Ovolo ’ s amenity “ loot bag ” helps guests pass the time and makes F & B deliveries mini-events . five o ’ clock , guests heard the trolley before it arrived at their doors . “ They would get a little antsy when they heard the music on the lift ,” Alpe says .
The Quarantine Concierge program was such a success that Ovolo Hotels frequently trended within social media groups for quarantine . “ There are 25,000 people in one ( such ) group , and a day won ’ t go by without seeing something about Ovolo mentioned ,” Alpe says . “ We ’ ve had people do their third or fourth quarantine with us , which is the greatest testament to the quality of our product , and we ’ ve even had people change their flights so that they could quarantine with us .”
During this time , Ovolo also switched to a hotel-wide vegetarian menu in its restaurants . “ A lot of people have told us that they didn ’ t realize how diverse a vegetarian menu could be , or ‘ if you hadn ’ t told me this was vegetarian , I never would have known ,’” Alpe says .
In Australia , many residents traveled within the country and still wanted a restaurant experience . So Ovolo converted some hotel rooms into private dining rooms for couples or small groups . “ People were able to get the restaurant experience without putting themselves in harm ’ s way ,” Alpe says .
Ovolo has switched back to in-restaurant dining since then . “ We ’ re able to function somewhat normally ,” Alpe says . “ We ’ re not doing seven days a week like we used to , but we ’ re still busy .”
At the end of December , Ovolo was not selected to quarantine residents in Hong Kong , so it adapted the Quarantine Concierge program to one of their smaller hotels . “ We ’ re just doing our best to be creative and innovative ,” Alpe says .
PATISSERIEIN THE PINK
Nicolas Rouzaud with some of the patisserie ’ s signature cakes
The London luxury Connaught hotel opened The Connaught Patisserie in October , and since then it has sold out of pastries almost every day , even during the city ’ s repeated lockdowns .
The patisserie showcases the work of Nicolas Rouzaud , executive pastry chef , who joined the hotel six years ago , in part because The Connaught ’ s owner had always planned to open a patisserie . “ This project really started two years ago ,” Rouzaud says . “ The opening date was definitely delayed by the pandemic .”
The space , which boasts rosa tea pink marble floors , pink polished walls and hand-blown hot pink crystal lights , used to be a luxury shop , but the hotel purchased the space and expanded the area ; the entrance is completely separate from the hotel , which has a 2-Michelin-starred restaurant and several other F & B outlets . For the first three weeks the shop was open , Rouzaud and his staff made and sold 11 kinds of pastries for takeout and eat-in . They also baked fresh madeleines to give to customers sitting at tables or queuing .
Customers enjoyed the madeleines as well as the signature pastry , a milk chocolate confection with roasted hazelnuts and a gluten-free sponge base that ’ s made in a custom greyhound mold , which recalls the hotel logo , with specialty coffees , cappuccinos and even Champagne .
When London experienced its second lockdown in November , Rouzaud and his team quickly switched to only takeout and delivery . One advantage : They already were using the proper packaging for takeout .
In December , the hotel ’ s maintenance staff built a wooden hut to sell mulled wine , hot chocolate , breads like stollen , and even a white chocolate version of the greyhound cake . They kept the hut in January and have switched to selling crepes .
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