The Prize Dinner at the Square, Novotel

Sometime last Friday I finally managed to muster the courage to call the person at Novotel I was told to speak to about the prize dinner. A post from this blog was chosen by 040 magazine as ‘pick of the month’ and got me a free dinner. I should have guessed from the eager voice that answered the phone how the dinner would turn out to be. The PR person who answered the phone gave the impression that they were very, very excited to have my family at their hotel. I was more than taken aback at the way I was made to feel at the Square in Novotel. On Saturday evening I experienced the true meaning of the word ‘pampering’.

Right from the moment the car entered the gates of the hotel we were subjected to bright smiles by the hotel staff which we could not match either in terms of the warmth or the duration. They all appeared to be armed with dazzling smiles. The staff appeared very pleased we had come to the hotel and short of performing a welcome dance, they did everything to make us feel truly special. All through the evening they made sure we had the most wonderful evening of our lives. The Irani chai-and-chota-samosa guy that I was, I felt a little nervous sitting in that swank, fantastic restaurant but Venkat made me feel quite at home among the foreigners who outnumbered the rest.

The staff at Novotel just redefined the word ‘Attentive’ to me. It was as if the sole purpose of their life was to be of assistance to us in every conceivable way. Almost every thirty seconds someone or the other of the wait staff would drop by at our table to ask us with a bright smile if we needed anything else. As it is, we had our plates heaped to the full by the staff who plied us with almost every thing that was laid out on the tables. Not just a couple of tables, there were more than half a dozen tables groaning under the weight of almost everything on earth that could be eaten. Everything tasted wonderful and we just went on tucking in almost everything at the buffet.

I had been to a similar meal earlier at another swank hotel a long time back but there the staff had left us alone to eat our food. But, at the Novotel every one made sure we had not just dinner but the experience of true hospitality. I am not exaggerating because I got a free meal but I am writing from the heart where all the food and the attention ultimately reached. It was one of the best dinners I’ve ever had. Period.

Thanks Venkat, Chandan and S.Sriram of Novotel and to Rajeshwari and Allen of 040. My family is in awe of me, and the dinner managed to make me into a sort of hero to my family but the only problem is that they want me to bring them to the hotel again! I promised to take them to Novotel next year on exactly the same day. Amen.