The President Slept Here—and Other Tales from Hotel Industry Vets
September 30, 2008
By Jennifer Juergens
 Viola "Mommy" Albert, 65, who has been working for nearly 35 years at Bolongo Bay Beach Resort in St. Thomas, is now its restaurant manager. She is considered a legend at Bolongo and on St. Thomas. She is affectionately called "Mommy" by Bolongo's owners, staff and guests, because she takes care of everyone and everything.
When speaking of Viola, Richard Doumeng, Bolongo's owner and managing director says, "Ms. Viola was one of the first people that my father asked to join the Bolongo family in 1974 when we took over ownership of the property. Nearly thirty-five years later, Ms. Viola is amazingly still our most treasured and respected colleague."
"I am here because of the Doumeng family," she says. "They recognize me and treat me well."
"She's like family," says Paul Doumeng, owner and general manager of Bolongo, who adds that for 10 years the resort had a restaurant named for Viola.
"I love the Lord and I love myself and when you love the Lord and yourself, you love others," says Viola. "Loving and caring for the guest is one of the most important things in the job. When people enter the dining room and come to the hostess stand, I tell them, 'Leave your troubles in the lobby.'"
Viola still gets people up on the dance floor for Wednesday Carnival nights and lends her hand in the kitchen when a local dish needs to be tweaked. She's held several positions at the hotel, from chef to food and beverage manager. Today, she is one of the daytime managers of The Lobster Grille.
Born in Antigua, Viola went to St. Thomas in 1962 on a private yacht, after a couple she had worked for asked her to come and cook for them.
"I love to meet people. That is the best part of my job. When they are here, it's their home away from home, and you want to make them feel relaxed. That is what I enjoy doing… You have to know what you want in life, and I thank God He gave me the wisdom to know that."
 Bob Conte, 61
June 19 of this year was Bob Conte's 30th anniversary. At the staff meeting there was a lot of "whoop-de-do," a pin and a pat on the back, he says.
"I was thinking today, I've met all these people through the years, it's a sobering thought," says Bob. "This hotel was an Army hospital in the Second World War, and I met people who were patients."
Today, Bob is The Greenbrier's resident historian, a job he says he stumbled into. "I went to Santa Clara University and then got a degree in American studies at Case Western. Then, I met the right guy at the right time—the GM. A lot of historical material had accumulated in the [230-year-old resort's] attic, and he cared about it. I sorted through it, and I also worked at the National Archives, so I was the perfect person to do this. I was a pig in slop." He says he spent months sequestered, looking at papers, books and photos, then adds he was "never happier."
Bob wrote History of the Greenbrier, a book that tells the whole story of the hotel. "We sell it here. Now I get respect, because I generate revenue," he jokes. The hotel also has a museum filled with historical documents that come from people who donate photos and letters, and are acquired by "keeping an eye on eBay," he says. "Once people know there's a historian on staff, they know it will be valued."
Probably the most fascinating thing about the hotel is the secret bunker—no longer a secret. "I was here fourteen years before it was exposed. The remarkable thing is I never thought I'd see it."
In the late 1950s, the U.S. government approached The Greenbrier to construct an Emergency Relocation Center—that is, a bunker/bomb shelter—for use by the U.S. Congress in case of nuclear war. The agreement lasted 30 years.
"[The bunker] was shocking in its scale," says Bob. "The reality was way more impressive than the rumor."
For Bob, the hotel is a special place for another reason. He met his wife of 19 years here. "When she took the job as the director of social activities I had been here 10 years. We got married right in front of the Spring House." Most days they have lunch together in the company cafeteria. Both of their children, Nicholas and Mary Cecilia, have worked as lifeguards at the resort.
 Charlie Washington will turn 73 in December and has so many fond memories of his 33 years at The Broadmoor, they could fill a book. He started working part-time as a bellman after a 21-year military career, and has been in Guest Services ever since.
Most of what he remembers are all the guest activities that involve children. He has five children (one passed away), 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren of his own. "Oh, I love the Easter egg hunt, and one time I couldn’t help but point out the hidden eggs for a four-year-old who didn't have any. She filled up her basket in a hurry," he says.
He also remembers his first celebrity sighting: Jimmy Stewart, who, at that time, was a reservist in the Air Force doing his duty in Colorado Springs as a young one-star general. He has stories of meeting many presidents.
"One of the best memories I have is when [Ronald] Reagan broke out of a line to come shake hands with me."
Charlie was the first in the hotel to receive Bellman of the Year and received his 25-year award with the president and resident manager of the hotel. He is in all the hotel's training videos.
"They celebrate five, ten, fifteen years and at twenty-five years they call you a Pioneer Member. They have a dinner for us—there were three celebrating twenty-five years—and my wife, Lorraine, and I went." Charlie and his wife have been married 52 years. What has kept him in the business? "One of the reasons is the owners. The Gaylord family bought The Broadmoor several years ago, and they are wonderful. Our president, Steven Bartolin, is wonderful, too. We hang out.
Seven years ago I had a massive heart attack and Steve stayed with me every day. I'm seventy-two, but I'm not the kind that can sit around doing nothing. So I work three or four days a week, four to five hours. They won’t let me retire," he says. And Charlie just may be working a few more years. His mother, who lives in California, just turned 96.
 Dimitra Maritsa, 59, who was born in Greece and moved to Toronto in 1968, remembers her first day as if it was yesterday. Back in 1971, a friend introduced her to a job at the Royal York, and she decided to take up the offer instead of going to a concert. She is a waitress in the Library Bar. "It was a Saturday, and I had tickets to see Tom Jones, but I lost them," she jokes. Throughout her 37-year tenure, Dimitra has rarely forgotten a customer's face, especially the patrons who frequent the Library Bar.
"We're like family," she says. But it's not just the clientele that keeps her happy at the hotel. "It's my coworkers and the owners of the hotel. They take really good care of us."
 Steve Schnackne, 55, the Del's food & beverage director, has been with the hotel for more than 25 years. He started as a waiter in the Prince of Wales Restaurant (it is now called 1500 Ocean) and also held several other jobs: captain, maître d', restaurant manager, director of restaurants, assistant food and beverage director, food and beverage manager, and now food and beverage director. He says one of the best things about the hotel is the chance to meet the number of presidents he's met. "In August of 2005, we served President Bush dinner on a Monday night in the Prince of Wales Restaurant. After dinner he yelled back, 'I know you are all back there. Come out for some pictures.' He and Mrs. Bush took pictures with each and every one of us, down to the dishwashers. Every one of us got a signed picture from the president. Disregarding anyone's politics, that was an amazing night."
Steve's father brought him into the business. His father was a waiter for many years in New York. "Although I was going to school to become a commercial photographer, it seemed a great way to make a living. After two kids and a few promotions at the Del, I got the F&B bug and never looked back. This business grows on you. If you're an adrenaline junkie like me, you can't get enough of it. Every day is different and exciting."
Steve loves the job because, he says, time moves at a different pace in the hotel business. "We are serving guests twenty-four hours a day," he says. "For me, it's delighting a guest with something special they thought might be too difficult, but somehow we make it happen. That's fun."
His favorite part of the job? "Seeing young managers grow and mature. Many managers that have worked with me over the years are now food and beverage directors and general managers. It's nice to get a call once in a while and hear how well they are doing."
And Steve loves the property. "It's one of a kind. It's a Victorian seaside resort with a fairy-tale past. We are the stewards of this National Historic Landmark, keeping her safe for future generations to enjoy."
 Eddy Pourier, 64, assistant guest services manager, was born in Bonaire and came to Aruba when he was just three months old. He started with the hotel on October 29, 1968. Even though it has changed hands several times on Eddy's watch, he says, "I love this property." But clearly he has an allegiance to the Radisson folks who, during a two-year renovation, kept everyone employed. They didn't just sit around waiting, Eddy says. They went to work in the community. "We painted churches and schools and built a house for the handicapped."
In 2001 Eddy was named manager of the year. "I won a trip to Europe with my wife. I stayed in Amsterdam for a week, and the manager was so happy to have me there, I was treated like a king. During all these years I have become good friends with the managers, and know people who have been coming to this property for more than thirty years."
Eddy lives five minutes from the hotel. One of his sons just graduated from Trent University in Ontario, Canada, and the other son works in activities at the Marriott Hotel. There is a union rule that requires retirement at age 65. "But when I mentioned it was my last year, the manager said, 'that's not our rule.'"
However, Eddy says he's been working a long time and may be ready to retire soon anyway and go fishing. And he's not worried about getting bored. "My wife is fourteen years younger. She keeps me young."
 Sue Peregrin, 53, started working at the Bonaventure hotel on April 19, 1982, just four months after the official grand opening. Her first position was resident manager; she was promoted to her current position, assistant to the general manager, in 1984. Being with the hotel so long, she is also known as the resident historian. "In 1982 my husband and I moved to Florida with no jobs. We had just come down on vacation when my friend told me about a new hotel that was opening. The day I filled out the application is the day I got the job—thrown into a job with no training. The first week, I said I'm not coming back, but I got bitten by the hospitality industry."
The job is exciting, says Sue, because every department reports to the GM, so she's had to learn something about every aspect of each department. She's been through 10 different management companies and 17 general managers. "What I've found is I can help the GMs, because I know the owners, the community and the history of the hotel."
One story that stands out for her is of a GM who had just started at the property. He wore expensive Italian-made suits, and by all accounts had little in the way of a sense of humor. He asked Sue to take him on a walk-through of the property, and near the outdoor showers, looked up at a chain hanging there. Curious, he pulled it. "And it drenched his thousand-dollar suit," she says. He was not amused.
From the resort's original owner, Tom Ireland, in 1982, to Sheraton, Wyndham, InterContinental, Westin and now back to Ireland, the Bonaventure has had numerous management directions. Recently it got a $90 million renovation, and since 2006 has been managed by Hyatt. Through all these changes, Sue says she's seen good times and bad times. "I've seen it go from good to bad to best. I'm just so proud of where I work now, and I just love sharing the history."
At her 25-year anniversary, Sue got a Tiffany vase. She intends to take advantage of the "big perk" of seeing other Hyatts around the country.
"We intend to travel."
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