Boutique Hotelier – August 2019

FINAL SAY

42 BOUTIQUE HOTELIER | August 2019

YOUR FIRST JOB?

Mine was lugging

wheelbarrows around

a wholesale market

garden business for

55p/hour.

WHAT’S THE FIRST THING

YOU DO WHEN YOU GET TO

WORK IN THE MORNING?

I walk the property, then

check the sales figures.

HIGHLIGHT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR?

Genuinely, when I first embarked on the challenge of

Tewkesbury Park, I doubted myself. Turning this ship

around has provided the most satisfaction.

WHICH OTHER COMPANY (INSIDE OR OUTSIDE

THE INDUSTRY) DO YOU MOST ADMIRE AND WHY?

Virgin. It’s all about the “can do” spirit; having great fun at

work; being a bit cheeky and being an entrepreneur.

YOUR DREAM JOB?^

I’d have loved to be a moun-

tain tour-guide in the alps.

IF YOU WENT ON STARS IN

THEIR EYES, WHO WOULD

YOU PORTRAY?

Elton John.

WHERE WILL YOU BE IN FIVE

YEARS? Reaping the rewards of hard

work and investment in Tewkesbury Park.

SOMETHING YOU WISH YOU

KNEW BEFORE JOINING

THE INDUSTRY:

If only the internet had come

along 10 years earlier...

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE

THREE GUESTS, DEAD

OR ALIVE, TO DINNER,

WHO WOULD YOU

CHOOSE?

If it couldn’t be my wife and kids,

then let’s go for Kylie Minogue,

Micky Flanagan & Michael Palin.

LAST HOTEL YOU

STAYED AT?

The Cary Arms in Devon

was fab but honestly, I was

pressganged by friends into

staying at a bothy recently;

sleeping on a wooden

board takes the biscuit!

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU EVER

RECEIVED?

Two pieces of advice: Peter de Savary insisted on the

“24-hour” rule when reacting or making decisions.

But my dad always offered much wisdom, the best

of which was, “when you’ve dropped a clanger, just

leave it because it’s better that everyone think you a

fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt!”

BIGGEST SERVICE BUGBEAR?

I think that overly-commercial, inauthentic and

stuffy service are against the true spirit of hospitality.

PATRICK JONES

GENERAL MANAGER,

TEWKESBURY PARK

IN ONE WORD...

FAVOURITE FOOD?

Spaghetti with ragu sauce

FAVOURITE UK CITY?

Liverpool

FAVOURITE REQUEST ON THE JUKEBOX?

You’ll never walk alone

FAVOURITE DRINK?

G&T

FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION?

Switzerland

FAVOURITE FILM?

Mamma Mia!

FAVOURITE GADGET?

Swiss army penknife

FAVOURITE THING YOU OWN?

Corkscrew – essential!

PATRICK JONES, GENERAL MANAGER AT TEWSKESBURY PARK TELLS US ABOUT HIS

FIRST JOB, THE BEST PIECES OF ADVICE HE EVER RECEIVED AND WHERE HE SEES

HIMSELF IN FIVE YEARS’ TIME.

IF YOU WEREN’T A HOTELIER

WHAT WOULD YOU BE

DOING? I nearly went into horticul-

ture but many say that I should have

gone into politics.