Concierge Confidential

01 Jul 2011

There are few people who can do more for a hotel guest than the concierge. It’s said that this individual can make possible the impossible. Three concierges – in London, New York and Singapore – chat with DAVEN WU, NANDITA KHANNA and TERRY MIRANDA.

A DOCUMENT A guest had to get a legal document to Moscow within the day. The usual couriers were unavailable, none of the special ones had a valid Russian visa and there was no way to obtain one so quickly. An airline contact checked the schedule and called a pilot who was bound for Moscow that evening. He agreed to make the delivery. When he arrived, a solicitor was waiting – it was like a scene from a movie.
LEGAL ISSUES At dinner time, a guest’s solicitor told me they were starting an important case in the morning and needed documents photocopied urgently. There were eight large briefcases; 11 sets of everything were needed. The shops were closed, so I commandeered the office and spent the night copying and collating. I finished the last pages as morning broke. The machine was burning hot and a van was needed to transport the 16,000 pages. The case lasted over three years and the guest won £10 million (US$16.4 million) in damages.
A PROPOSAL A guest wanted to surprise his girlfriend who, with her family, was staying with us. He was going to propose but had made no plans and was going to rely on me entirely. I set up a secret meeting between the guest and his future father-in-law to ask for his daughter’s hand, booked last-minute theatre tickets for the family and called in a favour to secure a special table at the top of the Hilton hotel for a romantic dinner. The lady accepted and I was invited to the wedding in Greece.

CORRADO’S INSIDER TIPS

1. Jasper Morrison’s shop – filled with beautifully-designed home accessories – is a must for any design fan. Look out for an inconspicuous battered blue door along a row of rundown shops in Hackney, press the intercom button that says “shop”, and you’ll be buzzed in.
jaspermorrison.com

2. For an unrivalled 360-degree view of London, you can’t beat the Paramount (above), the Tom Dixon-designed restaurant on the 31st to 33rd floors of Centrepoint (it’s in the geographical centre of London, hence its name). You’re so high up you can see the curves and bends of the River Thames. Be sure to go at sunset for cocktails.
paramount.uk.net

3. Patogh is a wonderful hole-in-the-wall restaurant serving Iranian street food. It has only nine tables and takes no reservations. Go early or be prepared to wait. A meal of fragrant rice, Iranian bread and grilled meats marinated in lovely spices will be served on a huge clay plate.
8 Crawford Place

4. Pembroke Lodge in Richmond Park was once Henry VIII’s private hunting park. It is landscaped in such a way that from the top of the little mound right next to the lodge, you can get a clear, uninterrupted view of central London all the way to St Paul’s Cathedral.
pembroke-lodge.co.uk

5. Dennis Severs’ House is a time capsule that takes you into the 18th-century home of the fictitious Jervis family. Open only a few days a week, the late Severs created it – complete with creaks, smells, whispers, unmade beds, a half-eaten meal at the table – to make the point that what one doesn’t see is as important as what is seen.
dennissevershouse.co.uk