Claridges

No, sadly, I have not been to stay at the iconic London Hotel, established in 1854 and loved by Royalty, although, at least one nights stay is now on my bucket list.  There is a wonderful new BBC television series which takes us behind the doors of Claridges for the first time in it's long history. 

I adore, in no particular order; tradition, history, British-ness, (I know that's made up,) great customer service, strict attention to detail and well, the fact that people care what you think.

I have a keen eye for detail, although I have never once received a thank you for completing my hotel comment cards, (they are mostly positive, but I point out the tiny things, only a guest would notice like a sticky tap or a slightly rusty shower rail.)  I love tradition, I just love history, this may be due to the fact that most of my history is, well... old, my grandparents were born in 1884, mind blowing, isn't it?  So you see, I have a very soft spot for the 'old,' one that will never be erased, plus, I get excited when something was invented or arrived prior to my Grandparents, then I know it's really old and well worth getting to know, case in point... Claridges.

The documentary was so interesting.  The General Manager is a lovely man, who happens to be German.  This is slightly jarring at the beginning of the documentary, I didn't know if he was German or Austrian or something else, there was just a mere hint of an accent, but he wasn't British and Claridge's is, well, so British.  But then you listen to him, hear his discreet manor, his love for Claridges, witness his attention to detail and get to know him.  He is brilliant, discreet, has a charming personality, has a keen eye for detail and aesthetics, he is the perfect man at the helm, and I'm actually quite proud that he is in charge of this precious cargo.  He is a caretaker, there have been many General Managers before him and hopefully, there will be many after, but only after a very long and highly successful stint for this particular General Manager.

All of the staff featured, are exceptional and if I were a General Manager, I would be very proud to have them as part of my team, and representing me but more importantly, representing Claridges.

At the heart of the opening story, was an American couple, the Melchor's, a truly charming couple, totally captivating, you could easily imagine spending hours chatting with them and never once having your attention flit elsewhere.  Now in their late eighties, they have been visiting Claridges for over 40 years.  The couple were lovely, the attention, respect and love shown towards them was extraordinary, it was a wonderful thing to be captured on film, forever.