A second generation Italian wins the award for best Australian concierge

Enrico Angeletti was awarded the prize for "best concierge" at this year's HM Awards. His love for hospitality finds its roots in his Italian origins.

Source: Courtesy of Enrico Angeletti

The art of Italian hospitality is famous world-wide and there are many people here in Australia who are doing their part in keeping this wonderful art well and alive.

Enrico Angeletti, concierge at the Pullman Adelaide Hotel, is one of these people.

After years of constant commitment and perseverance, last year he has been awarded the coveted Concierge of the Year prize, an award bestowed by Hotel Magazine Australia.

Enrico, who is also known by his nickname 'Ric', is a second-generation Italian. In 1945 his father arrived by himself in Adelaide, from the small town of Gubbio, and he was later joined by his wife starting a new life down under for the Angeletti family.

The family kept a deep connection to its Italian roots and would travel back to Italy often. "I am the only one of four children to have been born in Italy,' Ric told SBS Italian.

At the age of 19, Enrico began his career in the hotel industry. "I started slowly," he said. "Then one day I walked past the ParkRoyal Hotel in downtown Adelaide, a luxury hotel."

Enrico didn't hesitate to walk in and ask if he could be hired. "I was so happy when they hired me," he commented.

I loved getting to know our customers, I learned a lot, and it helped me grow.

"When Italian clients visited the hotel, we became like family," Enrico recalls. "They would ask me for advice, they knew there was someone in the hotel they could trust."

This is the advice that the Concierge of the Year wants to give to everyone interested in starting a career in hospitality: "It takes time to get good at it. You start by doing the most humble of tasks, such as cleaning toilets, and then slowly you get better at it and people will recognise it."

Listen to the interview with Enrico Angeletti:

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È italiano il migliore concierge d’Australia

SBS Italian

07/01/202113:05

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