St. Regis Bali Unveiling English-style Butlers

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. October 14, 2008

BALI, Indonesia, June 30, 2008. The first St. Regis resort in Asia is unveiling the first English-style butlers to the island's hospitality industry when the The St. Regis Bali Resort opens in September. The resort is also the first in the island to have an international Chief Butler, Tony Sharp and Assistant Chief Butler, Robert Johnson, winner of 'Butler of the Year' award, an international award conferred by the International Guild of professional Butlers.

Tony Sharp has been butler to the US ambassador to Australia and tycoon Kerry Packer. His last assignment was Chief Concierge and Head Butler, training butlers at the exclusive The Nam Hai Hoi An resort in Vietnam. His assistant Robert Johnson, a graduate of Britain's oldest and best butler school, Ivor Spencer International School for Butlers, was personal butler for 10 years to Asia's prominent Ong family, including four years as Head Butler and Assistant Estate Manager at Parrot Cay Resort in Turks & Caicos.

The brand, famed for refined, timeless elegance and peerless service is importing the unique tradition with personal butlers for every guest at its regional resort flagship. The St. Regis Butlers are a hallmark of the brand, uncompromising in their pursuit of excellence, beyond the expectations of the well-travelled. Their trademark is providing ever-present, unobtrusive service while anticipating the every need of guests.

The extraordinary resort has a creative element in its butler service as it offers not only an on-call service but also a 12-hour and 24-hour personalized butler service for its guests. Each villa in the resort features a butler quarter with a separate entrance to cater for this additional service. Beyond preparing coffee and tea, or packing and unpacking suitcases, the butlers are more like an experienced personal assistant anticipating and catering to the needs of guests, said Tony Sharp.

His dedicated team was strategically recruited four-months before the opening to go through an intensive training to be butlers that are distinctly different, in preparation for the resort's opening, and this training started with Australian consultants Magnums Butlers. Founder and trainer Josephine Ive was herself a butler to High Court judges in Australia. The training schedule with the consultants extended to modules on having positive mind-set and behaviour and effective thought processing methods.

Beyond the regular on-call service, butlers are trained in both food and beverage skills as they prepare a whole variety of breakfast egg dishes, skills which will be used when they cook fresh eggs in the morning in guests' villas. They are also trained in in-room and technology knowledge. They are also trained in wine by the resort's German sommelier, from the history of wines to international wine regions, different types of grapes and tasting, along with education on famous wines and their history, with education extending to teas, cigars and caviar. As The St. Regis Bali Resort is the first resort in Bali to feature Internet Protocol (IP) phones in all suites and villas, the butlers were also put through advanced technology training.

"The St. Regis Bali Resort Butler Service promises to leave guests with an exceptional experience which will be remembered for a lifetime and in the end, a 'bond' with the butler made." said Mr Sharp.

With 125 luxurious suites and villas the luxury resort occupies a breathtaking beachfront location in the exclusive enclave of Nusa Dua, overlooking the ocean and Bali's premier golf course. The fine legacy of the St. Regis name is carried by an exclusive group of prestigious hotels and resorts now joined by The St. Regis Bali Resort.