Simply Remarkable: Brooks Hotel

Arriving early for a meeting in the city-centre, I had half an hour to kill, so stopped by Brooks Hotel on Dublin's Drury Street for a coffee. Like most hotels at that hour of the morning, Brooks was in full breakfast swing, and I expected to be told that I'd have to choose the whole buffet option if I wanted to enjoy a table in the lounge. But no, a very friendly waiter welcomed me in, set a table for one and offered to fetch me a freshly-made coffee and scone.

Whilst I didn't want the self-service option of the buffet, I also didn't expect to be waited on so attentively, and so I braced myself for a suitably punitive bill (most likely to be a huge chunk of the full buffet tariff if my experience at other  hotels was anything to go by). But again no. Instead, the smiling waiter handed me the invoice with a flourish and told me she'd charged me a special rate, which I saw compared very well with the coffee & pastry deals on offer in coffee-shop chains elsewhere in the city.

How refreshing! Whilst it seems that some hotels have failed to learn the lessons of our recent economic trials, Brooks Hotel has taken a practical and thoughtful approach to the solitary guest who stops by to enjoy a brief moment of their hospitality. What a simple but remarkable way to make a visitor feel welcome.

Naturally, I'll be back, and as importantly, I'll be recommending Brooks to friends and colleagues looking for a friendly haven from the chilly weather on Dublin's streets.

Over To You: Where have you recently enjoyed service that was 'simply remarkable'?