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
five star quality service to the world's most demanding clientele.
I don't think they know the amount of work that goes in in preparation for them.
From Dublin high society to heads of state..
When you eventually get to meet them, it's an honour.
..to national heroes.
I could be done for treason.
Poisoning the Irish team with delicious cookies.
It's another typical week at The Shelbourne.
The Shelbourne Hotel is gearing up for a hectic day.
General Manager Stephen Hanley has gathered together all the
department heads to make sure they are ready.
The main event really for the weekend is the arrival of the IRFU.
It's got a certain significance this weekend, it being Brian O'Driscoll's
very last home game.
We also then have a head of state visit this afternoon.
I know a lot of you have something to say about that and the other various bits and pieces.
The hotel isn't designed to be quiet. It's as simple as that.
There is nothing worse than a quiet day at The Shelbourne.
I think the adrenaline that normally runs through the veins of the hotel
needs to be pumping at all times.
As a security precaution, only a handful of staff know the
identity of the head of state.
The Irish rugby team are a different ball game.
For the last 8 years they have stayed before every home game.
But this week is different.
As it's Captain Brian O'Driscoll's last international game on Irish soil
a suite has been set up for staff to sign a specially designed good luck card.
Brian is one of our must famous regulars.
We have a huge place in our hearts for Brian.
We've seen him through wins and losses, hard times, injury times,
penalties and victories.
This is coming to an end so we just want to wish him all the best in the future.
It'll be sad to see him go. He's been a fantastic player.
I'm a proud Leinster man myself so I'll get to see him in the blue jersey.
It'll be emotional for everybody in the hotel and for the team I'd imagine too.
In Stephen's office, senior management are preparing some
gifts that'll be left in Brian O'Driscoll's bedroom.
Including monogrammed bath robes for him and his family.
This is for Sadie with The Shelbourne logo
and Sadie's name embroidered here. Very nice.
Are you happy with the colours? Yeah.
We have some nice crystal glassware.
Whiskey tumblers. We'll complement that with a nice Waterford decanter.
We have a beautiful bottle of Jameson 12 year old reserve
with Brian's name on the label.
The card has come out okay.
Let's take it that it's a job well done. Looks pretty good.
Brian O'Driscoll is not the only special guest arriving today.
Tonight The Princess Grace Suite will be occupied by one of the
most powerful politicians in the world.
Before the room is closed off and handed over to security,
Agnes Keogh is making final checks to the suite's two bedrooms and bathrooms.
We've got our nice VIP floor mat.
This matt goes in when we have very VIP people coming into our Princess Grace Suite.
We put a lot of extra amenities in when we have such a high profile
person coming into our suites.
Our Irish linen, Waterford crystal, flowers.
Some connection with the guest itself.
Their favourite cookie or something.
We have already researched the guest and we know their likes and dislikes.
Sometimes I like to sit down and look around because
when you're walking through you're looking at it from your perspective.
It's good to sit down and take a view from the guest's perspective.
I see something here.
I think these could do with a little pressing.
I think this should go into the master bathroom.
We have a tag sticking out here.
I don't think they know the amount of work that goes in in preparation for them.
We don't want them to know.
They come in, everything is perfect and that's the way it should be.
The Princess Grace Suite is now ready for a final security check.
Downstairs the preparations for the Irish rugby team are still under way.
They have block booked most of the first floor and every room
has had to be reconfigured.
For the next 2 days The Shelbourne is Irish rugby HQ.
Here in the St. Stephen's Suite the all important pre-match briefing is held.
15 or 20 minutes before the team leave, they assemble here,
they have that all important briefing and then they leave for the coach.
These walls have seen a lot of things.
This is the team room and this is where most of the team assemble
for most of the time.
We try to provide for their every possible need.
It's the most social room of the floor.
A lot of down town in the evenings especially is when the players come together.
We provide games consoles.
We have a DVD on hand for everyone's taste
but we try and keep to the old favourites.
Everything from Top Gun, The Fugitive..
Names that people know when you mention them.
When you're the host hotel to your national team,
a national team that is hugely successful, that has some of
the best players in the world,
that can't not be exciting.
Good job. Well done.
Within the next hour we'll close this floor down
and there'll be no access to it bar the IRFU themselves.
Over the last 6 years head chef Garry Hughes has worked
closely with the IRFU nutritionist, Ruth Woodmartin.
Every ingredient he uses is strictly monitored.
It's a challenge each week to try and recreate dishes without
what we love, without the butter, without the cream.
As a chef, that's a challenge.
The players have begun to arrive.
For the next 2 days their movements and diet will be strictly controlled.
That's the IRFU plan anyway.
Here at The Shelbourne guests are greeted at check-in with lemonade and biscuits.
Thankfully our guys bypass that process.
They don't have to check in so they don't see the lemonade and biscuits
and therefore they don't take them.
Help yourself to some cookies. Cheers.
I don't think it's part of the official IRFU diet.
I could be done for treason.
Poisoning the Irish team with delicious cookies.
They're actually a really good bunch of lads.
They know you and you know them. It's one of the best parts of the job.
You definitely feel part of the team.
We all try to help in our own little way, from helping with
their bags or helping them settle in.
Let me take some of them. No, they're top secret ones!
He has the top secret Irish team plans so better get him straight up.
All the strategies, all the plays.
When the match is over he'll be up for the next 24 hours watching all of it.
It's getting very busy around town. How was your drive?
I just popped home for a little while to look after the little one.
With the team camp safely up and running on the first floor,
security at The Shelbourne is now getting stepped up for the next arrival.
The head of state's visit is shrouded in secrecy.
Only a handful of staff know who's coming.
It is very important that the hotel attracts high profile people at times.
There's no question about it.
There would be an automatic assumption that if we can cater
for a global head of state, the most powerful woman in the world,
the most powerful man in the world,
then we can cater for anybody.
For a powerful politician like this, security has to be watertight.
The hotel's head of security is Eamon Kelly.
He's spent the last few weeks working closely with European security forces and Gardai.
His final task is to welcome back one of the Garda bomb detection dogs.
I've met the dog on several occasions. That particular dog.
There's only 4 of those dogs in Ireland and I've met them all
over a period of time coming to the hotel.
They're just so lovable, they're so gentle.
The job they do, they're just so brilliant at it.
If you seen them in action and the way they react to different things.
Gladly today they didn't react to what they were looking for.
The Princess Grace Suite has been checked and secured.
Staff and security are now on high alert as they try to
deal with the guest's ever-changing schedule.
The person we're talking about is in Brussels at the moment.
She was at an emergency meeting at the EU today and she will be leaving Brussels shortly for here.
I think we need to speak to them directly just to verify the time
they're actually landing and going to be approaching the hotel.
We've just been informed by one of the EU head of states embassies
that they're now going to be arriving ahead of schedule by 5 to 6 hours.
They were supposed to arrive at the hotel at 11.20 tonight.
It's now 5.20pm.
The challenges of high profile guests is you need to be flexible.
They could at the drop of a hat say the guest will be here in 10 minutes
and everything has to be ready.
You need to be anticipating what's coming down the road
but you also need to be a little bit reactive as well.
They're actually running late now.
This morning we were told 11.
Then it went back to 5.30 and now it is another time.
They'll be here within the next 2 hours.
I've been here since 7.30am.
I'll probably be here until 12.00 at night.
It's not an everyday occurrence so we just have to take it on the chin.
The adrenaline rush is quite incredible.
You don't often get to experience these sort of things in life.
These are always the days that you'll remember.
They're etched into your memory because it's all systems go.
A very, very busy 30 second window.
Finally the special gust arrives.
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.
The excitement of actually meeting these world leaders who
people see on the news, on TV every day.
It's an absolute honour.
I was delighted to be able to say hello to her.
It was a privilege.
It's good to be part of it and everything went very smoothly.
I'll remember it for a while. I'll remember it for a long time.
It's a busy week at The Shelbourne.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel left early this morning.
The Irish rugby team have taken over the first floor.
They will be staying until tomorrow's match.
In the Great Room today there's a lunch and fashion show in aid of Cry,
which helps families combat Sudden Adult Death Syndrome.
Celebrity guests of honour are stylist Brendan Courtney
and star of Downton Abbey, Allen Leech.
It's an amazing charity which is very close to my heart.
Set up by the parents of a friend of mine who passed away at the age of 16.
It looks to raise awareness and also provides a clinic in
Tallaght Hospital where people can go and get screened.
Events like this are a firm fixture on the Dublin social scene.
It's a modern version of the kind of high society glamour the hotel was built for.
When it comes to the social aspect of the hotel,
we would have a lot of very high profile regular events that
have been here over the years.
We have a lot of charity events and a lot of high profile dinners.
There was always a sense of occasion when you came to The Shelbourne.
There was always a reason you were in town.
Christmas was always a special time when we'd come to The Shelbourne for that.
Tea in the front rooms with my mom and her friends.
I remember being a young boy coming in here.
It's so glamorous at the front but there still is that human touch
so I absolutely love it.
It's the pumping heart of the southside of the city centre.
I really plan to retire here.
Myself and my best friend want to be really grumpy old queens,
drinking gin and tonics at 11am and shouting at people randomly
because we're 70 and we can. I can't wait.
I've never been lucky enough to stay here but apparently my brother
charmed the concierge and told him that the Leech Suite was
named after his great-grandfather and he was allowed stay there
for 2 hours while he waited for a cab.
I've never tried that yet but I might.
Tucked away from the glamour and bustle of the rest of the hotel
is a Dublin institution, The Horseshoe Bar.
It's been a favourite of musicians, writers and politicians for centuries.
The bar achieved worldwide notoriety in the 1980's.
George Duffy was a barman.
One of his regulars was journalist, Eamon Dunphy.
This bar when it was at its very best, before it got really busy,
was as good as any bar in the world.
It was usually empty.
There were no crowds in here.
Paul McGuinness might come in.
U2 were beginning to become a big band but weren't.
Mick Jagger arrived at the door of The Horseshow Bar and
he came over to our table. He didn't know us.
He said has Paul McGuinness been in.
We said no Mick but you're very welcome to join us.
We had the actor Jack Nicholson who would come into the bar.
Mr. Nicholson, how are you?
He said let me tell you son, I've never played golf in my whole life.
There was dodgy characters here as well. Yes, well..
That was a nice thing about it.
There was all forms of human life. Absolutely.
They were all treated equally. That's true.
With all the renovations that have taken place within the hotel,
this basically hasn't been touched.
These are actually the same tables as when I worked here back in the 70's.
You don't change for the sake of change.
Everything about it makes its character.
It's a very sacred place.
Just sitting here, you can feel the ghosts.
And remember all the conversations.
And of course the good memories as well.
All the fun. There was a lot of fun.
It's Saturday morning.
Match day and Brian O'Driscoll's last ever home game in an Irish jersey.
After lunch the Irish rugby team will head to The Aviva Stadium.
Until then they are the responsibility of The Shelbourne Hotel.
What's special about today is it's Ireland versus Italy.
It's Brian O'Driscoll's last match on home soil
so it's a big, big day.
The team are due to leave about 12.45 so their pre-match meal is at 11.30.
We're walking away at 11 so we need to be on the ball.
It's one of the most exciting days of the year.
You can really feel the anticipation is building.
The hotel is quite busy but JD and I have taken a few minutes out
because we're going to assist the team to come across the road
to the park to get a little bit of fresh air.
They throw a ball around and it just relaxes them.
The most important people in this hotel are the guests.
So one level ahead of that is our Irish rugby team staying on a match day.
Nobody could be more important and their priorities are
if you like, a national interest.
Irish people are very understanding.
We rely on people's flexibility and I suppose when you see 25 people
in Irish jerseys, it is quite a commanding sight so people
generally stop and watch rather than protest at a slight delay.
Dublin Bus are always supportive.
I grew up in a rugby family, going to all the matches.
Although I wasn't the best player, I still had huge support for it.
All we talked about in school was making it to the Irish team.
That was always the goal.
I've helped to be part of that team but through my own job.
If I'm good at that I can assist the Irish team to be good at what they do.
While the team warm up on St. Stephen's Green,
the hotel's kitchen is on high alert.
We're just getting the food ready now for the Irish rugby team
for their pre-match meal.
It's always 3 hours before the match so you can imagine today,
the match is at 2.30 so they're eating their lunch at 11.30.
Sometimes it's not the nicest thing to eat.
It's plain boiled pasta, plain boiled chicken,
plain spaghetti bolognese, plain pancakes, plain rice pudding.
All about carbs and protein so it's a big load to take on and
within 3 hours it runs through the system.
This is the vanilla rice pudding for the rugby team.
Made with low fat milk and only a tiny bit of sugar.
We always give them two and then have back-up ready just in case.
Some days they eat more, some days they don't eat them.
To go with the rice pudding and crepes they get strawberry jam, honey and golden raisins.
You can tell sometimes it's a meal the players don't want to eat
but they're strictly watched to make sure that every player takes their fill.
I was talking to Brian this morning and he's quite quiet.
It's going to be an emotional day.
We understand the pressure the players are under.
It's a tight turn around from breakfast into lunch for them to leave.
We know we have to do our part to be ready on time for the team.
If we're not ready it could upset the team so we can never let that happen.
The team aren't due to leave for a couple of hours but
the lobby is already filling up with fans.
The lobby's getting busy earlier than expected so we're going to
push things ahead slightly.
What's really important is we're expecting a substantially
bigger crowd than normal.
We'll get the red carpet out now, always remembering the rules that
the IRFU are extremely important to us but they're not our only guests.
We do have a full hotel.
This is really where you can start feeling the tension and the anxiety,
not just from the crowd but the staff.
They tend to speed up that little bit as well.
They know there's something quite exciting about to happen.
Guys, back off the road.
These are the premier seats in the hotel.
You can see Eamon in the background dictating as to who goes where.
When you look down from here you'll see a number of small children
or people in a disadvantaged location.
We hand select people from both outside the hotel
and from here, we bring them up, create a creche environment.
So these guys will see the team first.
We have to be way louder than the Italians that are outside.
We have to make the most noise.
I've been told that this is a very exciting journey for the team.
They know from now it's the end of normality.
It's game face. There's going to be millions of people watching them.
The concentration is absolutely key.
This is where the day begins for them.
Okay folks, here we go!
Last big send off!
When the rugby team are departing for a few hours it makes you
realise that this hotel has been central to what happens
in Dublin for so many years and it still is.
The most special part of today is probably the roar of the crowd
when they're coming out the door.
They're all in their zone. They're very focused.
The crowd is going wild. That's when you start getting goosebumps.
The dispersement has started now.
The guts of 500 to 800 people just left the hotel on the way down to the stadium.
It's a quick routine that we have.
We have about 50-60 associates now, we'll get the hotel back in shape within 5 minutes.
That's the target anyhow and it's looking good.
We go into a different mode completely.
We do our afternoon teas now very shortly.
I actually am going off to the match so fingers crossed we get a good win
General Manager Stephen Hanley may have a front row seat but
most of the staff will have to content themselves with a sneaky peep.
Every now and again we'll click on and see what's on RTE sport.
Keep us up to date, thanks be to God.
Everything possible is crossed.
I'm getting the odd chance.
Once the team goes you get a chance to have a peep in every now and again.
You have to know the mood of the lads when they come back
so you have to know the result.
The latest score is 27 to Ireland and 7 to Italy.
This is just in case a guest wants to know.
Final result 46-7. I don't think we could've asked or better.
I think tonight's going to be a very, very busy night.
The city is going to celebrate.
The Irish team have returned as heroes.
It's the perfect end to a long week.
I don't think we're part of the team that actually carried the
ball over the line but we're certainly important members of
the preparation and you could say maybe the extended squad.
There's definitely a feeling of pride, being part of a team.
Naturally you wouldn't take any credit whatsoever when they win
but you'll just be pleased and you know that when they come back
to the hotel they'll be in good form.
You can really feel an excitement in the hotel.
The public are euphoric. It is spine tingling stuff.
Next time on The Shelbourne..
No possible detail is overlooked..
I think it's best to go over the heart.
..as the hotel celebrates St. Patrick's Day.
I'm not really working for the hotel today.
I'm really working for the country.
: Tracey Carr, RTE 2014.