Here they will remember your name
A Nelio Pinto , who is already flirting with 50, has no trouble talking with enthusiasm about a lifetime as a concierge at the ** Belmond Reid's Palace in Madeira .** Smiling, with exquisite manners and a touch of shyness, which is not presupposed who does it take 33 years dealing with guests, unravel his trajectory.
Nélio is not only a witness to the history of this hotel, he is part of it. It is true that he was not present at the times when Sissí Empress stayed there and she became famous in Funchal for her beauty rituals.
Nor when, after the Second World War, Winston Churchill served as a claim to relaunch it after many years closed.
Nelio Pinto
Yes, he touched her, instead, carry the suitcases with which the Emeritus Kings of Spain disembarked at Reid's and that they were so big they didn't fit in the elevator. Or, pulling anecdotes, get roses with which to fill a room for a marriage proposal.
And it is that since its foundation in 1891, Belmond Reid's is precisely this, the affection and care of the client. Nélio learned this from the concierges who preceded him, who also taught him the importance of details, of remembering a face and a name, the value of a good conversation and making the visitor feel like part of a family.
Not in vain, many of his clients have been visiting them for years. Some even spend months with them and have regular rooms always waiting for them. there are even they were angry when in 2016 they changed the classic keys for cards, so they had to give some away as souvenirs.
Because Belmond Reid's is also that, an example of renew or die, continuing to serve tea at five, but accompanied by the WIFI password. And let's face it, changes don't cost as much if you do them from a cliff overlooking the Atlantic.
_*This article was published in the number 119 of the Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (July-August). Subscribe to the print edition (11 printed issues and digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website ) and enjoy free access to the digital version of Condé Nast Traveler for iPad. The July-August issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available at its digital version to enjoy it on your favorite device. _
Feeling at home was this