The Heart of This House

I believe that home is not only where the heart is, but also where you put your focus. For me, for more than 40 years, that place – my home – has been The Hay-Adams.

In 1984, I began what would become a whole career in this hotel, when I started work as a busser in The Hay-Adams Room, at the time a very formal dining room, where guests wore evening gowns and black tie. It was the most elegant space in downtown Washington, DC, and was considered by many people to be a full five-star experience with cuisine prepared in the French tradition. The restaurant only served dinner, with iconic, luxurious dishes like chateaubriand, steak tartare, steak Diane – all prepared tableside, to the delight of the guests.

We also had the Yellow Room, our restaurant now known as The Lafayette, which was open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was less formal than The Hay-Adams Room, but a jacket and tie were still required. Some days, I worked the breakfast shift, and later, a second shift at dinner, either in the Yellow Room or The Hay-Adams Room.

Back then, The Hay-Adams Room transformed each night into a lounge featuring cigars, brandy, port, cordials, a fireplace, and a grand piano, open from midnight until 3 am. Now, of course, The Hay-Adams Room is prime event space, and not a lounge. Instead, our bar is Off The Record, which was, back then, a more casual dining venue called The English Grill, serving lunch and dinner.

Over the years, I went from bussing tables to working as a night butler for in-room dining, then I became a server, and eventually, a bartender in that lounge. I have also been at the hotel long enough to remember that before there were minibars, full bottles of wine and spirits were placed in the rooms. Guests often left quite a bit behind in their bottles. We realized that a minibar would be much more efficient, and I was the first person at The Hay-Adams to oversee that.

I learned an incredible amount during my roles with food and beverage. As a night butler, I worked with the cook and delivered the meals. As a server at the restaurant, I had to manage my family life around wildly varying work schedules. As a bartender, I learned the immediacy of paying attention and delivering exceptional service to the guest standing in front of you. And through it all, I felt a tug of familiarity from my childhood: the value of hard work and doing more than was expected of me.

Growing up, I was required to help out on the family farm. Seven days a week, we got up at 3 am to help with the chores. A respect for hard work was ingrained into me, and I knew that I was helping my family. Maybe that’s why I associate hard work with heart.

I’m so proud that my three children have grown up spending an afternoon with Santa at The Hay-Adams each December. This has always been a special moment, and it’s only for employees. Now, my oldest daughter has children of her own, and we bring them, my grandchildren, to be part of this tradition with my Hay-Adams family.

I have been working as a doorman for over 29 years and in that time, I’ve learned to put my whole focus on our guests. I think they feel it – at least, I hope they do. When some of our guests come back again and again, they hug me when they arrive, and when they say goodbye. One guest came as a baby, with her mother, who worked in a cabinet position, and now, she comes on her own, as an adult. I’ve seen her grow up.

Sometimes, guests see me at the door, and later that night, they see me working as a bartender at an event. They say, “Hey there, I know you!” and give me the biggest smiles.

Our guests are the reason why we do everything we do. They are part of our Hay-Adams family, too.

For The Hay-Adams, tradition and high standards of excellence and care are part of what makes it such a special place. And for someone like me, who has given their heart to this work, it’s home.