Happy to present a real hotelier to you. Ha, I should have known that asking him my 10 questions would create as answers: “The Ring, Grand Hotel Wien and The Ring”:-). The first photo shows him very proudly with the 2008 Tripadvisor award for The Ring.
Carl-Peter Echtermeijer with the 2008 Tripadvisor award
1) Who Are you?
I am currently Assistant General Manager of 2 luxury hotels in Vienna, the famous Grand Hotel Wien, part of Leading Hotels of the World and The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel, a luxury design hotel we opened in 2007
2) What do you like about what you do?
I like working with people for our guests, I like the fact that hotel industry is like theater, every day and every situation is different, I like facing challenges, making things possible to our clients and guests, having an overall thinking-out-of-the-box mentality.
3) What don’t you like about what you do?
This question took me a while to think about, I cannot tell you what I do not like, my personal opinion is that one should see this job as a hobby.
4) Please tell us all about your blog and your aims with it.
The blog we recently developed and implemented (The Ring Press) for our The Ring, Vienna’s Casual Luxury Hotel is meant to inform guests, journalists, actually the on-line community about who we are, what people think and wrote about us and with which partners we work. I personally see this blog as a very unique on-line marketing tool.
5) Your top 3 destination experiences you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
Thailand due to the spa experiences, France due to the excellent food and the French mentality, Holland due to the very open culture and off course Friesland.
Grand Hotel Wien with the Concierge and Bellboy in the cold
6) Your top 3 accommodations you’ve ever stayed to date and why?
Paris as I wanted to surprise my wife, Bratislava to experience this upcoming city, Garda lake as we (my family and myself) needed a summer break.
7) Your top 3 most memorable food experiences to date and why?
The famous Heuriger in Vienna and Austria, this is so typical and so nice. Google it and give it a try, our Japanese restaurant Unkai as it is indeed the best Japanese food in Vienna ..number 3 is yet to come
8) Your 3 worst destination/ accommodation /food experiences to date and why?
I only had a very bad food experience in Bratislava due to the fact that 1.) the food was terrible and 2.) we were definitely treated like foreigners..one does not expect that anymore
9) Can you offer the readers 3 travel/ food / accomodation / things to do tips about the city you are currently living in?
Do stay at one of Vienna’s trendy design hotels or at the recently opened Hotel Stadthalle (a bit of a green hotel focusing on green travel), visit the Heuriger restaurants and do plan culture, culture, culture ..also nightlife is great in Vienna. For dinner : our restaurant At Eigh at The Ring : aroma cuisine, new and spectacular.
The Ring Hotel with its new led Xmas lights
10) Any Question(s) you’d expected me to ask that you would like to answer?
No, I would have asked the same questions and I am so happy to have the opportunity to get presented in this blog. Thank you!
Thank you Carl-Peter!
First congratulations with the Tripadvisor Award! A great achievement! Secondly: I have been informed that your at eight Ring restaurant got a very high Gault Millau rating recently – you should update your Blog!
I started this presentation with a bit of teasing, but when I was new to the internet I think I would have reacted the same as Carl-Peter: “Don’t divulge too much of yourself: They can use it against you”.
I will be meeting Carl Peter soon and get a personal tour of this new Viennese Hotel The Ring. Looking forward to it. Stay tuned!
Nice looking hotel, especially when it’s all lit up.
So You Want To Be a Banquet Manager