The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin.
Founded in 1824 as an urban retreat for the gentility,
it's played its part in Irish history.
In 1922, the Constitution of the Irish Free State was written and signed here.
Now for the first time in its 190 year history, cameras have been
given exclusive access to the front and back of house.
In this series, we capture just what it takes to deliver 5 star quality
service to the world's most demanding clientele.
No matter what request you get, you have to say yes.
A place where attention to detail is everything.
You have to get the top of your tie to touch the top of your belt.
Where the demand for perfection never stops.
Step it up a gear.
The person at the helm of this luxurious institution
is General Manager, Stephen Hanley.
Running such an iconic establishment is a dream job for any manager.
A responsibility that Stephen embraces.
The hotel was built by a high roller back in old period Georgian Dublin.
So the hotel was always destined to have a certain set of people
stay in the hotel that would always keep it going.
I suppose they were the more affluent set.
It is an iconic job.
It is a showpiece property.
It's just one of those jobs that everything needs to be perfect.
The hotel's ceaseless quest for perfection often involves
guest relations manager, JD Flynn.
He's responsible for looking after the needs of VIP guests.
Today an international celebrity is arriving.
JD is working with accommodation supervisor, Malu Cortez,
to make sure that everything in the room is perfect.
Do you know what we're missing? A shoe shine box.
When I'm doing a room check for a VIP, I'm systematically going
around the room and looking for little details.
What's the guest going to see.
Is there a small water stain or the tap or a thread hanging off a towel or anything like that.
It's just those little things that sometimes you can miss in a busy hotel.
What we're trying to do is to give the guest the experience that
this is the first time a guest has ever been in this room.
It's like we've unwrapped the plastic of this new gift and
they're coming to use it for the first time.
So we're just making sure that that's the experience that they feel.
My job involves looking after the guests really.
It's all about meeting, greeting, welcoming the guests and then
during the stay, wowing them.
So this is probably the highlight of these rooms, the view.
It's a lovely view. That's the Dublin Mountains.
You can see right into the park as well, which I think is lovely.
This is one of the first things I show the guests
when they walk into the room.
This is the suite that Gabriel Byrne stayed in while he was here shooting.
He was shooting Quirke. He stayed here for quite a while.
It's called the Charles Stewart Parnell but I prefer to call it the Gabriel Byrne.
I suppose if you had favourite guests, he'd be definitely in the top three.
Such a nice guy.
He still pops in from time to time. He comes in to see Denis.
The arrival of celebrities, heads of state and even royalty, is not unusual.
Their comes and goings are listed in the hotel's daily newsletter, An Nuacht.
Around 11 o'clock I pick up my An Nuacht to see what
VIP's are coming in today.
I just make a small list for my colleagues so we know which
amenities are to be delivered to the rooms.
Amenity is a small treat for the guests basically.
We have divided them to the five levels so VIP 1 let's say
is getting nice French lemonade and a Shelbourne chocolate.
It's going up to the VIP 5 for the very important people like
politicians and actors from Hollywood.
It's lemonade and chocolate that's the most popular.
Some people are getting some cheese or some champagne,
some red wine, some plates with macaroons.
Sometimes Jameson. It depends.
Those small treats make people happy and they are really surprised
to be getting them, even though they're obviously celebrating something
but they are not expecting to get something.
I think it's a lovely touch.
I have a complimentary lemonade and chocolate for you here.
I would say a day we deliver 15-20 birthday plates,
congratulation plates.
You need to be very careful if there are guests staying in the room.
Sometimes there is a lot of belongings so when we go into
the room we need to be careful.
Maybe they can have a shower at the moment and it doesn't really
look good when we are in the room and they are taking shower or something.
So discretion is really, really important.
Oh thank you.
The youngsters can look after themselves. They're fit!
For many Dubliners the first and only impression they get of
The Shelbourne is from the doorman as they walk past.
Merrion Square. You're very close. First left.
The man in the top hat today is Declan O'Brien.
Declan's a very cool guy.
Charismatic, a host. The big welcome to the hotel.
What a smashing day. It's lovely.
The door breaks down frequently. It's an old door.
The number of people who come in and out of this building is remarkable.
It's like Grand Central Station.
I never would've come near this place when I was growing up in Dublin.
But everybody comes through here.
We've got to deal with the foxes from Stephen's Green
coming over in the morning.
There's a lot of wildlife concerns.
It's not exactly the Serengeti but you do get some.
There was a guy the other evening who tried to take a swan into the bar.
Had to stop him.
He stuck a Michael Kors handbag on the swan.
But I knew it was a swan.
The hotel employs 465 staff with an annual wage bill of around 12 million euro.
This is our main function room for conferences and more importantly, weddings.
The latest recruits are being given a tour of their new world
by Head of Human Resources, Maeve Breathnach.
She's been her for 19 years and is one of the hotel's longest serving members of staff.
This is Number 27 The Green.
Hugely popular for morning coffee, lunch-time, evening drinks.
We've got a beautiful Sunday brunch.
The only down side from our point of view is that you can't drink here when you work here.
You have to be on your game.
You can't have a bad day.
I'm fortunate enough to work for this company but also this hotel
because I love it and I think that helps.
If you love what you do, you don't mind putting the hours in.
You don't mind staying late.
We've 19 suites in the hotel so this is one of them.
It's one that I love.
If you go through there you can see the bedroom and bathroom.
Every suite is named.
They'd have a little bit of history behind them.
For example this is Daryl Figgis.
Typically in this room it'll cost you 750 a night.
Altogether in The Shelbourne we've got 265 bedrooms.
The most luxurious room would be the Princess Grace Suite.
Princess Grace and Prince Rainier would've stayed in The Shelbourne in 1962.
Our room cost per night is 2,650 euro.
It's an absolutely beautiful room.
Every time I try and do a show round in orientation I can never get it.
So that just shows how popular it is so that's a good thing.
We'll go and take a look at our deluxe rooms.
The average cost to stay there would be approximately 400 a night.
In the hotel, it'd be our biggest room type.
We'd have 142 of this type of room.
The hotel staff work tirelessly to deliver 5 star luxury,
but most never experience it and some don't even see it.
Everybody thinks the main switchboard's going to be
immediately behind reception.
But in The Shelbourne they've actually hidden it
deep into the heart of the hotel. Somewhere you'd never find it.
Even people who've worked here for years, don't know where we are.
We're just in this little room. No flags.
Nobody really knows we're here and yet this is the room where
really we're running the show.
Thank you for calling Delighted To Serve.
My name is Patrick. How can we be of assistance?
Patrick Nash is a manager in Delighted To Serve, the hotel's switchboard.
This is where we answer all the phone calls that come into the hotel.
Whether they're for sales, reservations, for the restaurant.
We take them all here.
We get about 300,000 calls a year.
Probably make another 100,000 calls outgoing as well.
So it's the best part of half a million calls a year.
You have to smile all the time.
You have to smile on the telephone.
No matter what request you get, you have to say yes.
Even though in the back of your head it may be impossible at the time.
Is it a special occasion for you or a treat?
We definitely try not to say no to any guest at all.
We'll always try and get an answer.
There's a chance that the easier answer may be no, we don't do that.
But that is where the coaching and training comes into it.
If you can train your people to have that discipline and
the diligence to be able to say at a very minimum,
let me look into that, then you know you're on the right track.
We get a lot of unexpected types of calls, would be the best way to call them.
People will ask how do you turn on the kettle.
There's a little switch on the handle.
How do you turn on the lights. How do you pull the curtains.
One of my favourites is people asking what's the weather like at the moment,
because in our office we don't have a window.
There's a good chance it's raining, a good chance it's sunny.
If it's sunny now, it could be raining by the time the people go to the window.
In the hotel's lobby the concierge desk is also busy saying yes.
Head concierge Denis O'Brien has been advising and helping guests for 27 years.
The great thing about Trinity is it's within walking distance of us here.
My role here in The Shelbourne as concierge is very much
like a one stop shop for the guests' requests.
There's a great sense of satisfaction.
There's a great sense of achievement that if you get a task,
even the most simplest of tasks, that you can pull it off.
A table that nobody can get or maybe the tickets for that event
that nobody can buy.
It's all down to our relationship with our contacts.
Some of the strangest requests over the years,
I've been asked by a bishop and his congregation to provide
them with a church where he could say mass.
St. Patrick's or Christchurch will both look after your spiritual needs.
There would be times when you say to a guest that you're not
in a position to assist them with that request.
If it's not ethically or morally or legally right, then it doesn't happen.
Down in the kitchen, preparations are under way for more VIP guests.
120 of them.
Ireland's top chefs and restaurateurs are coming to the hotel for
The Restaurants Association dinner.
It's the toughest audience of the year.
We really want to make sure everything is perfect.
Across from the pastry station, Head Chef Garry Hughes is marinating
the salmon which will be smoked overnight.
I know it looks like my 5 year old's messing with food.
She'd love it.
When you do something like this it needs to be done right.
If I come in tomorrow and this doesn't taste right, I'll be in trouble.
It's another busy day at The Shelbourne.
In the kitchen, over 20 chefs are preparing a special banquet for The Restaurants Association.
120 of Ireland's more celebrated food experts have been invited
for a fine dining experience.
Every element on the plate will be scrutinised.
What's special about this event is it's all our peers are coming
to the event from all the other hotels and restaurants in Dublin.
It's good to know that all eyes are on us.
I get a buzz from this sort of pressure.
It's not pressure. I thrive on it.
These are nettles. I just stung my lip.
I've literally just got these as a sample today for tonight's function.
But I'm not quite happy with them so I'm not going to use them.
I have burnt my tongue.
It's wild garlic.
It's too strong to use for tonight's salmon.
It's very, very harsh.
That's the beauty about this job.
You get to try these things all the time.
You mightn't like them sometimes but it won't work for tonight.
I'm quite excited about the starter.
We cured it yesterday, we smoked it this morning so now we're going
through the monotonous job of measuring every piece of salmon.
9cm by 1.5cm.
If they don't all look even, it doesn't feel right.
Knowing how critical everyone's going to be tonight, you want to get it right.
I know myself when I go to a restaurant,
as opposed to enjoying the meal, I'm almost always looking for what they've done wrong.
You're looking for faults in the food.
When somebody comes to The Shelbourne Hotel
how are they expecting the staff to look?
Upstairs staff have been gathered for one of the regular grooming and etiquette training sessions.
This was put up here I don't think for the benefit of our Irish staff.
We have 50% of our staff, over 200 that are non-Irish.
This is our Taoiseach.
Not to be addressed as Mr. Kenny.
The staff's behaviour in the presence of guests is seen as a vital aspect
of the five star experience.
I arrived in The States a couple of weeks ago.
When I arrived they go oh. They arms were out.
Didn't know me from Adam but the arms were out.
They said we have been expecting you all day.
You feel really, really important and you mightn't be at all.
Would I go back? Of course you would.
How staff present themselves is also strictly monitored.
There's smart and then there's Shelbourne smart.
There's even a Shelbourne protocol for how to tie a tie.
3/4 of the large side on your right-hand side and cross it over.
In terms of grooming, hotels apart from maybe the fashion industry,
are probably one of the most vain industries in Ireland or in the world.
I wouldn't say it's a pressure.
I like making sure that I'm well groomed and polished and stuff.
Even on my days off I wear full make-up and have my hair done.
I like that.
Around that one and over the top.
It's the symmetry for me. It's all about symmetry.
I think symmetry is beautiful.
If you split the hotel down the middle it looks the same on both sides.
It's the same with someone's face.
I think there's beauty in symmetry so the double Windsor knot has perfect symmetry for me.
You have to get the top of your tie to touch the top of your belt.
That's the rule.
I'll send out an email and put it up on posters about
exactly how we're going to do the knot and a step by step guide.
I'll send out a YouTube video as well.
That's how I learned to tie it.
Tonight's guests for The Restaurants Association dinner have arrived.
As they nibble on canapes, the team are preparing the ballroom for a five star banquet.
In the kitchen all the elements for 120 starters have been
cured, marinated and measured.
There's a lot of work in the plates.
I want it done the way I want it done so I'm going to do it myself.
The challenge they have undertaken is to provide a high quality
fine dining experience, but on a grand scale.
It all comes down to the logistics at this stage and the timing.
Knowing how many moves are on the plate,
how long it's going to take to execute each move.
A move would basically be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
There's 9 moves on that plate.
You know at this point that nothing more can be done.
If you haven't got the preparation in place at this point,
it's going to fail, it's doomed to fail.
I'm always anxious with these kind of things.
I think the outcome will be good though.
Elsewhere in the hotel VIP guest Michael Flatley is due to arrive.
He and his wife are staying to celebrate her birthday.
Hotel staff have prepared a special gift.
We have special amenities here for Mr. Michael Flatley.
Usually we're not doing champagne but that's for a special occasion.
His wife's celebrating her birthday so they're going to have a
really good time with that champagne and with the birthday plate.
JD is not happy.
It's JD. Can you get me James Sheridan please?
In his eyes, the gift of flowers, champagne and macaroons
doesn't have quite the wow factor for the lord of the dance.
Can you ask him to call up to 538 as soon as possible please.
When it comes to an amenity or anybody's amenity, is it good enough?
Does it shout The Shelbourne Hotel?
For me, with Michael Flatley, I felt it didn't.
I felt it could be more wow and we could do better.
I knew we could do better.
Did you say that you had a special gift or special amenity?
I want to replace the one that's in here at the moment.
Great, thanks very much.
A VIP happy birthday to a V VIP happy birthday.
It's much more personalised.
A little bit more wow factor there.
So this is the card from Mr. Hanley.
That's really it then.
You happy with that? Yeah.
You're happy with that. You've checked the door.
Keep up the good work.
We have the best food in Europe.
We have the best food in the world.
That's why people come to us.
At the dinner, a sudden change of schedule is putting the kitchen under more pressure.
They've literally gone from a half and hour and done a 10 minute speech.
This is what happens at banqueting events. Things change.
White flowers on, lift.
I thrive on the big events.
When it's a busier hotel, all the staff are more tuned in
and I actually think it's easier to run.
Mr. Michael Flatley and his party have arrived
and are settled into a suite.
But for JD, the work continues.
He's just arrived and he's a little bit behind schedule.
He was caught in traffic.
He's looking for something to eat in the room so
I'm just going to organise that.
As VIP Manager, he expects a VIP service from all departments.
Pasta arrabiata, gluten free toast and some Cokes.
As soon as possible.
It's quite heavy.
Sometimes we have orders where the tray is really, really heavy.
It's not easy to bring it to the room and I need to look fresh when I'm coming in.
It's quite difficult to look fresh when you're carrying 2 or 3 kilos.
Back in the banqueting kitchen, it's time for the main course.
Another meticulous set of moves, 120 people and all plates to be served piping hot.
You're going to be here with the tray of lamb.
I'm going to come right behind you. Sauce.
That's it. Keep it going.
Stand back. Stand back. Stand back please.
Lift. Go.
Now we're going with 11.
We're going with 10. Let's go now.
Let's step it up a gear.
I think for chefs it's something that's in you.
The work at this level, it is a life-long commitment.
If it was easy working at 5 star, everybody would do it.
We don't switch off now that the main course is finished.
We get in and we do the desserts. It's all hands on deck again.
Are we ready to go Chef? Yep.
You are now in charge.
You've got the power.
I literally could not do it without those guys.
I don't tell them often enough but they're a great bunch of guys.
Quick, quick. Lift from there and go out the far door.
The far door. The far door.
Well done Catherine. Well done Caoimhe.
Go team pastry!
Another day finished. Nearly.
I'm quite happy. My team have done a great job.
We get to do it all again tomorrow.
The moment an event is done that's done.
Draw a line under it and move on.
You've got a bigger challenge tomorrow.
You've got more things to do. You've got to improve the place.
In a nutshell, we spend too much time focusing on how to get
things right to be celebrating it when it does go right.
Next time on The Shelbourne..
Security is stepped up for a European head of state.
There's only 4 of those dogs in Ireland and I've met them all.
And national heroes come to stay.
I'll be done for treason.
Poisoning the Irish team with delicious cookies.
: Tracey Carr, RTE 2014.