St. Regis Abu Dhabi
During our excursion in Abu Dhabi on
Tuesday, March 12th 2015, we had the
opportunity to visit the luxurious St. Regis
Hotel, guided by M. Richard Thackrey,
Director of Human Resources. After a brief
explanation of the hotel, he made us
discover the public areas, the rooms and
even the back offices.
It is an establishment 5-stars belonging to the Starwood group. It benefits from an exceptional location on the Corniche, within the symbolic Nation Towers building. It has 283 rooms and 55 suites. One of them is situate on the footbridge and offers a magnificent view on the golf course.
It is an establishment 5-stars belonging to the Starwood group. It benefits from an exceptional location on the Corniche, within the symbolic Nation Towers building. It has 283 rooms and 55 suites. One of them is situate on the footbridge and offers a magnificent view on the golf course.
The hotel also has a 2 swimming pools, a spa « Remedy », a library, a 200 square meter private beach, a fitness centre and 1700 square meters of meeting room.
It proposes also various points of catering like
«The Terrace on the Corniche », the Italian
restaurant « Villa Toscana », the restaurant of the
swimming pool « Azura », the restaurant of the
beach "Cabana Bar and Grill ». There are also a
tearoom and two bars.
Mister Thackrey taught us that there is an
exclusive cocktail of the brand St. Regis: « The
Bloody Mary ». First created in 1934 at the
original St. Regis Hotel in New York, the Bloody
Mary is an indelible part of the St. Regis
experience. Today each St. Regis hotel presents
its own interpretation of the original recipe.
During the visit, he specifies to us that rooms are located from the 33rd floor to offer an
amazing view to all the guests. The rate of suites begins from 800€ but when the Royal
Family or someone from the Government comes, they pay much more expensive, in particular
for the « Abu Dhabi Suite » which offer 1120 square meter surface, with 3 bedrooms, 3
bathrooms, a cinema, a library, a spa with sauna and jaccuzi, a kitchen, a fitness gym and a
view in 360 degrees.
Customers come mainly from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). It is a regional
intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian
Gulf, except for Iraq. M. Thackrey explains to us that when the Royal Family of Serby comes
to the hotel, there are 160 peoples. He has also said that, few months ago, when a President
came, he paid 25000 dirhams (6000€) his room to stay only 3 hours. As he said, « It’s a
completely different world ».
The Butler job is very important within the hotel. It is a personalized service for the customers
and available 24-hours a day. He has to satisfy every request from guests, at any time of the
day. During the visit, an employee explained to us for example that there is no coffee machine
in rooms because they serve the guest directly in his room on request. When the « Abu Dhabi
Suite » is occupied, there is 1 butler available for every single room.
There are 440 full time employees and casual staff to help housekeeping and security. There are 53 different nationalities with mainly Pakistan, Indian, Pilipino and Indonesian. The salary is low than Europe but if we compare all the things that are provided it’s actually higher. For example, a receptionist earns 2000 dirhams, which represent around 500€. But he doesn’t have to pay for meals, transportation, bill, electricity... The accommodations are situated at 40mins from the
hotel with a 24-hour bus transfer to St. Regis. The staff really loves the accommodations
« Star Village » and it’s a very important thing for M. Thackrey because as he said: « If we
propose bad accommodations, the staff will come to work unhappy and non efficient. We are
all away from family so we try to keep a nice atmosphere ». There are 170 villas witch offer
natural environment, surrounded by botanicals. The leisure facilities are equipped with latest
fine fitness technology (outdoor swimming pool, exercise room, cricket court, basketball
court).
To conclude our visit with the back offices, M. Thackrey talks to us about the trainee program
with « VITA Futura ». It is a Graduate Management Programmes. The Vita/Finance Futura
programme values each person by building on their existing skills and experience, and opens
doors to an exciting and challenging international career with the Starwood Company. During
the program, the employee will be actively involved in the management of the departments he
works in. Additionally, he will work closely with the hotel department heads and Executive
Committee, have regular meetings with the General Manager and be invited to attend,
amongst others, the Head of Department meetings and monthly Executive Committee
meetings.
For more information about the hotel : www.stregisabudhabi.com
And to discover more about the Starwood group : www.starwoodhotels.com
Thank you for reading :)
Article and video realized by Alice Ardisson, in collaboration
with Aurélie Guyader, Lorine Myard and Fabrice Passebosc
with Aurélie Guyader, Lorine Myard and Fabrice Passebosc
