Weymouth - Viva Las Weygas!

Why we need a new home for Stag and Hen Dos

We're excited...really, really, really excited... and we want to share with you what's getting us jumping out of bed in the morning.

Chillisauce has been in the stag and hen market for over 15 years now and is the largest company in the industry, sending over 150,000 happy revellers away every year.

The popularity of locations come and go, and we are always of a mind that the taste of stag and hens are ever changing and we need to make sure we are ahead of the curve and developing new locations to meet market changes.

While the south coast of the UK has always been a big draw for hen and stag parties, accommodating those parties in a town/city that fits their needs has recently become more challenging due to a variety of reasons. Even before the environment became more challenging, there hasn’t been anywhere in the south that could be considered comparable to the northern powerhouse of Blackpool and their attraction to stag and hen parties.

For the past 10 years Bournemouth, Brighton, and Newquay, have been the mainstays for traditional stag and hen parties who want a coastal resort in the south. However, in recent years they have each undergone quite radical transformations and it is becoming increasingly more difficult to see how they fit in with hen and stag party needs.

As these traditional locations fall out of favour, we see a big opportunity for somewhere on the south coast to take up the batton, and become the new stag and hen capital.

The Brexit Effect - Stags are coming home!

While no one really knows how Brexit will affect the stag and hen industry, it has been widely reported that it is likely to send flight prices soaring. Couple that with the relative drop in the £ against the Euro over the past few years, the potential disruption of longer airport queues, and the recent news that all day boozing could be banned at airports, and it doesn’t take Einstein to work out that the Stag and Hen experience of travelling abroad for their revelry is likely to become a less attractive option. It has also already been reported that over one third of all Brits will stay in the UK this year. What is Europe's loss will be Weymouth’s gain!

Why Weymouth should be the next Stag & Hen capital

When looking into where will become the next big stag & hen destination, we carefully assess destinations based on many factors. Although Weymouth has always had a number of the key things that would make it attractive to stags and hens, it has always missed a few things too that have held it back. Weymouth has never had a budget chain hotel in the centre of town, and nor does it have any of the major chain restaurants or indoor activities that attract stag and hen parties (and more importantly the big stag and hen companies like us to promote them).

This is however all about to change, and not only are these coming, but they are coming in the form of our very own stag & hen island! More on that later - let's look at the other key things that Weymouth already has:

Sun - 1890 hours per year!

Weymouth is the third most sunny destinations in the whole of the UK, with an amazing 1,890 hours of sunshine per year, and is the third sunniest place in the UK - compare that to paltry 1242 hours in Skegness . In fact, believe it or not, Weymouth gets more sunshine hours than a whole host of popular European stag do locations including Prague (1667), Berlin (1625) , Amsterdam (1662) , Munich (1777) , Riga (1754), Tallinn (1825), Krakow (1396), Cologne (1567) and Brno (1677) . Weymouth even gets more sun than the Spanish resort of Santander (1649) and Bilbao (1610)!

Sea

Weymouth was home the other 2012 Olympic sailing and although many stag and hens are unlikely to take to the seas in a sailing boat, the 3 miles stretch of sandy beach is gently sloping and is perfect for a dip or a spin on some ringos or an inflatable banana.

Beach - Voted the best in the UK!

Weymouth has the best beach in the whole of the UK (as voted by Tripadvisor members) , and better still there are no restrictions on drinking, barbeques and music! Plus, it is literally within crawling distance of 'stag island'! Think chilled out tunes, barbeques and beers after a hard night out, easing into party central as the sun hits the horizon.

Strip Clubs

Weymouth is one of the only smaller UK towns which welcomes lap dancing clubs. Weymouth's current lap dancing club, Peekaboo's is right in the centre of town, a very short stroll from the peninsula. Once we get going though, we expect demand to go through the roof, and this is one area where we expect some exciting times ahead.

Relaxed drinking laws - party till dawn!

Weymouth has extremely relaxed drinking laws and the local council is keen to keep it that way. On our reconnaissance trips we saw that many clubs were open till 5 or 6 in the morning - and there are loads of die-hards staggering around after that and crowding into McDonalds (which opens at 6am especially to cater for those late-night revellers).

Good Transport Links

While nowhere on the South Coast can be considered an easy drive to get to, Weymouth ticks a big box in that it has direct trains from London running roughly every half hour. Not only is the service direct but Weymouth is the end of the line - perfect for those who may have a bit too much to drink on the journey and end up falling asleep! Bournemouth and Exeter airports, which serve lots of the UK's cities, will also provide an excellent option for those travelling down from the north. We know that Glaswegians are particularly fond of Blackpool, therefore they will be glad to know that there are direct flights to both Southampton and Exeter (just a little over an hour away from Weymouth), and we can easily arrange coach transfers from the airport.

Daytime of Activities:

Drinking all day can get a bit much sometimes and it’s good to break the day up with some activities. With Weymouth being on the coast, it has a huge range of activities you would associate with traditional seaside resorts that will interest the stag and hen market - pedalos, ringos, banana rides, speed boat blasts, and jet ski safaris. We also have a big multi-activity centre about half an hour outside Weymouth which currently covers all our activities for Bournemouth, so in terms of off-road karting, quad biking, clay shooting and paintball we are already all set up to go. 'Stag Island' will also have a purpose-built section for indoor activities for those days when the weather lets us down.

Live Sports on the Big Screen

Just check out the video below - is there a better place to watch sports on the big screen in the country?

The Right Size

Ideally, when stag and hen groups travel to a destination want to feel that they are arriving in a place where they will be able to see and interact with lots of other stag and hen groups, but be large enough to keep them full occupied for the duration of the event.

We estimate that during the summer months we can easily send 1000 stag and hens to Weymouth per week, which should lead to a permanent carnival type atmosphere, and an environment where stag and hen groups can feel at home and part of the crowd.

It’s also important that the destination is small enough to travel around on foot, so the groups don’t have to get taxies anywhere.

Arguably the nicest harbour in the UK

While it might not be on every stag and hen party’s bucket list on visiting Weymouth, we thought we would be doing it injustice if we didn't mention the stunning harbour. For those wanting a quick break from all the bedlam across the bridge, the harbour provides a useful respite. Oh - and it's lined with great pubs and fish and chips shops!

A love of Fancy Dress

Weymouth loves fancy dress, and probably encourages it more than any other town in the UK. People love to dress up for the regular festivals held around town, and the New Year Festival was recently voted the best in the world and described as “host to the largest fancy dress New Year’s Eve celebration in the UK”.

We aim to take that to another level and make Weymouth famous for being the Fancy Dress capital of the world!

Weymouth peninsula (to be known as 'Stag Island') is a 5-hectare area of land, that is almost entirely encircled by water - technically not quite an island, but neither is the nearby 'Isle of Portland'. It sits at the southern tip of the town, and has direct access to the best rated beach in the UK), on its western side. It has stunning views of Weymouth bay and the Jurassic Coast to the east, the Nothe Fort and Gardens to the south, the stunning harbour to the west and the sweep of Weymouth Regency Esplanade to the north (Described as the "the best-preserved Georgian seafront anywhere along the Channel”).

Formerly used as a ferry port, the whole peninsula has now become available for redevelopment, since the previous ferry service left town a few years ago.

Simply put - as development land goes, it is unlikely that there is anywhere on the UK coast that could come close to rivalling it in terms of potential. It is likely they have a miniature Sandbanks, entirely open for development!

For those not in the know Sandbanks is a peninsula also in Dorset which commands some of the highest development land prices in the world at over £1000 per sq/ft! To put that in perspective if a similar price were achieved, the peninsula would be worth a staggering £538,000,000!

We have been doing a lot of work behind the scenes for a while now, but honestly didn't think it could be pulled off until recently. We were assuming this amazing bit of land would be developed in a way that moved Weymouth along the path seen by many of the transitioning south coast resorts: - boutique hotels, museums, workspace for start-ups, a French-style market for local producers of food and crafts, along with open-air cafes, watersports facilities, independent restaurants, yacht moorings and super fresh seafood, and all designed to fit seamlessly into the architecture of Georgian esplanade - I’m sure you get the picture… That’s all very nice for a romantic weekend away (or indeed the honeymoon), but not the sort of thing that will appeal to the budget-minded hen or stag do!

However, we are delighted to see that the local vision and ours are so closely aligned, and the area is shaping up perfectly for our stag and hen destination needs. With other resorts becoming less appealing to the stag and hen market, that leaves a huge opportunity to the town that is bold enough to choose a different path and can see the financial gain.

The Development Plan

The development plan, which we can now talk about, as the council has just voted to go ahead with our plan, is a phased development, where the first phase will include a 100-bed budget hotel and pub/diner. Currently, Weymouth doesn't have a big budget hotel in the centre of town, which is really essential for it to get adopted as a major stag/hen destination - especially to get marketed by the the major stag and hen industry websites that all work with the budget national hotel chains.

Given the context that the hotel is being built in conjunction with a 'pub/diner,' we are betting it's probably already a done deal with Premier Inn, as they generally always open with one of the chain restaurants that are also part of the Whitbread brand. It’s likely the original plan for a boutique hotel was scrapped, as a condition to ensure that both the accommodation and pub/diner are owned by the same company. It would seem like this is a part of Premier Inn’s strategy, as they are building similar hotels in the centre of Blackpool, Skegness and Great Yarmouth - all destinations which are focusing their offering on the same type of visitor.

'The Phallus'

London may have 'The Shard', and Paris the Eiffel Tower - but you can forget all that, because Stag Island has 'The Phallus' - a 50-metre tower, with a viewing platform that moves up and down the shaft, to give a 360-degree view of Stag Island and its surroundings.

An idea of what to expect

We can get an idea of what to expect by taking a peek at The Edge complex, which is being built in Great Yarmouth (on which the Weymouth plan was modelled) - a 3 phase development: - "An 81-room Premier Inn and 6000 sq/ft Beefeater restaurant, in phase one, followed by phases two and three of the development, which would see the additions of first an entertainment complex with restaurants, an indoor play area and a cinema built, followed by a 25,000sq/ft casino" developed by pleasure beach mogul Albert Jones.

Stag Island will put the Great Yarmouth 'The Edge' development in the shade - it is more than double the size!

The Second Phase

Given the amount of stag and hen parties ourselves and the other stag and hen companies will be able to send, it then follows that we will be able to show that there is a large need (and profit) in servicing our customers, and we can steer a lot of the decisions on its other uses.

National Chain Restaurants

It's well known that many of the high street restaurant chains are struggling financially and most recent reports indicate that over one third of the UK's top 100 chains are losing money. In this sort of environment it’s going to be very difficult to persuade high street chains to invest, in such a project. However, with our track record of working with these chains and the numbers of groups we can guarantee, we can help ensure that any risk is mitigated - and at the same time, we’ll have an influence on which chains we think will be the best fit.

Along with the accommodation, and indoor activities we see the chain restaurants as key to making Weymouth's stag and hen offering complete. Ideally, we would love to create the UK's second Hooters, which has proved such a favourite of stag parties in Nottingham.

Indoor Activities

The council are very keen to use the area for indoor activities - with trampolining (one of the hottest hen party products right now), indoor golf (always popular with our stag groups) and an indoor climbing wall (a great alternative for both hen and stags who are feeling a bit more active).

That’s a great start, but we will be aiming to take it a lot further, and we will certainly be able to show there is demand for our ideas. We will be pushing to try and get some common favourites in subsequent development phases: indoor paintball, laser quest, an indoor shooting range and indoor karting, to name a few.

In addition to these daytime activities, we will be doing our best to make sure all aspects of the traditional stag/hen are covered without ever having to leave the island!

To this end we will be working on developing an evening entertainment ‘mega complex’, which could house a nightclub, lap dancing club, bars, restaurants, stage show and casino all under one roof! There will literally be nothing like it this side of the Atlantic for stag and hen parties!

The Beer Bike

Weymouth is relatively compact in size, and for those who prefer, it is all quite easily walkable. However, we plan to put the fun into travel, and operate a regular and constant service of Beer Bikes to travel around town. For the uninitiated the Beer Bike is effectively a legal bar on wheels, which has its own driver, barmaid and sound system. In additional to being one of the coolest ways to get from A to B, the bikes are totally pedal-powered, so in addition to being fun, you can feel that you're doing your bit to help fight climate change and the obesity problem at the same time!

We plan to offer a hop-on-off system, where users just pay for the beer they drink on board. Much like a bus service, we plan to offer a number of circular routes through the town, that will take in all the key locations that a stag or hen party may wish to visit. We recommend that this will be the perfect way to get to know your way around town and take in the scenery while downing a few beers on your very own personal bar! We also plan to offer a regular express shuttle service for all trains arriving from main destinations, direct to your accommodation on Stag Island.

Mobility Scooter Drag Racing!

Weymouth wouldn’t be Weymouth without the mobility scooter - they are literally everywhere, and is the defacto mode of transport for young and old alike. Rumour has it that the local McDonalds had a promo, offering a free mobility scooter for anyone who visiting every day for a year. We can’t think of a better way to celebrate this fact than by having a daily drag race, which we would aim to run from the peninsula along the prom and up to the Oasis cafe and back.

We don’t intend this to be a competitive race, but more a fun rally where we can get hundreds of riders together at one time and have a great time taking in the views and sea air. We will be giving out individual prizes for the best pimped up scooter, and fancy dress, as well as group prizes for the best overall theme. Even though Weymouth has a large number of scooter hire shops, we don’t think they would be able to cope with the demand (and it would be a bit unfair of us to take away some transport from those who really need it), so we will provide you with your own scooter as part of your entry fee, and you will be free to keep it until the following morning, so you and your group can use it to go exploring any areas where the Beer Bikes can’t travel.

Jurassic Real Ale and Cider Tour

This is a fantastic tour for the real ale aficionado. We will start off in the aptly named Brewers Quay in Weymouth where your guide will give you a brief history of the great Devenish Brewery, while you ample a few local Dorset beers. We then head off by party bus along the Jurassic coast, where we will stop off for a few classic country style real ale pubs, before reaching our first main stop: an award winning traditional cider maker. Here you'll get a brief understanding of the process, and sample a range of their products. We then move onto one of Dorset's famous larger breweries, where you get a guided tour, followed by another session of tasting and sampling.

We then get back on the bus to visit our next stop, a small specialist microbrewery in the market town of Dorchester, before moving onto our final stop at the aptly named Brewery Square. Dorchester’s ‘Brewery Square’ is a redevelopment of historic brewery buildings mixed with some modern additions and occupied by various shops and chain restaurants. Unfortunately, no active brewery remains in the development, but fear not - we will provide a range of some of the finest ales and ciders to sample, and combine it all with the various fun and games we have devised to take advantage of the famous ‘water fountains’! When we have had all our fun, we will have a meal in one of the square’s excellent restaurants, before giving you the option of joining us on the bus back to Weymouth, or alternatively heading into central Dorchester to sample the excellent range of pubs and bars, and making your own when back via train (a regular 10 minute journey directly back to Weymouth that runs past midnight).

The Jurassic Coast Party Bus

We’ll bring a new twist to the classic hen and stag favorite “the party bus”. The road between the Jurassic Coast is one of the most scenic drives in the county, and we aim to show it off in style. We will take you in one of our pimped up double-decker buses, complete with bar, two floor 360 sound system and synchronized laser display, where you’ll journey back in time as we travel along the world heritage Jurassic Coast. The backdrop for this mobile rave is simply breathtaking and will take your breath away, as we travel along the hilltops of the Jurassic coast, to the sound of some of the latest beats and old time classics. Our bus journey ends (and the pub crawl begins) at the pretty village of Lyme Regis. With everyone dressed in classic 18th-century costumes that would have frequented the village during its heyday, we hit the promo and take part in a beer and seafood snack bar crawl finishing up at the famous ‘cobb’ (French lieutenant's woman - if that makes any sense). From there we move on, hammer in hand, to chip away at the fossil-filled rocks of the Lyme Bay. While you're hammering away at the cliffs, we will be busy preparing a beach barbeque with the finest of Dorset produce, all washed down with a selection of local beers and spirits. Depending on weather conditions we can continue with the beach party, or head back into Lyme Regis, before heading back home to some thumping party bus tunes.

The Balearic Broadchurch Experience

Our themed tours are always popular and this one is going to be something special, and will appeal to fans of the series as well as any stag and hens who fancy a trip out to see this stunning part of the country. Broadchurch is a TV drama featuring Dr Who’s David Tennant, Olivia Coleman, Jodie Whittaker, Lenny Henry and many other stars of the British screen. Now in its 3rd series, the first series of Broadchurch was filmed in 2012 and was written by Chris Chibnall, while he was living in Bridport. You will travel in style along the stunning Jurassic Coast in our pimped up double-decker party bus, and participate in your very own murder mystery on the set of Broadchurch.

Split into teams of 10 and you will visit many of the destinations made famous by the series, where you will be given clues to help find out who is the killer. To get into the swing of things we encourage everyone to dress up as a famous detective (past or present), and prizes will be given out for the best dressed, and most hilarious impression. To cap the day off, we will then head back to the cliffs that made the series famous (West Bay, Bridport), for the mother of all beach parties. Trust us when we say that the sunsets and views here can put Ibiza to shame, and we aim to give you that Balearic experience right here in the UK.

A Royal Poundbury Potshot

This event combines a game of cunning and strategy with comedy capers. Poundbury is a unique new town that is built on land owned by and according to the design principles of Prince Charles. It’s an interesting place to visit in its own right, and you could be totally excused on initial inspection to think you have just arrived in some historic market town, with more than a bit of continental grandeur about it. Given its lack of cars, really wide road verges, alleyways, windy road and general quirky design, it makes a great location to play what we think will be one of our most popular activities.

The Royal Family (your group) are on their annual hunting event, and fully dressed and armed with laser powered shotguns (similar to those used in laser quest). You need to set off in pursuit of your prey on your mobility scooters. You will all have walkie talkies to help you coordinate your assault on our poor, and very sexily dressed, animals who will also have souped-up versions of mobility scooters!

On the back of all the animals' scooters are electronic targets, which the Royal Family members need to hit to bring down their quarry. The idea of the game is that the animals need to evade their pursuers for a set time period (depending on group sizes), and if they manage to do so, they are declared the winners - conversely if the hunters bag all their quarry in the allotted time they are the winners.

Depending on the dynamics on the day, the animals will be played by a matched hen party if one is available, and if not, then some of our own sexy ladies. For those feeling sorry for the animals in all this, you will be glad to know that the tables get turned in the next game and the ‘animals’ get their revenge on the Royals - hilarious comedy capers await!

Gateway to the Stag Island

The Future Vision

While we have got a fair bit more work to do to get everything in shape, we are already thinking beyond the initial phases. We are aware that a 100-room hotel isn't likely to be enough when we start promoting, so we are already looking at additional space for similar accommodation. There's always the potential for more accommodation on the island, especially if we can build upwards - which we can't see any reason why not. It would certainly give it that 'Las Vegas' feel if we can scale the current plans up and give a bit of glitz to the town! There are also a few sites in town which could be ripe for development.

As ever, please keep your ideas flowing in on how we can develop our plans - we rely on your ideas to give us the inspiration to keep driving things forward and are indebted to you for a number of the activities ideas we are planning. Send your thoughts to : stagisland(at)chillisauce.com

Getting in touch

We expect to get inundated with requests to be suppliers for our groups, and are keen to work with you. Please contact us by emailing stagisland(at)chillisauce.com

Please be aware that our main focus at the moment is getting the facilities for our groups built, and we won't be able to respond personally until we see further progress on the building of the facilities we require.

For those interested, we have published some of the background research that we completed as part of this project: Regenerating UK Seaside Towns - We look at how 7 seaside towns are trying to regenerate themselves. Crime in UK's Coastal Towns - A look at the crime statistics for the UK's largest seaside towns.