Rembrandt Salutes Staff on St. George’s Day

On Friday 23^rd April, staff from The Rembrandt Hotel and the Sarova Hotels Group gathered in the Kings Suite to not only pay tribute to loyal employees who celebrated service milestones over the last year, but also hear the eagerly awaited announcement of winner of the title “Employee of the Year 2009”.

An array of St. George’s flags, bunting, red balloons and themed napkins adorned the room to create a particularly festive and patriotic atmosphere for the occasion. Such an atmosphere was enriched by the efforts of our wonderful Kitchen Team who, under the direction of Said Serroukh (Head Chef), rustled up a variety of sumptuous English dishes. Attendees were offered tasty treats ranging from jellied eels and bangers n’ mash to traditional favourites such as toad in the hole and spotted dick, all washed down with a fine beverage or two. My compliments to Said and his team for an exceptional job!

After everyone had the chance to embrace the spirit of St. George, Deborah Saleh (Group Human Resources Manager) and Mrs Barlow (Group Operations Manager) gave one and all a warm welcome before proceeding to present a number of “Long Service Awards” to those who celebrated 5 or more years of continuous service to The Rembrandt and Sarova Hotels in 2009. Several were commended for 5 and 10 years of distinguished service, and Kirit Vaja (Assistant Group Accountant) and Mondher Attia (Restaurant Manager) were given official recognition for their achievements of 15 and 25 years of service respectively. A special tribute was then paid to Joseph Marques (Maintenance Manager), whose devotion to his duty and the company spanned an amazing 30 years as of last year! Congratulations to you all – may your shining example be an inspiration to others!

With the presentation of the “Long Service Awards” complete, everyone’s eyes turned back to Deborah and Mrs Barlow who revealed the identity of “Employee of the Year 2009”. In comparison to the voting results from previous years, this year’s election proved to be an extremely close call with a few nominees running a close second to the overall winner, who was revealed to be Darragh Harnedy (F&B Controller). May I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate Darragh, whose sterling efforts and contributions over the last 12 months have helped steer our ship through some stormy waters and keep our course true and steady.

This upbeat social gathering came to a conclusion with managers and staff alike toasting the achievements of the aforementioned individuals and their departments and looking forward to the year ahead with a renewed sense of optimism and determination.

Well done to you all – here’s to a successful 2010!

Written by Dan McDonagh, Human Resources Officer at The Rembrandt