The FINANCIAL — The Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel opened its renovated outdoor eating area, Iveria Terrace on 21 May.
The terrace will be available throughout the summer until the end of October. The renovated Iveria Terrace is now covered with a canopy roof, so guests can enjoy sitting at the outdoor bar and terrace in comfort.
Radisson Blu Iveria Hotel has a new Food and Beverage Manager, Dermot Birchall. According to him guests will be offered a revitalised menu at Iveria Terrace with an assortment of both new and old favourites from last year.
“We have an exciting new menu at the Iveria Terrace designed by our Chef Peter Kaufman. The open air grill kitchen adds to the dining experience and many of our customers’ favourite dishes remain on the menu including signature dishes from the hotel outlets. The Terrace is daily for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and are looking forward to a very busy season. This year we will have live entertainment every night from 9.00pm” Birchall said.
Dermot Birchall is from Dublin, Ireland. It’s his first time in Georgia, and he has recently joined the Radisson Hotel Group.
“I studied at the Shannon College of Hotel Management in Ireland for four years,” Birchall told The FINANCIAL. “As part of that course I worked in Switzerland and then I went to work with Mandarin Oriental Hotels in Hawaii. After returning from America I worked in Ireland with Starwood Hotels and Resorts at the Westin Hotel in Dublin for four years. I spent some time with Hyatt International in Singapore and have also been General Manager for the opening of two properties in Ireland, Birchall said.
“In 2010 I moved from Ireland to Tripoli, Libya as Food and Beverage Manager for the opening of a new city centre resort. Being forced to evacuate from Libya in early 2011 I saw a great opportunity with Radisson in Tbilisi, so that’s how I came to Georgia. It’s a lovely country, with lovely people who are famous for their hospitality which is really evident in the quality of the staff that we have here in the hotel,” Birchall told The FINANCIAL.
“This is my first experience with Radisson hotels, however, Radisson has a big presence in Europe so I know the company very well.
In terms of outlets, the hotel has the Surface Lounge bar on the ground floor, our famous Oxygen bar which is the highest bar in Tbilisi on the 18th floor, with a great selection of champagnes, cocktails, a great food menu and speciality coffees. Our signature restaurant, Filini, is located on level one and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And of course the recently renovated Iveria Terrace which is our outdoor outlet,” Birchall said.
“At the Filini Restaurant we have worked with Chateau Mukhrani to develop piano nights on Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights. When the guests visit for dinner they receive a complementary glass of one of Chateau Mukhrani’s range of wines. We are sure everyone will enjoy great performances from our resident Pianist, Gigi Wonder,” Birchall said.
“It’s a hotel with lots of purpose. It’s a busy hotel: it commands very high quality of service and good products. The focus of what we do as a hotel and what we do in our Food and Beverage department is customer service and we work diligently to exceed customer expectations which continue to generate strong repeat business.” Birchall said.
Together with our PR and Marketing department we promote ourselves through the available channels in the city. We love to cultivate new customers; our aim is to exceed their expectations, and delight and satisfy them.” Birchall said.
“In planning for the future, I will work with the team to see firstly where there are opportunities to grow. It’s always important to take a fresh look at the way we do business, and identify new opportunities to be innovative. We will certainly strive to stay ahead of the market, to provide our customers with new and exciting products. My priority will be the continuation of staff development, as our team at Radisson is the cornerstone of our success” Birchall said.
According to Birchall he has explored the city and discovered a number of really good Georgian bars and restaurants. In contrast he believes the product at the Radisson Blu offers some unique selling points.
“At our outlets we offer a sophisticated environment where people can enjoy very high quality products and service. Our menus are carefully designed to include a number of traditional Georgian dishes as well as an array of International favourites.
Our competitive edge is built on the consistency of our service and food quality. We embrace feedback from our customers and use their information and ideas to develop our product even further.
It’s quite trendy to go out and visit the Radisson during the daytime for meetings and just to rest,” Birchall said. “We are catering for many international clients at the hotel, Georgian ministries and Government bodies are using our Meeting and Events facilities on a daily basis. Service, efficiency, great audio video technology, and spacious meeting rooms with natural daylight are all unique selling points that are most important to our client base and our Meeting and Events business is growing steadily,” Birchall said.
“Georgia really is a hidden gem,” Birchall said. “Tbilisi is a fantastic city, it’s breathtaking. I am very impressed with the people’s hospitality and there is a great sense of entrepreneurial spirit in the country. There is a tangible sense of expectation and this is emanated in the vibrancy of the young people. I think that over the next decade the country will grow exponentially. Georgia as a tourism product will become very strong, as more and more International tourists are investing in somewhere that has really historic value, something unexplored.”
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