It should have been a big goodbye for the born Italian. However, due to the lockdown, the invitations cannot go out for the time being. Too bad: tout Amsterdam and many others would have walked out.
Roberto Payer with Eva Ouwehand (l.) and Elisa van der Meijden at the Hilton herring party in 2017.
ⓒ Photo De Telegraaf
Payer sees the opening of the Amsterdam top hotel Waldorf Astoria as the crown on his work. Hotel restaurant Spectrum, with chef Sidney Schutte, has two Michelin stars. Hilton restaurant Roberto’s is a favorite for authentic Italian food. But Payer also put his stamp on other Italian restaurants in the country. He is and remains active for the Ospitalita Italiana, in which the Italian restaurants in the Netherlands are united. He also remains chairman of the supervisory board and chairman of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands and he remains chairman of the supervisory board of the Amsterdam art fair PAN.
The financial magazine Euromoney in 1991 called the Amsterdam Hilton the worst hotel in the world. In the same year, criminal Klaas Bruinsma was liquidated on the doorstep. The bar had an illustrious reputation as a ‘Hilton bar’. “The immensely rich underworld sought connection with the upper world”, this column read in 1994. ,,At one point there was a lick around for a few hundred years and those people were again protected by bodyguards with large bumps in their jackets. Those bumps were caused by their shoulder holsters. It is to the credit of the director Roberto Payer that he has very courageously put an end to that.”
With Princess Máxima in 2013 after speaking at a financial forum at the Hilton.
ⓒ Photo Anko Stoffels
Great parties, parties and guest celebrities passed in review. A sad downer was the suicide of singer and artist Herman Brood, who jumped from the roof. “A sweet man”, is the response of the host-director, who last month celebrated Brood’s 75th birthday with his widow and daughter. Payer is known for being warm and charming, but also a perfectionist, demanding down to the last detail.
Surprised by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano in 2012.
ⓒ Own picture
An ambassador for Italian culture and economy, he was promoted to Grand Officer of the Ordine della Stella d’Italia by the previous Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. In our country he became an officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau.
In both hotels, the outgoing director will be succeeded by Katharina Schlaipfer from Portugal, where she now works at Conrad Algarve. The question is whether much will change. Everything changes to remain the same, is a popular quote from the experienced Roberto, who explains: ,,The basis is a good bed, clean sheets, good food and drinks and good service.” Aside from all the frills, in his words it’s all about the ,,human touch”.
It sounds so simple. Go for it as a successor.
With the International Hilton Summit in 2015 for the Waldorf Astoria. From left to right: John Vanderslice, global head of Luxury, Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta, Roberto Payer and Simon Vincent, President EMEA.
ⓒ PHOTO MARELL GRAND WEDDING