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Reception seen from the light well - note the greeter with the hand held computer screen. Click to see how a corridor in the old building is given a modern twist
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"So does a deskless reception work? Well it looks wonderful when quiet..."
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So does a deskless reception work? Well it looks wonderful when quiet (this is after all a very stylish hotel) but then most well designed receptions achieve this. When it is quiet the greeters can function too, even if English lads and lasses lack the ‘front’ that their American colleagues in (say) the W Union Square have, and of course Starwood’s W is the yardstick. All the brands seem to be convinced that they have to compete with W and the branded boutiques(indeed Hilton are currently subject to a court claim from Starwoods that in creating Denizen they pirated all Starwoods research for the 'W'). Is branded boutique not a contradiction in terms?
It is design that makes the boutique concept work, and in those terms Andaz competes most effectively. Reception didn’t seem to me to be any different to anywhere else except for the staff, forced to crouch next to seated guests to work on their tablet computers rather than at a desk. There is a great deal to be said too for the formality of a porters desk or a concierge desk that gives the guest a focus for their enquiry rather than just grabbing the nearest available member of staff.
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Central court houses the lift shaft and ties together cleverly a number of old buildings that make up the hotel.Click to see how the signage untangles location
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View of the central court from a corridor. Click to see the view from above of a seating area
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Cunning design has hidden the detritus of reception, such as printers etc., in the base of statuary. The large desk/Table/ worktop in the reception area has fruit and magazines which the reserved Brits of course look at, but don’t touch. Maybe like the bottle in Alice in Wonderland that carried a sign saying ‘Drink me’ they should have a notice saying ‘Eat me’. There is also a small library for guests and a large table and stools, suitably stylish of course, where a guest can be given a glass of wine or a cup of tea, although again the staffing routine doesn’t seem to have been quite worked out.
The informality and friendliness emanating from the staff that this all relies on is not natural for even the younger generation of reserved Brits (unless they have had a few drinks or are from Essex of course, in which case they are noted for getting ‘in yer face’). Interesting then that the first Andaz should be tested in London, and in the business district that is the City, rather than in trendy Chelsea, or champagne socialist Islington, perhaps more the natural environment for the needed friendly informality.
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Andaz
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