Concierge celebrates 30 years of hotel service

Careys Manor Hotel & SenSpa head concierge Colin Parkes is celebrating his 30th year with the hotel.

Parkes began his career at the hotel as a still room assistant, working in the kitchen, washing up and preparing the tea and toast for breakfast. After trying his hand in various other positions, such as vegetable chef and barman, he decided to apply for a role in concierge, a department he has worked ever since.

“Careys Manor Hotel & SenSpa is a truly magical place to work, in the 30 years of coming here I have never got tired of the hotel,” said Parkes.

“Working on a daily basis with so many different guests from all over the world has enabled me to develop a great deal of confidence. You never know what to expect on a day-to-day basis, one minute I could find myself organising a last minute celebrity press conference, the next dealing with a medical emergency. One of the most memorable moments for me, was having to deal with a complete power cut early one Christmas morning, something which threatened to disrupt carefully planned festive celebrations for a packed hotel.”

General manager at Careys Manor James Hiley-Jones said of the head concierge: “Over the past 30 years Colin has become somewhat of an expert on all things to do with the hotel and its guests. Understanding that every visitor is unique in his or her expectations and that every day is going to be completely different to the next is something that Colin has mastered. It’s so nice that even after all these years, Colin maintains his passion for the job and that even though he is often dropped in the deep end, he maintains the greatest satisfaction in his role quite simply, comes from a happy guest!”