Carved watermelon at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok
Simply Sunday. A talk the other day with a hotelier running independent hotels was a reminder of the importance of genuine hospitality. He says it is easier for one-off hotels to be authentic. That might be, but there are specific examples in group hotels when thoughtful authenticity shows through. One was the advanced birthday welcome at Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore. Another is this magnificent carved watermelon at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok. Memo to all ‘givers’, in other words hospitality providers – customers do remember when you do something special. Memo, equally, to those customers, my friends, known and unknown, who stay in, and love, luxury hotels around the world – remember such special acts of welcome, and support those particular hotels. The gal also remembers, at opposite extreme, arriving at The Essex House in New York – before it became Jumeirah – to find it as flower-filled as a flower shop. Finally a card was visible – for someone else. A telephone call down to front desk resulted in every single bloom being taken away. That is equally memorable, sadly.
