Hospitality at its very best – The Grand Hotel Eastbourne
The Grand Hotel Eastbourne – perfect hospitality!
I just had the great good fortune to spend a weekend at my favourite hotel in the UK as a birthday gift from my friends at Astro. I had a significant birthday last month, one where I was given my virtually free Oyster Card for travel all over London. My colleagues combined forces to send me away to The Grand Hotel Eastbourne for a weekend of relaxation and fine dining. It really was a fantastic weekend. Everything was just perfect.
While driving home I realised I had featured several hotels in my blogs this year but not my favourite. No mention of the hotel I am always drawn to when I get the opportunity for a break or a special occasion. So, here I am.
Whenever I stay at The Grand Hotel I feel like I am at home. As soon as I arrived and was welcomed by the concierge I relaxed. The concierge asked my name, unloaded my luggage, took my car keys and parked my car in a space with my name on it. Check in was also very smooth and all in all I had this warm feeling that the hotel was actually expecting me. A small point? Maybe. But, some hotels never manage to get this right.
“What happens if my friends at school find out I stayed in the same hotel room as Des O’Connor? How embarrassing!”
Within a few minutes I was on my way to the suite with the concierge ferrying my luggage. As I stepped out of the lift another concierge handed me an envelope addressed to me. Inside was a very nicely hand written birthday card. On arrival at the suite the concierge placed luggage ready to unpack and was then on his way. I felt like I had been talking to an old friend on the walk to the suite even though this was the first time we had met.
I should just say that Elite Hotels, owners of The Grand Hotel are an Astro customer. But, I was a customer of The Grand Hotel long before Elite Hotels became Astro’s customer. It was just pure coincidence that we were referred to Elite Hotels as a potential provider of IT services by a mutual contact.
My first experience as a customer of The Grand Hotel was around 20 years when I organised a surprise 65th birthday party for my Father at The Grand Hotel for around 50 guests. I was staying for a few nights with my family and on arrival the duty manager upgraded us to one of the top suites. As we were leaving reception for our suite the Duty Manager told me that Des O’Conner had been staying in the same room a week or so before. My younger Daughter, Sarah (our Service Delivery Manager) – 10 years old at the time – was horrified and froze to the spot. I asked her what was wrong. “I can’t stay in that room.” “Why?” I asked. “What happens if my friends at school find out I stayed in the same hotel room as Des O’Connor? How embarrassing!” Fortunately, the Duty Manager came to the rescue with some perfectly timed distraction tactics.
“…what the staff at The Grand Hotel Eastbourne do very well is make you feel like an old member of the family returning after some time away.”
While checking in the receptionist confirmed I had an 8.30pm reservation in The Mirabelle, an amazing restaurant in The Grand Hotel and a real treat. The last time I stayed in February I was unable to get a table so I was really looking forward to dinner. While checking in and walking to the room I recognised a number of staff from previous visits which is always reassuring.
From the moment I arrived in the car park I was feeling very special. I would have said like a VIP but having given this some more thought while writing this blog I realise what the staff at The Grand Hotel Eastbourne do very well is make you feel like an old member of the family returning after some time away.
Furthermore, this is not contrived, nor is it the result of a customer service training course or a quality manual. It is simply from the heart. Individuals who take pride in their work and excel at it. People who are proud to represent their hotel. People who want to exceed their guests expectations by helping them to get the best out of their stay. All of the staff I meet whenever I visit The Grand are very engaging, knowledgable and interesting to talk to.
“A culture of delivering excellent customer service that runs through every member of the team.”
I was talking to one of the team from The Mirabelle on Saturday evening. He has worked for The Grand for around 20 years. I was talking to him about what I loved about The Grand Hotel and trying to sum up what the major difference was between The Grand Hotel Eastbourne and other large hotels that never quite seem to get the same balance of formal customer service with friendliness. We came to the conclusion that it was because the Grand Hotel Eastbourne has a personality of its own. He said that other customers had actually commented on that. That really summed it up for me.
For any business to have a personality it must have the right culture. We work very hard to maintain the right culture in Astro to ensure our customers receive excellent customer care. On Friday evening before my weekend away Astro were Overall Winners of the Dartford and Gravesham Business Awards and we are convinced that we were voted as overall winners as a result of our culture (see previous blog here).
So it is little wonder that The Grand Hotel Eastbourne is my favourite hotel. I realise now it is because it has a culture that I am in complete tune with. A culture of delivering excellent customer service that runs through every member of the team. When you combine the excellent customer service culture with excellent food and drink plus a sea view, what more could I ask for?
“…the food, wine and service were excellent.”
The weekend was just perfect and the best birthday present anyone could buy me. I am extremely grateful to my friends at Astro who paid for my entire weekend. The highlight was the meal in The Mirabelle and that was certainly worth waiting nine months for, the food, wine and service were excellent. I rarely have all three courses but on this occasion I just didn’t want to miss a course.
A big thank you to the management and staff at The Grand Hotel Eastbourne for making my birthday weekend a very special and memorable occasion, one I will never forget and I will certainly be back at the earliest opportunity.