Rudi writes:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Sometimes, I might even not be a hotel-guest, but just go to the concierge, tell him my reservation request, tip him SFr 20 (in Switzerland), $20 (US) beforehand, and tell him that I am (with my friends) sipping a side-car at the hotel's bar waiting for his confirmation.</font>
I seem to remember just such an advantageous utilization of a good hotel Concierge, a few years ago with this particular FlyerTalker! I recorded the general events as follows:
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">On the same bluff (with the same view) is the 5-star
Bellevue Palace Bern Hotel, another member of the “Leading Hotels Of The World.” We head out to the veranda and order a couple of Sidecars and light up a couple of Habanos. It’s a wonderful sunny day and the view of Bern from here is fantastic. The perfect spot to relax and digest all that wonderful food from lunch.
Did someone mention food? Rudi says lets go have dinner. Dinner? Yikes! I had enough for lunch to sink a battle cruiser!
We head to the Concierge and Rudi inquires as to a good Italian restaurant in town. The Concierge makes a quick phone call and we’re on a way to the Restaurant Luce a few blocks away. Things are a little blurry at this point. You might say we’ve been drinking and continue to do so.
Rudi orders some special Italian wine which he thinks I will hate, but I love it. I have a roast chicken in a garlic sauce of some sort I think. I haven’t a clue what Rudi had. I look up and say to
Rudi “That guy over there looks just like Alfredo Smaldini who we met at the Circus in Zürich.” It was! He comes over to the table to greet us and chat for a few minutes. A very nice and funny guy. Need I mention that
Rudi insists on dessert? I must have been a hit with the staff as
Rudi looks a little disappointed when he compares the size of my portion with his.</font>
I made no mention of the advance tip that
Rudi gave to the hotel's Concierge in that report, but that's indeed what got us the table. And a very desirable table at that!
From:
My Month In Switzerland Trip Report.