Robert Cook
I live in a place called Eglingham, in Northumberland, and I divide my time between working in the UK and in Monaco. We have a number of Dakota projects we're working on at the moment in Manchester, London, Aberdeen, Newcastle and Nottingham, which means I'm always travelling from place to place. We also have a joint-venture partnership with Evans, a property group in Leeds, so I spend time there as well.
In addition to working in the UK I spend eight or nine days a month at our Columbus hotel in Monaco, and I go to Lisbon and Paris, where we have Columbus hotels opening in 2005.
If I'm flying out to Monaco, I get up at 4.20am. The only time I get a lie-in is when I've got a meeting first thing with our lawyers in Newcastle.
I'm not great at getting up early but I've got used to it. The first thing I do is get showered, shaved and packed, and I'm then ready to leave the house at 4.50am. That's when my 82-year-old driver, a retired Spitfire pilot named Jack Brookfield, arrives to take me to Newcastle airport. There, I get the 6.20am plane down to London.
I have breakfast on the plane and, when I get to London, I have a number of meetings with people such as the developers and corporate advisers of our Dakota hotels. Others I might meet include architects and project managers.
I start my meetings at 9am and they take a lot of time. At lunchtime I generally just grab a quick sandwich, usually from Benugo, one of my favourite sandwich bars in London.
At about 4.30pm, I make my way to Heathrow Airport for my flight to Monaco at 8.25pm.
While waiting for my flight I have a bite to eat at a seafood bar in Terminal 1. I'm on a bit of a fitness regime at the moment, so I'm pretty healthy with what I eat - lots of fish and salad, washed down with the occasional glass of red wine.
I've lost two-and-a-half stones this year and, as well as eating healthily, I also try to train four or five times a week.
When I go to Monaco, I spend my time there reviewing the business. This means I work with the general manager and I catch up with the financial team. I also have lunch with Ken McCulloch, the company owner, most days, so that I can catch up on where we're going and what we're doing.
Whether I'm working in Monaco or in the UK, the days are long and I never go to bed before midnight. I think that's down to the many years I've spent working in hotel operations.
To me, the hotel business is a way of life. I'm always busy, but I don't mind, because I think I'm in a very privileged position. It's great fun working with Ken McCulloch - he's a great inspiration.
And no matter how busy my weeks are, I never work weekends. This means I have balance in my life and, when Friday night comes, I know I won't be working again until Monday.
At the weekends, I spend time with my wife, Debbie, and we'll take our Welsh springer spaniel, Huxley, out for walks. I like to play golf on Saturday mornings and, most importantly, have a lie-in on Sundays.
Interview by Louise Bozec
Factfile
Columbus Monaco
23 Avenue de Papalins, Fontvielle, Monaco
Tel: 00 377 9205 9000
Web: www.columbus-hotels.com
Bedrooms: 181
Facilities: 140-seat brasserie, 70-seat bar
Rates: from €295 to €495 (£208-£350)
Owner: Ken McCulloch
Just a minute…
What's your favourite hotel? Blakes in Amsterdam. I think it's charming. It's a bit wacky, and the restaurant and bar are great. You just want to stay there all night - which I do.
What's your most embarrassing experience at work? I was welcoming Sir Cliff Richard to a hotel that I used to run. I got a lift ready for him to use and then wondered why he wouldn't step in. When I turned round and looked in the lift, I saw it was full of dirty laundry.
What's your ambition? To work with the team here at Columbus and Dakota and create one of the finest hotel groups in the world.
