Karim Schadlou

9 July 2014 10:03 am

Returns to Hilton Colombo Residences

Hilton Worldwide appointed Karim Schadlou as the General Manager of the Hilton Colombo Residences earlier this year; Karim is a German-Iranian national, having grown up in Germany and received his education there.

A passionate hotelier all the way Some of you may remember Karim when he was at the Hilton Colombo & Hilton Residences as Director of Operations a few years ago. Karim brings with him almost 22 years of experience in the hospitality trade and that is personified whenever you meet him as he is the perfect host to all his guests and pays attention to every minute detail whether it be food, beverage or overall service. Karim has served 14 years with the Hilton chain worldwide. He was formerly the Resort Manager at Conrad Maldives Rangali Islands where he oversaw the operations of the luxury property which featured 150 villas and 11 food and beverage outlets including the world famous underwater restaurant. He has been entrusted with a million dollar refurbishment project to transform the Hilton Colombo Residences, making it the first choice of guests for accommodation, dining and recreation. He is excited about the plans ahead to drive the hotel performance to greater heights with his energetic team. We had a chat with Karim about his journey in the hospitality trade. What plans do you have for Hilton Residences? As you witnessed the bar lounge is the brand new addition that we have introduced in our first phase to upgrade the dining experience in the hotel with three private rooms that can be booked prior for your meetings or special parties with family or friends. The seating capacity varies according to the space of each room beginning with 10 with a maximum of 20 currently. This is a dual concept area where during the day it is a lounge to hang out with friends with the pastry goodies on one side or you could sit back, relax and replenish whilst sipping your favourite drink while enjoying some light music. The most loved UBG has been brought down completely to plan out our whole new multi-cuisine restaurant which will accommodate 160 guests at a time, as earlier our capacity was limited to 80 we have basically doubled the capacity of the main restaurant. The restaurant will also consist of three private dining areas. The Verandah on the third floor was revamped with new interior earlier this year; we conducted successful food festivals every month since January 2014 and you can look forward to more as we hope to introduce Indian as well as Middle Eastern in keeping with our clientele. Our brunch at the Verandah on Sunday is quite popular and we have received many great reviews from our patrons. There is face painting and bouncers the kids can enjoy along with the pool. In terms of food and beverage we are planning on expanding all the available opportunities. We are in the process of upgrading the suites on the higher floors that will wow every client that walks in. The gymnasium upgrade was completed with the introduction of brand new equipment as well. We are taking time to present something unique, beautiful and brand new to all our patrons. Overall, it is my objective to drive quality in the hotel in all areas; I work closely with my Team who understands this vision. How would you describe yourself? I’m very straight forward, like to meet people. I’m not into politics. I like tennis, soccer and golf but I’m yet to play here and like any type of music except hard rock. I’m a very balanced person that enjoy the good things in life. I like to spend my free time with my wife Chamila and kids. What made you take up hospitality? My main aim was to be an Engineer or a Diplomat. It was my uncle who suggested that I try out at the hospitality trade because I liked to meet people and travel; so began my journey with an internship in Germany in the trade followed by hotel management school in Switzerland where I was exposed to all the services undertaken by a hotelier and this made me stay in the field. Tell us about your illustrious career before Maldives? I started off at Intercontinental in Hamburg, Germany thereafter I went to London for further studies and followed the three year hotel management course in Switzerland that I mentioned earlier. I got my first job outside of Europe in year 2000 at Hilton Abu Dhabi. Thereafter Beijing China was my next posting followed by a whole tour of Asia starting off with Malaysia, Bangkok – Thailand, Colombo in 2008, I had to return back to Thailand from Sri Lanka and then to Singapore, Maldives and ended back in Sri Lanka. When you returned recently to Sri Lanka for the second time what was your impression? This time I did not have to undergo a ninety minute ride from the airport to Colombo as the highway was quite a breeze and it was such a relief as in 2008 it was a tedious ride from the airport. Did you know about Sri Lanka when you were posted in 2008? I must say I had no idea about Sri Lanka. I did not have time to prepare about Sri Lanka but when I came to the Hilton Hotel I was so warmly welcomed by everyone that it made me feel quite at ease. Would you like to share your unforgettable experience during the time? A week after I came to the Hilton, I saw the most beautiful lady passing by in the hotel premises and I was single and I thought to myself “that is the one”! We met in June and got married in October. I asked her to marry me in the Mount Lavinia beach. I went back to Thailand whilst she stayed back and later, we got married in her cousin’s house. It was wonderful, a traditional Sri Lankan wedding. We have two great kids now Daryoush and Koroush. Tell us about your wife, Chamila. My wife Chamila started her career at The Oberoi (Cinnamon Grand) in the Public Relations team under Yasmin Cader. She then joined Sri Lankan airlines as a flight attendant. After this, she joined Gigi de Silva at Hilton Colombo in Public Relations; this is when I first met her. Chamila supports me and teaches me the Sri Lankan way and looks after my health and tolerates my working hours. She is a wonderful wife and mother and sometimes when we want to go out, her mother comes and helps us out which is quite appreciated.