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Extraordinary - Society
September - 2011 |
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5 Stars
& 6 Stripes
Overall - 'Hotel & Service' |
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The
Ultimate Award:
Seven Stars and
Stripes® |
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| It was a beautiful late summer day and we were looking
forward to attend Riga’s inaugural national beer festival with the
‘Grand Palace’ hotel as our base. It truly is the place to be, when
one is in Latvia. We landed within a couple of hours at Riga's International
Airport. Riga International today has that metropolitan feel, hard to imagine
that it was relatively unknown to the world until September '91 when Riga
finally became the capital of the independent country Latvia that it is today.
Considering Latvia’s recent history, this country is on the rise, with
particular interest focused on historic Riga. At the airport a driver with a
nicely polished sign featuring our name, guided us to an equally shiny black
Mercedes S320 4Matic. Within twenty minutes we stepped out of the town car and
onto authentic cobblestone streets dating back to the 15th century and right
into Riga’s fascinating, Hanseatic history. |
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| Grand Palace
Hotel - Arrival: Bernhard Loew & Thorsten Buehrmann |
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| The ‘Grand Palace’, voted as Latvia's
Leading Hotel for 8 years, is located in the Old Town of Riga. Flags from all
over the world greet the international traveler appropriately, as does the
doorman. We stepped onto elegant sound-absorbing carpets and were instantly
surrounded by the inviting smell of creative fresh flower bouquets. Check-in
was a short formality at a couple of
solid
desks (CLICK HERE) with hidden computers and comfortable chairs that were
casually placed off the arrival lounge. The friendly front desk personnel
adapted quickly to the language of the county of our departure, but offered to
converse in English as well. - We walked through honey and vanilla wallpapered
hallways while sinking into plush red wall-to-wall carpets. Our suite was
tastefully exquisite and appropriately decorated, with a spacious walk-in
closet and an equally spacious bathroom; and our Rimowa luggage had already
been delivered before we arrived. |
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| To our surprise we noticed an inconspicuous
touchscreen device located on the desk. Upon closer inspection we discovered
the ‘Virtual Concierge’, a user-friendly device dedicated to making
your life in the hotel a lot easier. With Virtual Concierge, you can schedule
reservations in the restaurant or a spa massage appointment. Ordering room
service for a quick cappuccino and a nightcap of Sambuca Nero or Aquavit is a
no-brainer even into the wee hours. It also allows you to print photos from
your USB device or memory card as well as check weather and temperature before
venturing out on the street. We found it particularly helpful after a full day
of photo shooting on excursions after which we were able to get a few great
shots printed upon returning to the room. The ‘Grand Palace’ is
located in the quiet and peaceful part of Old Riga that is the historical and
geographical center of the city, which sits on the right bank of the Daugava
River. Old Riga comprises of a fairly small interior fortification system
(built during 13th-18th centuries), and this area is where unique architectural
monuments from the Middle Ages are located. |
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| Bernard Loew, a native of Austria who is fluent in
English, German and Russian, and studied at discriminating intuitions like
Cornell University, manages the Grand Palace hotel. The hospitality
professional worked in upper management positions all over the world and is
also the regional director of the distinctive Schlössle Group,
representing a few selected, luxurious hotels in the Baltic region. “The
Schlössle Hotels are small but sumptuous and each hotel is a "Grand Hotel"
in miniature, tucked away amidst the cobblestone streets of the romantic cities
of Eastern Europe. Elegance, comfort, sophistication and taste are the
hallmarks of each individually designed hotel. The hotels offer an environment
of peace and tranquility; a haven away from everyday cares and busy work
schedules. Schlössle Hotels are the perfect destination for those who
appreciate the good things in life: fine dining, luxurious accommodation and
impeccable service. |
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| In our pursuit of ‘fine dining’, we
discovered and loved the new exclusive
‘SUITE’
restaurant and lounge (PHOTO TOUR - CLICK HERE). Serving a fusion of
contemporary European dishes, SUITE, which is decorated in an inspiring art
deco style, switches at 11pm from an intimate dining experience “to the
most exclusive lounge in the Baltics” offering its guests a seductive
venue for music far into the wee hours. Another interesting meeting place for
diplomats, business people and hotel guests is undoubtedly the ‘Pils’
bar just off the lobby of the hotel. Beautifully furnished and decorated with
interesting artwork and hunting trophies, the comfortable bar with unobtrusive
friendly service and live entertainment creates a very special atmosphere from
10 in the morning until midnight.” |
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| My freshly drawn glass of ‘Pils’ most
certainly set the tone for Latvia’s annual beer festival. This inaugural
beer
fest (PHOTO TOUR - CLICK HERE) presented over thirty different
fabulous and interesting Latvian beers as well as an assortment of delicious
national dishes for the public to try. We enjoyed all events, music
performances and even arm wrestling during this spectacular beautiful weekend
that was blessed with blue skies and summer like temperatures. We would like to
take a moment and thank the dedicated team at the Grand Palace Hotel each
individually for their tremendous dedication to the well-being of their guests
and the scrupulous attention to detail that has been instilled in them by their
devoted mentor Bernard Loew. |
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| Grand Palace
Hotel - 2011 - Seven Stars And Stripes - Award |
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by
Thorsten Buehrmann
Editor: Ingrid Lemme
Editor-in-Chief: John
Lomitola |
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| © 2011 ~ Seven Stars and Stripes, Inc. |
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