Recently I had the privilege of having a chat with David Levin a 75 year old dynamo, who just happens to own his own hotels ( Capital and Levin in London ) along with a vineyard in the Loire Valley, while travelling around the globe espousing about the finer things in life.
His take on diverse subjects, such as chefs not touching their food and just preparing a great dinner to having the Queen use his digs made for an enjoyable take on what is missing in a lot of travel, the romance of forgotten times.
David started from the ground up, literally, building his hotel along the lines of superior service, something that was being demolished by many of the chain hotels proliferating in London. He was always out of kilter with the established thinking of packing them in and feeding them quickly. So much so, he had to plant his own trees, in the street where he was building, as no one thought it a good idea to build in the then unfashionable Knightsbridge. Time of course has proven them all wrong and the Capital and Levin continue to provide only the best.
The vineyard in France was an extension of that thinking, to provide the best available and have control of it at all times. His Michelin starred restaurant has been a trampoline for up and coming chefs including such luminaries as Gary Rhodes. David makes a point of meeting his guests whenever he is in the hotel as his only times away, tend to be as an advocate of the slow food movement and building relationships with future guests.
So why is David so important now?
Look around.
We go at the speed of light to fit in the maximum exposure to everything and everyone in a short time and need to rely on our digital technology to sometimes remember where we were. That’s not right.
Next time you are in London, call in on David Levin and let him take care of you in a manner lost to many. Be brave and slow done for just a little while and let him take you to a time when guests really mattered.
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