“I grew up in Lübeck, in northern Germany, in an attic flat with tartan wallpaper. My dad loved Scotland and tartan – he even gave me a tartan umbrella and a coat with a Royal Stewart lining. My very first single on vinyl was also Amazing Grace played on the bagpipes, so despite no physical connection, that romanticised idea of Scotland was always in the background.”
“After my hotel apprenticeship in Hamburg (where I helped with a state visit from Nelson Mandela amongst all sorts of other amazing events), I applied to 11 UK hotels – driving from the south coast up to Scotland for the interviews, changing in petrol stations and car parks. When Gleneagles said yes in 1991, it felt like fate. I first joined in 1992 as a receptionist and later duty manager, went away for hotel school in Heidelberg, worked in Paris for a year, and then came back for good in 2001, becoming Guest Relations Manager in 2003.”
