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Ilona Buttinger

1 tour from £365pp

Expert Overview

Ilona lives in Harrow, north London but grew up in south London. She has eight siblings and her parents are Dutch.

She was a primary school teacher mostly working in west London. She learnt to play bridge as a child round the kitchen table but really started to adopt conventions during lockdown. She went on her first bridge holiday in March 2024 which was the Majorcan congress.

Her favourite hotel is the French chateau in Annecy because, well, it’s a chateau! Her favourite destination so far is Crete. She enjoy's travelling, cooking and diy. Ilona says her most memorable experience was once flying a spitfire!

1 Holidays available from £365pp

Premier Bridge

Join us in the heart of Torquay and enjoy a fantastic location just five minutes away from the stunning seafront.

  • 4 nights half-board accommodation
  • Services of an EBU-qualified director and friendly hosts
  • Varied bridge sessions with Masterpoints and prizes awarded
  • 1 seminar
  • Devonshire cream tea
  • Welcome drink
  • Complimentary car parking
  • No Single
    Supplement
  • Half
    Board

Availability:

  • 2025 5th May 20th October
  • 2026 23rd March 4th May 19th October
Travel
  • Join Direct

Meet the
Team

We’ve assembled a fantastic team of directors, hosts and teachers, all dedicated to providing an engaging and supportive bridge-playing environment.

Meet the Team
Christine and Stewart MacFarlane

Christine and Stewart MacFarlane

Christine and Stewart MacFarlane started their own Bridge School and Club in Bath. Together, they have taught and introduced many people to this wonderful game and started running weekends away for their students in 2009. This progressed to running bridge holidays and working on cruise ships as the bridge instructors.
James and Jane Tullett

James and Jane Tullett

Jane brings her organisational and interpersonal skills to the forefront to make an excellent hosting team with her husband James. James has been playing bridge for over 30 years and is regularly picked for his county. Jane and James have travelled extensively in recent years to explore exotic parts of the world, such as Peru, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
Hilary and David Powell

Hilary and David Powell

First for Bridge hosts Hilary and David Powell are looking forward to making your bridge holiday restful and enjoyable. They play bridge regularly at several local bridge clubs and in county competitions. David has represented Kent on several occasions in the annual Metropolitan Cup, and they are on the committee of Bromley North Bridge Club.
Anne Wright

Anne Wright

Anne is a host who works alongside our directors with the aim of ensuring that everyone enjoys their bridge holiday. She is friendly and approachable and enjoys her bridge, playing in several competitions near her home in Leicestershire. Anne is a qualified bridge director, and she looks forward to welcoming players of all standards.
Maggie Pyner

Maggie Pyner

Maggie started learning bridge in 1980. She played with my future husband, John Pyner, at Congress level for several years and reached the level of Life Master – and will hopefully become a Premier Life Master.
Gary Conrad

Gary Conrad

Gary has been hosting bridge holiday events for many years, enjoying these events, socialising, and caring for the guests, and always strive to ensure that our guests have a wonderful holiday experience.
Ilona Buttinger

Ilona Buttinger

Ilona learnt to play bridge as a child round the kitchen table, but really started to adopt conventions during lockdown. She went on her first bridge holiday in March 2024, which was the Majorcan Congress.
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