Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Raffles Beijing Hotel - Incredible 5 Star Value-Fantastic High Tea!

Raffles Beijing Hotel

Any reader will know from the reviews before mine - and the many yet to come - of the comfort, perfect location and excellent reputation of Raffles Beijing. All of this is true, but there is something more. Something that is often referred to but rarely understood in the Trade - and even more rarely delivered.

Hospitality means making your guest feel comfortable and cared for without servility or intrusion. Staying at Raffles delivers this on all levels. John Spooner, the hotel ambassador is rightly a legend - both in the Press as well as here. He is backed up by Chris and Cindy, both young but showing the benefit of their guru's training. As a result, I have no doubt they will face a deservedly bright future in the industry and be a credit to John. The front of house manager, Chadi was debonair, charming and highly efficient and his team also showed the benefits of working with a master. A special mention to David at the concierge desk and front door for his always going the extra, extra mile.

I have spent three weeks in the hotel in the last three months while arranging - and attending a cross-cultural family wedding in a city outside Beijing. As always, such things are stressful and rarely go according to plan. But by basing myself at Raffles I developed an instant back-up team. Last minute requests for the impossible were always delivered and the entire staff appeared to care how I was doing with it. This ranged from friendly enquiries to the most wonderful local etiquette advice - and John was always there with a joke, a cup of tea - or a quiet glass of wine at the end of a long day.

Before the wedding, we entertained around 40 guests in Beijing for two days. Many of them also stayed at Raffles and the Writer's Bar was our natural gathering point. All of our guests - whether resident or not - were overwhelmed at their reception and the staff's awareness and excitement at what we were doing. By the day of the wedding it felt very strange not to have them all there with us - and indeed, we did invite John.

I have been trying to pin down the essence of the Raffles approach and I think I would sum it up as intelligent, caring and effective help rather than simply "service". And always delivered with - not only a smile - but a twinkle too.

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