Credit Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo
As one of the lucky ones who gets to travel to some of the world?s most special destinations, I?ve been welcomed at more than my fair share of luxury hotels and resorts. But I never actually contemplated just how important first impressions are until I ambled down the gloriously welcoming driveway of Monaco?s Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo after riding my bicycle all the way to Monaco (nearly 1,000 miles) from London last September.
That?s not a Bentley! Credit Bill Springer
Unlike most guests who were arriving in Bentley?s and Ferrari?s, I arrived on a bicycle. And if that wasn?t enough, my wrinkled shirt, well-worn shorts, and cool socks stuck out like a sore thumb. I was literally impossible to mistake for a VIP. The Metropole lobby oozes old world charm. Credit Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo
But then the doorman spotted me. In fact, he?d spotted me as soon as I started down the perfectly cobbled driveway. I was too tired to understand it then, but I?d subconsciously braced for the snobbery that someone who looked like me might encounter in a situation like that, and I was prepared to have to convince him that I was in fact, checking in.
That?s not a bicycle! Credit Bill Springer
Then he met me with his wonderfully warm eyes. He smiled and took my bicycle, ?I?ll handle that for you sir,? he said in English (how did he know"), before I had to convince him of anything. It?s almost hard to describe but in that instant, he made me feel almo...