Putting on the Ritz | Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia

Admin 05 September 2012

By Diana Hubbell

If one of the main reasons we travel is to escape the mundane, the routine, the?let?s face it?reality of most of our everyday lives, surely the places we choose to stay are just as much a part of that escape as the destinations we see. Yes, when we recount tales of our journeys, we?ll show pictures of the Great Wall or Tokyo Tower or a herd of elephants lumbering off into a tropical sunset. But when I think back on trips from years past, some of my fondest memories are, admittedly, of exceptional hotels. None of these places ever felt like home and that was precisely the point?the sheets were always a freshly-laundered white; someone else had always prepared coffee in the morning; and I never, ever had to worry about the dishes.

As much as I enjoy this fleeting fantasy, it?s all too easy to forget the Herculean effort that goes into maintaining that pristine fa?ade. We know that those sheets don?t wash themselves and that an army of cooks is required to set out those lavish buffets, but the greatest of hotels somehow manage to make it appear easy.

So I have to say I?m grateful to the Ritz-Carlton for sharing a behind-the-scenes look at how they manage to make everything seem so, well, perfect. This exclusive video series won?t show all the nitty-gritty details that go into running a luxury hotel brand of the Ritz?s stature. It does, however, give some much-deserved credit to some of the staff that have dedicated their lives to maintaining an exceptional level of service. The series highlights the work of a chef in Germany, a sommelier in California, a housekeeper in Hong Kong and a shoe-shine valet in Istanbul. Six more are already in the works.

Source: http://blog.travelandleisureasia.com/interest/2012/09/05/putting-on-the-ritz/

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