When the time came to think about a career in my teens I had no question in my mind about what I would like to do. Simply an aspiration of running a first-class hotel and being part of a team delivering first-class service, Duncan Palmer says in an interview with finews.life and reveals how to spend a perfect weekend at London's The Beaumont.
Duncan Palmer, why did you become a hotel director?
I’ve always enjoyed visiting and staying in hotels. When I was very young on our family holidays I was fascinated by how everything came together behind the scenes to provide first-class service in hotels we stayed in.
Sitting at breakfast tables in 5-star hotels with crisp starched linen, and polished silverware, and having all the different types of food you could ever wish for on the breakfast menu... as a young boy at 10 years old or even as young as 8 years old.
«I had absolutely no question in my mind about what I would like to do»
I loved the experience so when the time came to think about a career in my teens I had no question in my mind about what I would like to do. Simply an aspiration of running a first-class hotel and being part of a team delivering first-class service, standards and facilities and running a business with a high-quality reputation with positive business returns.
One of the first things I did here at the moment was to purchase a silver burnishing machine for the silverware!
Please describe how you came to your current role.
I started my career with Trusthouse Forte in London and transferred to Dubai in 1980. I joined the Mandarin Oriental hotel group from 1983 to 1995 in Macau Manila Bangkok and ultimately Jakarta in my first general manager post.
I was then appointed general manager of The Savoy in London in 1995 and went on to be general manager of The Connaught in London at the end of 1998.
«The Beaumont is a felicitous mix of beautifully designed and laid-out spaces»
To The Sukhothai in Bangkok in 2002 and then joining Langham hotel Group in mid-2004 as managing director of The Langham London, then as vice president of design worldwide for Langham hotels and finally back to the Langham London as Managing Director and Vice President of Europe until 2015.
2016 saw me to go over as Managing Director of The Murray Hong Kong. To transform an old 1960s building from a government office building to a luxury, sophisticated lifestyle hotel until the middle of 2019.
I then enjoyed a year off with the family and then agreed with the owner of The Beaumont to come here as Managing Director and to help him create a top luxury hotel to compete with the very best in London!
What are the five things that make your hotel stand out?
1. How we make our guests feel – The Beaumont (pictured below) is a felicitous mix of beautifully designed and laid-out spaces and staff that really know how to listen, making our guests feel supremely cosseted.
2. Our guests absolutely love the location – it is central to everything yet feels quietly tucked away. Calm and quiet, with far-reaching views across Brown Hart Gardens to the city, we are only a minute’s walk from Selfridges and the green expanses of Grosvenor Square, London’s grandest square. Mayfair’s art galleries and luxury Bond Street shops are a mere 10 minutes away at most, as is Hyde Park.
3. The range of our facilities: for an intimate hotel such as this, we offer a wide choice, more in keeping with a much larger and grander hotel. This includes two popular restaurants The Colony Grill (pictured above) and Gatsby’s Room, the bar Le Magritte, an outdoor dining & cigar terrace, a large spa with a hammam, and a well-equipped gymnasium.
4. The Colony Grill Room – a popular, clubby Mayfair institution, beloved for its menu of transatlantic classics, and the glamour of its cozy interiors transporting diners back to the old-world elegance of New York in the 1920s. Staffed by «wonderfully fun, friendly, informative and highly skilled staff», who shower guests with «cascades of genuine hospitality».
5. Not only is the hotel filled with an outstanding collection of art, but its façade is also a piece of art, with internationally renowned artist, Sir Antony Gormley’s inhabitable 3-storey high sculpture ROOM placed in one of the wings of the hotel.
What is the most unconventional thing you’ve experienced in your job?
Converting a 1960s building in Hong Kong into a sophisticated lifestyle hotel with a very large budget was unconventional in many ways but the owner wanted to leave a legacy in Hong Kong and so «no expense was spared» in creating what I consider is the very best luxury hotel in Hong Kong today!
How do you define hospitality and excellent guest service?
We pride ourselves on recognition – recognizing our guests as the individuals they are, getting to know them, recognizing their needs and desires and personalizing their experience and time with us.
We deliver service from the heart, with warmth, attentiveness, and seemingly effortless professionalism and try to ensure that no detail of someone’s stay is overlooked. Nothing is too much trouble and as a result, we find that our guests return time and time again. They feel as if they belong here.
Which VIPs have you had the privilege of hosting at your hotel?
You will understand that we cannot give away names but I can tell you we have hosted Kings, Hollywood acting royalty, world-renowned authors and giants of the industry.
What does your hotel offer for a perfect weekend for two?
If money is no object, I would suggest booking our top Suite, «The Roosevelt», for two nights. It is very spacious and has a huge terrace with expansive views looking east towards the City of London. After checking in, start the weekend with a glass of Champagne on the terrace: you will feel as if the city belongs to you.
On Friday night, our emissions-free house limousine can whisk you to the West End for an award-winning show. Finish the evening with a nightcap in our Magritte Bar – perhaps one of our surreal, Magritte-inspired cocktails?
Following a traditional English breakfast in The Colony Grill Room, Saturday is the day for exploring our historic neighborhood. With everything so easily reachable on foot, I would recommend some of the private galleries, such as the Gagosian or Lyndsey Ingram.
«If the weather is fine, take breakfast on the terrace with the Sunday papers »
Then some retail therapy in our local independent shops: there are so many interesting, unique places to visit and goods to buy – from leather goods at Metier; extraordinary crafts at The New Craftsmen; new and rare books at Heywood Hill, as well as the luxury brands at their flagship stores on Bond Street. Finish the day with dinner in The Colony Grill Room, our atmospheric New York-style grill and a Mayfair institution, described as «oozing old world glamour».
Sunday is a day for relaxation. If the weather is fine, take breakfast on the terrace with the Sunday papers and then a stroll around Grosvenor Gardens. Book a Beaumont Retreat package for two in the spa and unwind with a Signature Hammam treatment, followed by a full body massage and a facial. The day, and your weekend, ends with a traditional Afternoon Tea in Gatsby’s Room (pictured above), accompanied by a glass of Champagne.
What plans for the hotel are you excited about?
Since 2019, we have been working on an extension of the hotel into an adjacent building on Providence Court, where we are adding two art deco-inspired private dining rooms and 29 new suites and bedrooms, all designed by famous New York-based interior designer and architect Thierry Despont.
When the extension opens in the summer of 2023, access from the existing building will be seamless and even though we will be offering 101 rooms the sense of intimacy in the public areas will feel the same.
What’s your personal motto in leading a large hotel like the «The Beaumont»?
To lead from the front and set the pace for everyone to follow with a high degree of attention to detail and customer service delivery.
Describe your favorite hidden gem in the area.
The Wallace Collection is a mere 10 minutes walk from the hotel, through the streets of villagey Marylebone. Located on Manchester Square, Hertford House, once the London residence of the marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, holds an internationally outstanding collection built over two centuries and bequeathed to the nation in 1897.
«Get to work early, look sharp, pay attention to the detailed aspects of your job»
With free entry, it is a pleasure to explore its outstanding array of eighteenth-century French art, many important seventeenth and nineteenth-century paintings – including works by Titian, Velazquez, Rubens and Van Dyck – medieval and Renaissance works of art and one of the finest collections of princely arms and armor in Britain.
What is the best piece of advice you received from your mother or father?
Get to work early, look sharp, pay attention to the detailed aspects of your job, stay late and get noticed and you will progress well in your career.
Ducan Palmer is the Managing Director of The Beaumont in London since April 2021. He has worked in the luxury hotel industry for over 35 years and was most recently Managing Director at The Murray in Hong Kong, a multi-awarding winning property. He previously spent 11 years at Langham Hospitality Group, where he oversaw the creation of its flagship property The Langham, London. Other roles included Regional Vice President, in Europe, Regional Director of Operations in Indonesia, and Vice President of Design for the group worldwide out of Hong Kong. His previous 15 years in General Manager positions were at The Sukhothai, Bangkok, The Connaught and The Savoy in London, and the Mandarin Oriental in Jakarta. Prior to this, he had six years of luxury foundation managerial roles with Mandarin Oriental around Asia including The Oriental, Bangkok, as Resident Manager.
