Butlers on call at Abu Dhabi Grand

Butler service is to be introduced at the Abu Dhabi Grand from January 1, 2003, in the latest stage of the property's evolution before it is rebranded as Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi in 2003.

The English-style butlers will operate over the property's Royal Club floors, and general manager Francesco Borrello believes that this is more proof of the hotel's commitment to the highest level of service.

He said: "The Le Royal Meridien brand means that every guest can expect the most intuitive service standards. The English-style butler service, which will be a key feature of the newly refurbished hotel, is just one of many examples of this.

"Training the butlers has needed a start-up investment, but we believe that the butlers will add a real edge to our offering, which will increase windows of opportunity to maximise customer loyalty."

The elite band will include female butlers for women business travellers and IT butlers, who will be on call 24 hours a day to handle the technical queries of Royal Club guests.

Borrello explained: "If there is one thing that is guaranteed to cause frustration, it is a PC - so we knew from the start that on-call technology professionals would be essential to cater for our business travellers."
The new butlers have been hand-picked from the hospitality sector and were trained by Robert Watson, training director of the London-based Guild of Professional English Butlers.