding party events
• Fantastic range of rooms and suites
• Member of the Considerate Hoteliers Association
• Voted a 'Top London Hotel' in Condé Nast Traveller Reader's Choice Awards
• Top 40 Hotels in London - Tripadvisor
• Four AA Red Stars 2023
• St Ermin's Hotel, Westminster has been accredited as a Living Wage Employer. Our Living Wage commitment will ensure everyone working at the St Ermin's Hotel receives a minimum hourly wage of £11.05 for London, significantly higher than the government minimum for over 23s

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