David Constantine on the job
Nothing works like proven success – and back to basics should be the marching song of all luxury hotels, says the gal. Teenagers want disruption (check YouTube for some hilarious short videos of doing things differently) but some of the ideas are here today, gone tomorrow, what the word momentary really means.
I am always delighted when basics work, again and again. Hilton Perth – the Australian city, not the namesake in Scotland – is a venerable structure, built 40 years ago by the McAlpine family. Today’s GM there, David Constantine, has been with Hilton for 42 years and he knows a good thing when he sees it. He has taken the hotel’s main restaurant back (or do I say ON?) to a traditional Argyll Grill, and it is packed. Mark Landini’s design puts in mirrors around some walls so you can see behind you, so to speak. There lots of different seating areas, the buzz is just right, and as for the food, well, everyone around us seemed to be eating steak and chips. And it looked divine. Nothing works like proven success.
