The K Factor... well nothing out of the world, just that after my stints at Mumbai & Goa , I've been destined to work in a series of places which have all started with K... Kovalam, Kumarakom, Kochi, Kuwait !!
Kovalam - The Leela Kempinski Kovalam www.theleela.com
My stint at Kovalam started ever since the hotel was re branded as Le Meridien, which was again taken over by The Leela. The Picture here is of the infinity swimming pool adjacent to the Lobby and Coffee shop. These area were built while I was working on night shifts. I've seen this place come up over the endless nights and the visionary leadership of the then GM - Mr.Mammen. Some of the Best people I've come across there include Mr.Anil George, Rajiv Thapa, Siju Thilak, Mr.Ashvin Kumar, GM during Leela - Biswajit Chakraborty etc, the list is endless. From the Telephone Operators to Bell Boys to GSA's, I had a whale of time. Kovalam is also where I met Anitha & her fiancee Kiran, who are part of my core friend circle till date. But as they say, all good things must come to an end. So the tide of mis fortunes started taking over and I also had to leave the place. But the Best part is that we still keep in touch & the camaradrie remains, where ever we are...
A snapshot during the Kovalam days.....;-)
Kumarakom - Taj Garden Retreat, Kumarakom www.tajhotels.com
My old Boss Saji & his wife Pinky came to my rescue during my troublesome days at Kovalam. They offered me a job at Kumarakom. Saji was my Assistant Front Office Manager while I was a Management Trainee at The Leela, Mumbai. Saji had taken over Taj Kumarakom as its Unit Manager, and offered me the position of Assistant Manager - Reservations, because I had a reservations background. Another one of our old colleagues from Mumbai was also expected to join at that time as an Assistant Manager. He was Praveen, who was an IT Whiz along with being a strong front office person. Praveen and myself were room mates at Kumarakom and very good friends. We took care of the front office & reservations and had a good camaradrie. Saji also assigned us to handle the F&B operations in the absence of the restaurant manager. Since I also had a previous conferencing background at Goa, I also handled the conferences at Kumarakom. whilst at Kumarakom, came the offer from CGH Earth to join their hotel at Cochin.
The swans at Taj, The Hotel Main Building from across the Lake, Me @ Kumarakom days....
Kochi - The Brunton Boatyard, Fort Kochi www.cghearth.com
The Brunton Boatyard offer came as a dream. After I cleared the interviews with the top bosses at CGH Earth, I was offered the position of Assistant General Manager at their prime property - The Brunton Boatyard. Till then, I had no clue about the existance of this hotel, which I later realised is because of their target clientele. This is perhaps the only hotel i've known which is not marketed or advertised in the local market as there are no rooms left to offer after the tremendous number of reservations that come from the expatriate guests. The hotel offers a glimpse into Cochin's history, with rooms and restaurants themed after the History. Its like a passage into a bygone era. From the moment one enters the huge gate to the cobble stone driveway, the present world seems to fade into oblivion. The two gold plated elephants on the front desk symbolise the numerous awards that this quaint hotel has been privy to, from the Government Of India. The rooms here are huge, have four poster beds, a stool to hop onto the bed, spacious bathrooms with bathtub & shower cubicle, with a view of the lagoon.. Guests can see the ships in close proximity as they pass by the hotel to reach Cochin port. We've seen QE II, Queen Mary and quite a few famous cruise liners go in front of the Brunton. The restaurants at BBY only serve Ala Carte, Silver service. The Bar is stocked with some of the best spirits & cigars. The Best Team, I've ever worked with was at Brunton & to name a few would be incomplete without mentioning about Mr.Gopakumar, Mr.Surti, Jerry, Mr.Poulose ( Thala & Stores ), Shalini, Annie, Maya, Thomas, Manoj, Savio, Dinu, Deepak, Anand, Jacob, Justin, Sherin, Naveen, Rinto, Majeesh, Sumod, Unni, Vinu, Shyamala & Sunil. They would remain close to my heart forever. I hope to return as its GM someday :)
One of the evenings before the "History" restaurant opened for Dinner at Brunton Boatyard.
Kuwait - Radisson Blu Hotel, Kuwait www.radissonblu.com
