“We had a lady come to stay that was allergic to the colour purple,” explains Nathan Brown of the Rees Hotel Queenstown in New Zealand. “Yes, a colour. She emailed prior to her arrival asking that any room amenities, furniture, or fixtures in her room and around the hotel were removed from her sight so she would not feel ill upon seeing them. All of our amenities at the time were lavender scented, we had purple coloured books in our library, shades of purple on wine bottle labels, and paintings in our art gallery as well as flowers throughout the hotel. We did it, no questions asked, and she managed to stay healthy her entire stay.”
“We had doting parents demand some unusual things for their toddlers,” says a representative of high-end concierge company Levitiscus Lifestyle. “They wanted us to fill a bathtub every morning, then add (ever so tenderly) the kids’ pet fish; then hand-wash and air-dry the babies’ clothes, daily.”
3. Disco naps, anyone?
“We had a VIP family who wanted us to transform our Tata Presidential Suite into a 70s-themed disco for their son’s 18th birthday,” shares Sanela Mrkulic, director of guest relations at New York’s Pierre Hotel. “Our engineering team brought in a dance floor, we hung several disco balls, removed furniture, used tons of silver foil, and voila! Full success. The guests were so happy they insisted we dance with them.”
4. Perfect romantic touches
“We had a guest taking the love of his life on a romantic getaway who asked us to arrange for multiple surprises along the way,” says Maurice Dancer, chief concierge of the Pierre Hotel. “He asked for two dozen white roses, one dozen in the limousine for collecting them from the airport, and another in the room upon arrival. Also awaiting them was a silver tray with chocolate covered strawberries, a large plate of sliced fruit, and two lychee martini cocktails. The finishing touch, greeting them in their room, was a singer and pair of dancers performing the Marc Anthony song, ‘I need to know.’ All accomplished as a team in Pierre style!”
5. Long lost relatives
On multiple occasions, Hilton concierges have been asked to find long-lost relatives and loved ones. The concierge at The Waldorf Hilton, London was asked to help locate a friend of a grandmother of a young American woman (how’s that for twisted already?). All she knew was that the woman was the landlady of a pub in North England during one of the world wars. After two days and several phone calls, the concierge located the woman and helped plan a surprise afternoon tea!
6. Woof woof
Edward Mady, a longtime manager of The Beverly Hills Hotel, asked the hotel to arrange a $15,000 wedding for her two pooches, including an ordained minister and catering. If that’s not weird enough, another guest at the hotel actually requested the entire staff address him in dog language only instead of English. We’re not sure where the accent on the word “woof” goes, but we’re assuming the word is meant to be said with a lot of exasperation if you’re a hotel concierge.
Written by Bryce Gruber. This article first appeared in Reader’s Digest. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription offer.