SUZANNE HOLBROOK
Iusually get up at about 6am, get dressed and grab my dog, a crazy yellow Labrador named Daisy. I take her for a run around and then have breakfast. Because I'm typically English, I never go to work without having a cup of tea.
I live in Hunter's Creek, about five minutes from the hotel, and my drive to work is so beautiful it actually gives me the shivers. As I drive through the grounds of the hotel, I see the golf courses and the lakes and, of course, the weather is always wonderful.
The spa opens at 6am and I get to work just after 7am. The first thing I do is walk around and make sure everything is OK. Then I go to my office and go through my e-mails and all the boring stuff like that.
The team then comes in and we go through what we have on that day. I have 130 people working at the spa and three of them are citrus consultants. Eventually I'd like them all to be educated on citrus.
Treatments
The citrus theme is threaded through the spa and is drawn from our location here in Florida's citrus groves. My job, and that of my three consultants, is to highlight the benefits of citrus-infused beauty treatments.
As citrus consultants we're responsible for helping customers with their internal and external wellness. When a person comes to us we'll try to educate them to follow a different lifestyle. Depending on their needs we may spend between 10 minutes and an hour with them.
Sometimes we'll sit down and talk to a customer, or we'll give them a treatment. Before embarking on a treatment we'll find out if they have any issues such as whether they suffer from stress, if they are worried about ageing, or if they have lots of children. Then we'll recommend a programme using various citrus fruits. If they need uplifting we'll blend lemon, lime and grapefruit.
We also take our customers to the spa's restaurant, where they can enjoy a citrus-based meal. The head chef at the restaurant is Sean Woods, and I meet him each morning to talk about what he's got on the menu that day. He has a huge amount to do with what we do and he makes great recipes and smoothies.
Paperwork In between looking after my consultants and organising treatments, my days are pretty much spent going through figures and paperwork.
I'm also one of 12 employees on the hotel's executive committee, so that means I have to attend lots of meetings. The committee makes decisions on how it thinks the hotel should go forward.
I always work pretty late, but despite being busy I really do try and stop for meals. I have breakfast when I arrive, a protein-based snack mid-morning and pasta or salad for lunch. If I'm busy at my computer I'll have an orange juice instead of a meal.
I leave at about 9pm and, after saying goodnight to everyone here I'll go home to my husband Todd, who does the cooking.
We'll either get together with friends, or stay in and relax with a swim in our pool. n
Interview by Louise Bozec
Factfile
Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes 4012 Central Florida Parkway
Orlando, Florida 32837 USA
Tel: 00 1 407 206 2400
Fax: 00 1 407 206 2401
Web:www.ritzcarlton.com
Bedrooms: 584
Rates: From US$199 (£124)
Facilities: Golf course, pool, tennis courts, spa, conference and banqueting rooms, private dining room, six restaurants
Just a minute…
What would you like to do if you weren't a citrus consultant?
I'd like to be a clothes designer and I suppose that's why I'm in this industry, because I want to make people look good. If you look good, you feel good, and that can improve your health.
What's your ambition? On a personal level it's to achieve health and happiness and to have a child.
What's your greatest fear? Personally, it's failure. I'm very competitive.
