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A uniformed commissionaire stands outside the door. The hall is stiff with liveried pages and porters. Many people, used to homes where Mum is cook, chambermaid and porter as well, find their first sight of this grand establishment alarming. Used to doing all their own fetching and carrying, suddenly they step into a world where they aren’t expected to lift a finger for themselves. In the face of this grandeur there is only one way to behave, as though you’re used to it, from the start. When your taxi draws up at the hotel doors, wait for someone to come and take your cases. If no one comes, go into the hotel and ask one of the porters to bring them in. However light your cases, you will be starting off on the wrong foot if you carry them into the hall yourself. Inside the hotel you go straight to the reception desk, find out the number of your room and register. The key will then be given to a porter who will carry your cases and show you up to your room.
Services
One of the problems of staying in a luxury hotel is whom should you ask to do what.
If you want food or drink brought up to your room, ask for room service or press the button on your telephone marked “Waiter”.
If you want your husband’s suit pressed, ask for the valet.
If you want your shoes cleaned, leave them outside your door last thing at night and they’ll be ready waiting for you there in the morning.
If you want anything fetched or carried, suitcases taken downstairs or a newspaper brought up, get in touch with the hall porter; he is in charge of both porters and pages.
If you want anything in the middle of the night, phone the night porter.
If you want a hot water bottle or a clean towel, ring for the chambermaid.
If you want theatre tickets, there may be a special desk; if not, the hall porter may arrange them for you.
In a big hotel, the porter usually keeps a list of people who want to be called in the morning; in a small hotel the list is kept at the reception desk.
But the organization of different hotels does vary. Whenever you are in trouble or in doubt as to whom to ask to do what you can always ring reception and get them to put you on to the right department. The receptionists are also the people to ask if you want to stay on an extra night, if you want your bill or if you want to know anything about the layout of the hotel.
In the Dining Room
When you go in for the first time, you wait by the door for the head waiter to come up to you and show you to your table. As a rule the head waiter does none of the actual waiting. He takes your order, passes it on to the table waiter arranges the seating and sees that everything runs smoothly.
The table you are given at your first meal is generally yours for the rest of your stay.
Leaving
It is a hotel rule guests must vacate their rooms by twelve midday on the day they are leaving. But if you ask the receptionist or the hall porter you can arrange to have your cases kept in the hotel until you want to collect them.
You are not expected to carry your own cases downstairs!
Tipping
A generally agreed fair proportion of the bill to divide among the staff who have done anything for you is 12 ½ per cent for a week’s stay, more for just a couple of nights, less for a fortnight’s stay.
Vocabulary
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