Oh my God, what shall I blog about this Hotel and the Bar and Restaurant? About this dissapointingly overrated city Budapest and the rest of Hungary, which I - to be fair - don't know. So I will review this place to the best of...my poor abilities.
I will try to be fair, and if there are guests with a completely different experience I welcome them to correct my admittedly limited view.
While I will gladly admit that there are exceptional and outstanding staff here (i.e. Peter, Nicolette, and a couple of the younger employees, the names of who I forgot, there is also a dismal kafkaesque abysmal troupe of bad actors shrouded with of a complete lack of training, competence, intelligence and understanding of the nature of the hospitality business. My mother used to say, you can not make a cold blooded horse a racing horse, my father added you can't make a dove a falcon and go hunting with it. The prophet said ... (I don't event dare to go there...)
So people working in hospitality must live, breathe, day and night, hospitality, the customer is always right, even if he is wrong and you must keep your countenance and your stiff upper lip no matter what, no matter what he says. If you work in hospitality it is your job to take it, bear it, swallow it and forget it. You must anticipate your customer's needs, before he even knows what he or she needs. (While writing this I realize this is also part of the description of perfect lover). Rumi wrote, the highest form of wisdom is to perceive without judging. This is the other essence of hospitality.
As a positive example, the only and most outstanding shining beacon of the light of hospitality, an epitome even of the highest art of professionalism I feel obliged to mention Peter, a pro, an English Gentleman, reincarnated in a Hungarian body.
Nicolette, sweet Hungarian girl with an Irish accent, is following in Peter's steps and should be made head waitress or head operations manager and take Peter's job, while he should be general manager. Or better she should leave the country and work in an international hotel.
I must also mention the hard working chamber maids, who I know work hard for almost nothing. Excellent friendly service with little English and much body language.
As an outstanding negative example I must mention Atilla who shouted at me and almost attacked me, because I was too early for breakfast.
Another example is that the waitress was refused the permission by a male head waiter to open a door, a window, start the air conditioning, when the guests asked and were sweating themselves to death. Nicolette should be his boss and make him learn.
In my father's country, we say me casa e su casa, in my mother's country the guest right is a holy unsurpassable right meaning I will protect you with my life, when you sleep under my roof. When you have eaten my salt and bread. It would dishonour me if I didn't.
Unfortunately, you have forsaken me, you have not given me the protection under your roof. Some of you disrespected me.
After all these words, I am still lacking the right words.More