Hospitality reigns at resort

Alicia Robinson

Maybe it’s the cookies that guests find on their pillows.

Just a year after opening to the public, the Balboa Bay Club and

Resort is being honored with one of the travel industry’s top awards

for its hospitality.

Balboa Bay Club President Henry Schielein, who has been with the

club for 10 years, will accept the International Star Diamond Award

today from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences. Academy

President Joseph Cinque is flying in from New York City to present

the award at the Balboa Bay Club.

“We’re trying very hard to have a quality establishment with

superior service,” Schielein said. “It’s very rewarding to see that

somebody recognizes the quality of service and everything that goes

with it that we try to provide.”

The club began as a private facility in 1948, and the 160-room

public resort opened in May 2003.

The award recognizes the resort for its high level of hospitality

and the fine food at the First Cabin restaurant, which serves

California cuisine with continental touches.

“Mr. Cinque feels that this establishment represents excellence in

hospitality, gastronomy, ambience and service, and he feels very

strongly about the leadership that Henry provides to the

establishment,” said Karen Dixon of the American Academy of

Hospitality Sciences.

The Balboa Bay Club’s award is one of 14 Star Diamond Awards to be

given in the greater Los Angeles area this year and one of only two

that Cinque will present in person, Dixon said.

Hotels and resorts must be five-star establishments to be

considered, but it’s the little things that earn the academy’s award.

Among its various amenities, the Balboa Bay Club turns down guests’

beds every night and serves them fresh-baked cookies. It offers

cruises from its dock, and it has a well-appointed spa for guests to

use.

The most important thing in creating a top-quality experience for

guests, Schielein said, is to have is a good team of employees. Some

of the club’s staff members have worked there for 50 years, he said.

After starting as a bus boy in his native Germany, Schielein rose

through the hospitality ranks, eventually becoming general manager at

the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Laguna Niguel. He left for a brief stint at

a Hawaiian resort and then returned to take the job at the Balboa Bay

Club.

“I’ve been in this business a long time, and my goals have always

been the same -- to operate a first-class hotel with great food and

beverages, great accommodations and great services, where people can

enjoy themselves,” Schielein said. “That’s what hospitality is all

about.”