Talk:Parsian Esteghlal International Hotel
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Testimonials
[edit]This content was originally on the main page, but it is not factual information. Instead it is a personal recollection of the hotel. I did not feel right removing it entirely, but it has no place on the main page, so I have moved it here.
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Royal Tehran Hotel was the favorite of the Imperial court and all dignitaries visiting Iran....Le Cafe the all-day Restaurant used to serve over 800 covers every night from 11 PM to 6 o'clock AM....Hilltop Rentals have had over 30 Luxury cars for rent. During Mr. Phillipides the General Manager and Mr. Habib ulRahman Obeidi the controller the hotel was the most visited establishment in the Middle and the near east after Babylon hotel in Baghdad, King David hotel was the third, in that Cathagory. His Imperial Majesties The Pahlavis and their households were frequent visitors to hotel during their rest period, Reza Pahlavi the II, Current King of the Persian throne, used to have his orange juice after his horse-riding at the lobby of the hotel, Prepared by "Food and Beverage control Department", the Department, the cup holder of the court. The oversight element for food and beverage consumption of the Royal family and their guests...Mr. Amir Mot'taqi the chief Protocol Director of the court of Pahlavi, was the programmed visitor to the Department. It was an honor to serve in the Era of the golden age of Iran.
Hospitality Business is an Ancient art in Persian Ideology, the Wiseman repeatedly echo that “the guest is the GOD send." Baron Hilton's favorite hotel was the RTH...He mentioned it in his memoirs few time.
Between 1970 and 1972, I worked at Royal Tehran Hilton as a receptionist and later as an Assistant Manager. The hotel was indeed THE place for those wanting to see and be seen. Numerous international celebrities and dignitaries resided and performed at RTH, including the renowned French singer Charles Aznavour, as well as others such as Eddie Constantin, Salvatore Adamo, Heads of the Persian Gulf Emirates, European and American dignitaries and many more. The Royal and Presidential Suites were the ultimate standards of luxury for those who splurged to impress, at a whopping !7,850 Rials per night (equal to $250.00 and an enormity those days when RTH charged nightly rates of $20 for regular rooms and $40 for corner suites). The Royal Family and their extended members were frequently at the hotel. Mr. George Phillipides served as the General Manager and Mr. Peter Lezius served as the Executive Assistant Manager; and Mr. Amir Mottaghi, Chief of Protocol at the Impertial Court resided at Suite 1208.
In October 1971, all RTH guests were transferred to other nearby hotels in Tehran for one week as the Hotel was temporarily converted into a bastion of safety to house more than 68 international dignitaries attending Iran's celebrations commemorating 2500 years of Persian Empire. Among the distinguished guests whom I personally escorted to their rooms were HRH Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (the very first of the dignitaries to arrive at RTH for the celebrations), Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, HRH King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, and HRH King Hussein of Jordan. A mere 100 staff members (myself included) out of the 600+ employees were hand-picked by the secret service and the Imperial Court, thoroughly investigated and assigned as the attending staff during that one week and the security measures we were subjected to were and are to this day without parallel.
It was an honor and quite a life-changing experience for the 20-year-old me to work at RTH those days.