5x What to pay attention to when traveling with colleagues
Recently, a colleague recalled the statement of a colorful publisher of beautiful magazines. He believed that more horizontal activity should take place among his employees. To stimulate this, a ski trip was organized every year. Good for team spirit, love for the company, and indeed, quite a few couples and even little ones have come out of these company outings. This was long before #metoo.
We also try to go out with the whole team once a year. So not just with the editors, but also with Daniëlle and Annick, who as the sales department always ensure that the fire keeps burning, and also Lotte, our designer, who creates the most beautiful layouts behind her laptop every day, and of course our photographer slash video editor Annabelle and chef Adeline, who always makes sure I can breathe and let my shoulders drop two centimeters. So all together from the core team. Our outings are always a success, but that’s also because we pay attention to this.
1. Choose the best place
In our case, it was Hillside Beach Resort in Turkey. A place so beautiful that you would even enjoy it with your arch-enemy. You feel like you’re in another world. Immediately. It seems like there is always someone walking around at Hillside whose only task is to make everything even better. When you get a massage, there’s a little bowl with a flower under the opening in your mattress where you look through with your head, and the trash cans have a ‘jacket’ of reeds so they don’t explode. Hillside subtly advises you on what the most Instagrammable spots are, and when you order wine, there will always be a flower stuck to your glass. Those kinds of things. Everything is always a 10 plus.
2. Ensure fun activities
Doing nothing might be nice next to your bestie, but if you don’t know each other for years, it’s nice to do things together. At Hillside, we didn’t even get to half of what we all wanted. Half of the group went to the private beach in the morning for a yoga class (which always ends with the best ginger-lemon-honey tea and a short massage from the best masseuses from Bali), while the others delved into the pillow menu (they really have a pillow menu, depending on your wish), after breakfast (where they even have eleven types of butter and pancakes with Nutella and a man who bakes fresh brioches and someone making Eggs Benedict and an omelette wizard) there was a choice between a thirty-centimeter thick mattress or the aquarobics. We could dive, water ski, canoe, sail, undergo a massage in the most beautiful salon I’ve ever seen (with the best massage ever), and in the afternoon there was an intensely beautiful yacht ready with white cushions, prosecco, and the best gin and tonics ever. I believe we indeed drank the entire stock. And yes, there was also a bar where we could watch football, there was a disco for the youngsters, and a shop with really nice summer clothes for yours truly.
3. Make it a bit Instagrammable
For the memory and for the photo book. It’s just nicer if you’re in the most beautiful bay in Europe than in a concrete new housing estate.
4. Think about the room arrangement
Look at who gets along well and let them sleep together. Make sure you are extra clean and fresh and be honest with each other. ‘You snored a bit last night, maybe you should take a shower.’ Better said and solved than swallowed and annoyed. If you mention it lightly, there’s nothing wrong. What I find extra nice about Hillside is that the toilet is outside the bedroom. So you have to cross your patio and then find the toilet and the shower. So nice for privacy.
5. Nice if it’s big, but not too small either
At Hillside, you can enjoy wandering around the grounds, but you always find each other. It’s ultimately a closed bay, so safe and clear.
There is actually only one downside. We can never surpass this place, so I think that next year it has to be Hillside again... moet worden…
