Hotel outing

On Monday the older two children and I were treated to a visit to one of our city's hotels. This was part of the career days that we have been organising for the teens. I feel it is important to expose them to many as many careers as possible.A family friend is resident manager in this particular hotel and he made this a memorable outing for all the teens and the few moms that were privileged to go to.

Upon arrival, we were treated to coffee and freshly baked croissants, drizzled with chocolate. We watched a short DVD on their involvement in the recent Soccer World Cup and learned more about what the hotel industry involves. We then were taken on a tour of the hotel, front and back office. I know I have never thought about what it must take to run such a large establishment efficiently! We certainly learned a lot!

The hotel boasts 546 rooms. Some have magnificent views of the Waterfront or Table Mountain. The suites are luxurious!

We toured the offices of the various departments and the laundry rooms too. I don't think I have ever seen that many white towels and linen ever!

We saw their refuse area and were amazed! It was spic and span and fresh. Not what one would imagine in a huge hotel. They have their own worm farms and the worm tea is used in the hotels gardens and given to staff for their private gardens at home. Recycling of glass, paper and plastics is done too. There are coloured bins into which all recyclables are sorted and then taken away. They donate left over soaps and shampoos etc by giving them to shelters for homeless or street children. The same is done with linen and towels that are no longer suitable for use in the hotel. The gentleman managing this aspect of the hotel has managed to reduce their waste by about 60 % since he started this programme in the hotel last December. Very impressive!

In the kitchen, the chefs were ever so friendly and chatted to the teens and made us very welcome, informing us they had just prepared a delicious lunch for us to enjoy. J particularly enjoyed walking into the freezer. K enjoyed seeing a room service order being processed.

We enjoyed a wonderful finger lunch back in the boardroom and had the chance to chat to some of the executives working in the hotel. As we left, each of us was given the gift of a bag of chocolate covered nougat. What a memorable outing!