Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2010 | Page 144

food
things.”
Part of this is ensuring everyone fits
in, and if they sound uncomfortable
with Hillside’s way of doing things,
we will recommend somewhere else.
“There are a lot of good restaurants in
Ventnor, which I think is becoming a bit
of a foodie capital. We are very proud
to recommend these to our guests:
other restaurants also recommend
us. That’s how Ventnor should work
together to give the best experience to
the guests. If you're not providing what
they want, one of your colleagues will.”
Increasingly this topsy-turvy world of
old looking new and seeing rivals as

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Island Life - October/November 2010
colleagues seems quite sane. Gert is
not dictating to guests but respecting
them: “If we know who is coming we
can fulfil their expectations, and maybe
more.”
Everyone at Hillside works to develop
the menus and the ideas: local produce
is used, even if at a higher cost, if it
is good enough, but not if it doesn’t
meet their standards. He heaps praise
on Gerald for consistently producing
excellence, thought he isn’t inclined
to encourage him to seek Michelin
Stars, feeling that takes the eye off the
guest: nor does he shout about the
various accolades and gradings awarded
to Hillside, though
they are listed on the
website. Certainly that
new US-led scourge of
the dining industry, the
online review, is working
in Hillside’s favour. With
95 percent of favourable
reviews on tripadvisor.
com, Gert can afford
to be tolerant of the
power of this and other
websites. But there is

no complacency here: “We are only as
good as our last meal,” he says. “Here
we are fuelled, living for customer
feedback. It is what makes us tick. It is
like being given a hug when somebody
says something positive. It’s hurtful if
you’re not succeeding.”
Of course nothing is set in stone, even
in this beautiful house which dictates
its needs, to those who listen. It may
be that the Hillside concept does not
ultimately work. “We will give it a
couple of seasons,” says Gert.
But somehow, from where we’re
sitting in the looking-glass world, it is
not Hillside that seems back-to-front
and upside down but the many Isle
of Wight hotels which expect to stay
afloat without moving with the times.
Those which still, in the summer of
2010, served tinned fruit salad for
breakfast or deterred afternoon tea
seekers at the start of September with
the brusque words: “The summer is
over now.”
A business based on excellence,
respect and collaboration? Surely that
shouldn’t seem such a bizarre concept.

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