The Art of Service: Elevating the Guest Experience

August 7, 2024 by Hidden Doorways

Inspiring interiors, gourmet gastronomy, and picture-perfect scenery are all well and good when vacationing, but what truly creates a happy holiday ending is top-notch service. We’re talking the thoroughly thoughtful kind where guests are given grand gestures, little touches, and everything in-between to ensure their break away is nothing short of blissful because don’t we all want to feel cared for from time to time? It’s something that’s promised by every one of our travel partners, with the below being examples of service at its most magical and memorable of all from all over the globe.

Living La Vida Local with Madrid & Beyond

Starting strong, the new Trip Hosting team at our luxury travel partners, Madrid & Beyond, goes above and beyond to help travelers slip seamlessly into life in Spain and Portugal. Devoted entirely to looking after its clients on the ground, they research, research, and research to ensure the experience is totally tailor-made. Their welcome and farewell gifts are the extra touch clients didn’t know they needed. Banish any thought of these being standard consortium amenities. We’re talking tokens that 100% match each client’s tastes, curated by a dedicated gift specialist. Picture a box of artisan produce from the area they’re visiting, personalized toiletry bags, custom passport holders, or even bespoke tiles, all perfectly placed in their room on arrival. For those with specific interests and larger budgets, beautiful handcrafts can be commissioned just for them. It’s all part of Madrid & Beyond’s commitment to getting each trip off to a start full of TLC, ensuring every moment is infused with authentic local flavor and personalized care.

People Creating Paradise at Villa Avellana

A mesmerizing private villa in Costa Rica, Villa Avellana first serves its residents the royal treatment by way of complete and utter seclusion and sanctuary. But if that weren’t enough, this high-end hotspot is another example of where a team of genuine souls come together to create the kindest guest experience anybody could wish for. A small, handpicked team of experts in their field, they each do what they do with a generous, genuine smile, forming quiet connections with villa guests throughout their stay. Even with a house as full as it gets, the kind and caring never slip.

A recent multi-generational family trip with a 90th birthday, a 40th wedding anniversary, and various other birthdays of the family’s many grandchildren kept the Avellana team as busy as bees with special touches. A music therapy trip in the morning to a local facility for those with special needs was supplemented with surprise spa treatments for when the family returned. Later, a beautifully decorated floral table display on the local beach with tiki torches and string lights draped on its iconic malincheel tree greeted them all, with a local musician providing a soundtrack of Latin music as they feasted and shared a birthday cake to remember. And just when they thought the surprises were over, as the family returned to the bar, the team had arranged a candy-filled piñata for the 90-year-old grandpa accompanied by a marching band and traditional payasos (festive papier-mâché costumed dancers) as they all danced the night away. “We can still remember the look of pure joy on grandma’s face as she lost herself in the rhythm of the drums!” says the Villa Avellana team.

Curated Wellbeing at Heckfield Place

Human beings by their very nature are individual creatures — a fact that is fully embraced by Hampshire’s Heckfield Place and its Wellbeing Curator, Emma Soum. They see stays as private pathways to reconnect with nature’s rhythm, with dynamically planned therapies rooted in intuitive healing experiences to ensure every guest achieves just that. Naturopathy, ecopsychology, acupuncture, nutritional therapy, time spent in nature, and a personalized program of Wildsmith treatments let guests retreat from the world and also into oneself, where its practitioners work their magic to the unique tune of every guest.

Perfectly Personalized at The Leela Palaces

Standard – it just doesn’t quite cut the mustard. While every hotel, resort, and villa has to have its customary offering of facilities and services, it’s those that go above and beyond to offer a level of individual service that seriously knock things out of the park. Cue The Leela Palaces. For over three decades The Leela brand has epitomized unparalleled personalized experiences under the arc of gracious Indian hospitality – Atithi Devo Bhava is its guiding principle to place guests at the heart of all that they do. Its dedicated butlers serve as each guest’s point of contact pre, during, and post-trip. The Leela Butlers pride themselves on anticipating the ever-evolving wants and wishes of all who stay under their roof, tailoring their service, creating memorable moments, and fostering joy in luxuriously simple pleasures as much as elevated, enriched experiences. Sincerity, warmth, and joy are felt in every touch, from its signature Royal Breakfast in Bed to bespoke adventures that take in the local culture, cuisine, art, and architecture.

Heartfelt Safaris Alongside Micato

Giraffes, lions, rhinos, and an array of tropical birds are no doubt wonderful, but it’s Micato‘s team of people that has travelers flocking back to experience Africa with them again and again. Stories of Safari Directors knowing not just guests’ birthdays but their favorite ice cream flavor with which to mark the occasion; of drivers spending an extra hour to track the elusive leopard that a family had their hearts set on seeing; the concierge team arranging outfits ready and waiting for the arrival of those whose luggage was delayed at the airport. The list goes on. Because at Micato, they pride themselves on anticipating needs rather than responding to them alone. It’s their quest to make guests feel more at home than they are in their own (and its free valet laundry service every single day is a surefire step to achieving just that)!

Masters in Memory Making at Corfu Imperial

Bespoke touches, harmonized preferences, and unparalleled service are all to be found at the legendary Corfu Imperial from touchdown through to departure. The resort offers a private luxury boat to escort guests around the exclusive Corfu Peninsula and on unique expeditions that celebrate the island’s pristine nature. Exquisite dining experiences include barbecue feasts and dinner by the sea. Signature spa treatments are available to melt specific troubles away. The resort also provides themed excursions to honor Corfiot heritage where travelers can try their hand at classes in local crafts. All these experiences and more are unlocked thanks to Corfu Imperial’s expert hospitality team who serve up trips that will never be forgotten.

Crafted Costa Rica at The Hive

A residence that floats between sea and sky, The Hive might be a private sanctuary, but don’t go thinking your clients won’t be wrapped in the embrace of a dedicated 24-hour concierge team. Residents here want for nothing throughout their stay, with the atmosphere being ramped up to buzzy or dialed down to zen — yes, The Hive’s touches aren’t just about services but in creating the ideal ambience for each of its groups. Every element of its efforts is well and truly personalized — water bottles inscribed with guest names, bespoke itineraries, and wait for it, bedrooms decorated to suit those staying too, with beach bags, hats, shirts, or whatever the client desires being left ready and waiting for their arrival. There’s not necessarily a menu here either, for every dietary whim is tended to and every gastronomic experience a client could imagine will be happily fulfilled. A barbecue on the lawn, fresh popcorn popped up for film nights, canapés for special occasions – The Hive’s in-house chef is as good as a genie and will keep the cupboards fully stocked with clients’ favorite snacks and drinks too, and offers complementary cooking classes for anyone and everyone staying. Arriving by private jet? They’ll even sort priority and personalized service before their feet even touch Costa Rican ground.

Sweet Notes at The Beaumont

And we round off on a small, subtle but sweet touch thanks to luxury gurus, The Beaumont. A little touch offered to every guest is a bespoke chocolate amenity, but to repeat guests, their specific preferences are always noted so that when they return, their exact chosen drinks, snacks, and chocolates are in their rooms just as they desire. Naturally, for first-time residents, any requirements can be shared in advance, but it’s the remembering and recording for future stays that feels especially special. And for littler guests, what better send-off is there than chocolate in one hand and an adorable Beaumont Teddy in the other?

It’s the little things in life.