A day at Prestonfield as a Receptionist
Prestonfield's glamorous reception is at the very heart of the hotel...24 hours a day
My day starts as 8am as, smartly dressed and ready to face unknown guest enquiries, I take over from the night porter.
Welcoming guests as they pass on their way to breakfast gives me an early opportunity to see if they have any specific needs for the day and to make preparations for guests who are to check out later.
I'll liaise with housekeepers to check that rooms are being made ready for today's arrivals and work with the porters to see departing guests have their luggage collected and that their cars, taxis – even helicopters – are arranged.
I prepare accounts ready for departing guests and look at any special arrangements that need to be made for arriving guests. Every Prestonfield guest is a VIP, so there will be flowers, Champagne and cookies waiting for them when they check in.
We try to get to know our guests so that we can anticipate their needs – is it a special celebration that needs to be recognised, or a crucial business meeting that requires calm efficiency? Often guests have stayed with us before, so we try and welcome them to their favourite rooms if we can.
Checking with our housekeepers that rooms are perfect, and dealing with guests, mean that the hours until check-in fly by and the afternoon batch of check-ins soon arrive.
Nothing is standard: almost every booking will create some sort of special request whether it is lost cuff links for a black tie dinner or an urgent need for a lobster club sandwich from room service. Requests for theatre tickets, flowers and restaurant reservations are easy, those for after hours shopping or a morning horse ride in Holyrood Park are more difficult, but our porters on the concierge desk relish the challenge!
It is a thrill to fulfil a challenging request but, best of all, I love to see returning guests treat Prestonfield as their home. It is a real pleasure to see guests who arrived stressed from a flight relax and enjoy the hotel.
With guests heading to dinner the restaurants and drawingrooms will be where the action is, so, as housekeepers do the evening turn down in the rooms, I'll hand over to a night porter who'll look after everything until I step behind the desk tomorrow.
