What praise? written by Rosemary Westwell
There is no doubt that a small amount of praise goes a long way. Alternatively, given the usual media hype that prevails today, criticism can last forever. However, in the general mêlée of hoteliers’ scrabble for positive attention what really matters is not the amount of praise or criticism given but the kind of praise and criticism given. The Connaught Hotel in Bournemouth, for example, proudly displays a newspaper article reporting in 1998 that the hotel received a special award for providing some of the best facilities and services for conferences at the time. One would expect this to lead to the hotel becoming renowned as a conference centre. A visit to the hotel recently showed that the hotel is far more than this. The hotel catered for a variety of people: tourists, retired holiday makers, families with young children, disabled people in wheel chairs and conference people alike. More than this, these varied groups intermingled in perfect harmony. The conference groups gathered in separately allocated rooms for their meetings and meals, tourists were readily supplied with information and assistance so that they could use the hotel as a base for further exploration and holiday makers were allowed to chill out in their rooms or in the cool sitting areas liberally distributed with agreeable landscape oil paintings, palms and green plants. Young children were entertained at the vital hours of 6-8 p.m. by clowns, magicians and disco music which all became only a soft thrill in the distance to those of us who were seeking quiet respite.The praiseworthy newspaper article was interesting but far more effective was the information received by word of mouth that drew me to the hotel in the first place. The couple in wheelchairs seated near me who commented amongst themselves: “This is a much better place for us than the last one” is far greater and much more effective praise that any more grandiose official gestures could hope to offer. Indeed, for me, an individual holiday maker, this 3-star hotel gave 5-star treatment far superior to other 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels I have stayed at in the past. It irks me to provide further details for I want to be sure that here will be a room available for my next visit. The details are, if you must, The Connaught Hotel, 30 West Hill Rd., West Cliff, Bournemouth BH2 5PH tel 01202 298020 fax 01202 298028 www.theconnaught.co.uk email: sales@theconnaught,.co.uk
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Rosemary Westwell(MA Ed, MA TESOL, B Mus, BA hons)
17 Common Rd., Witchford, Ely, Cambs. CB6 2HY tel: 00 44 (0)1353 663918
email: rjwestwell@hotmail.co.uk or rjwestwell1@yahoo.com
