Tuesday, September 19, 2023

One Of My Many Jobs Was Front Desk Concierge At The Bridge Hotel In Boca Raton, Florida

*This post is dedicated to you, Bijoux, because I know how much you love sunshine and warmth!

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If I ever made a list of all the jobs (and careers) I've had in my life, it would be as long as the book 'Gone With the Wind' by Margaret Mitchell (1037 pages). And I could probably produce a one-hour 10-episode mini-series from all my jobs.

What can I say? I'm a Libra. And Libra's thrive on learning new things. We like to "dabble" in different occupations because we find so many occupations interesting. Libra is an "air" sign, so we need mental stimulation or we get bored. The only reason I'm still in the self-care beauty industry is because it is continually changing. Therefore, I'm always training and learning something new.

It's kind of like when I was an actor for over 30 years. As an actor, you are continually challenged with different roles, plays, musicals, and the "craft" itself. And even though as a stage actor you repeat the same show eight times a week, it's not the same show because each audience is different, so you have to adjust to the audience. Therefore, it's a different show every performance.

One of these days, when I have time, I'll try to think of every job I've had throughout my life so far and post the list on my blog, just so you can read it.

But for now, I'd like to share a time in my life when I worked in the hotel/hospitality industry in South Florida.

At that time, I was living in Boca Raton. If anyone has never heard of Boca Raton (or just "Boca" for short), it's the southernmost city in Palm Beach County. Boca truly has the most stunning tropical beaches - white, soft, meticulous sand, and tri-colored blue water that is crystal clear.

Once you live in South Florida, you get spoiled when it comes to beaches.

And although I'm beyond happy to be living back in the Northeast, I'm also beyond happy for the 20 years I spent living in Florida. Particularly my time at the beach, roasting in the sunshine. I know this is hard to believe, but I used to be a big-time beach bunny, always working on my tan. However, now, I'm the color of a marshmallow, forever working on repairing those 20 years of sun damage. LOL!

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One of my jobs was front desk concierge at a gorgeous hotel in Boca, along the intercoastal waterway. Back when I worked there (early 80s), it was called, The Boca Raton Bridge Hotel (opened in 1976), which is located next to the bridge that leads you across the intercoastal waterway to State Road A1A and the beach.

Originally, the hotel was privately owned by an Italian gentleman (Richard Dinallo) who was from New Jersey. But then in 2014, Hilton purchased it and changed the name to Waterstone Resort & Marina.

I clearly remember Mr. Dinallo being a man of few words. Yet, I could tell he had a very kind heart. He just didn't like to talk much. He had a stunning home (mansion) directly on the Boca beach but also had a room (suite) in the hotel. I can still recall his gruffy cigarette voice whenever he walked through the lobby and passed my desk. For some reason, he liked to call me Ronnie.

He: "Ronnie, do I have any messages?"

Me: "No, Mr. Dinallo. No messages."

He: "Thank you, Ronnie!"

And then up to his room, he would go.

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I would like to interject here and give you some history of how I got this concierge job, which is rather personal. So, shhhhhhh, please don't tell anyone, okay?

I had been working at a different hotel as a concierge when one day the manager of The Bridge Hotel came in to inquire if we could accommodate an overbooking at his hotel. He asked if we had available rooms for the next three days. Which we did. So I booked them. He thanked me and left.

About an hour later the front desk phone rang, so I picked it up. And guess what? It was the manager of The Bridge Hotel who thanked me for the accommodations and then asked me if I would be interested in coming to work for him at his hotel.

Two things:

1) I knew he was sincere about the job offer, which made me extremely happy because it would mean a step up in my hotel career.

2) I also sensed that he wanted to get to *know me better* because he was very flirty with me while he was at my hotel. But in all honesty, I was flirty with him too.

To make a long story short, I took the job, which eventually turned into the two of us dating and working together. I was apprehensive at first because I knew you shouldn't mix business with pleasure. However, we never allowed our dating to interfere with our working relationship.

Eventually, we both moved on to different jobs and amicably parted ways.

Later on in my job journey, I once again tried dating someone I worked with. But unfortunately, that didn't work out quite as amicably as the hotel manager.

It taught me a lesson though.

I NEVER dated anyone I worked with EVER again.

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About The Boca Raton Bridge Hotel -

Note: Boca Raton comes from the Spanish word boca, or mouth, which often describes an inlet, while Raton means literally, mouse. The term "mouse mouth" appeared on early maps, referring to hidden sharp-pointed rocks that gnawed or fretted ships' cables.

Odd name for such a beautiful place, hu?

Here is a photo of the Boca Raton inlet. Notice The Bridge Hotel to the left of the bridge. That's where I worked...