Eos by SkyCity

‘E’ for Experience at Eos

BY DION HAYMAN

You could be forgiven for thinking the ‘E’ in Eos stands for experience. Perhaps even an ‘O’ for opulence and an ’S’ for service, which SkyCity’s breathtaking $330-million, 120-room hotel has in spades.

And while Eos may be named after the Greek goddess of the dawn rather than being an acronym, it has fearlessly staked its business model on the one thing which keeps people coming for more.

“Experience is everything,” said general manager Jodi Brown.

“A hotel can be an exceptional product, it can be stunning, you could spend millions on it but if the experience isn’t there, I guarantee the customers won’t continue to return.”

Experiences are everywhere to be enjoyed at Eos whether you seek convenience, decadence or a level of service that brings old world customs into the 21st century.

But Australians, who have made up the lion’s share of Eos’s customers since opening in December, 2020 because of border closures, have had a difficult time understanding some of them - like their bespoke butler service.

“The assumption was that it would be hot in demand but I think Australians aren’t really used to that level of service yet. So we haven’t seen a huge demand but we certainly offer it,” Jodi said.

“We offer an unpacking service if guests don’t want to unpack their suitcase and it probably hasn’t been taken up as much as we thought it would.

“In this post-Covid environment, people are a little bit weary of others touching their personal belongings but certainly what a wonderful experience to have your suitcase unpacked when you first arrive.”

Other signature experiences have already proven a hit with locals, like in-room hair and make-up artists, in-room personal trainers who will happily join guests for a jog around the Torrens, and the extremely popular personal mixologist who can ‘bring the party’ to rooms.

“They roll in their trolley and can create an exceptional experience within the rooms particularly for groups that want that sort of fun, more private experience,” said Jodi.

“They can whip up a couple of espresso martinis or a few Negronis to kick start the evening, especially on the weekend and they’ve been extremely popular.

“I don’t know of any other hotels that are offering that service at the moment.”

Opulent without being ostentatious, Eos contrasts brushed gold with grey marble in and outside its 120 rooms, fashioned by world class interior designers Walter Brooke and Hecker Guthrie.

Some come resplendent with balconies overlooking the River Torrens and Adelaide Oval, others feature floor to ceiling windows. All but six boast stunning curved marble tubs by Apaiser.

“No expense was spared in terms of the quality of finishes,” Jodi said.

“We haven’t gone over the top, it’s quite a minimalist room in terms of the overall design but it just works and it’s impressive when people see these rooms.”

Neither was technology overlooked - Eos was highly commended in the Tech Hotel category at the recent HM Awards, to go with its win as best Luxury Hotel and Jodi’s own triumph as best general manager.

“We talk about focus on sustainability in all industries and I think gone are the days where you’d have lots of paper and promotions within the hotel and old school compendiums and things like that - we’ve gone fully digital so we’ve got in-room tablets which have all the information for the whole precinct.

“(Guests) can order in-room dining off the tablet.

“We also offer keyless entry so if they don’t want to check-in as a hotel guest they can do that through the app and then they can just use their phone to enter the room instead of using a key.

“I think there’s that which is quite impactful for hoteliers.”

The hotel spent close to $1 million adorning its spaces and rooms with pieces from 40 South Australian artists. While staff too are striking in their Liza Emanuele designer uniforms.

“She wanted to do something different and we allowed that so we’ve got beautiful cream coloured dresses for the women and powder blue suits for the men which really do stand out.”

Service is something which Jodi refuses to compromise and which is also catching the attention of her industry peers.

“It’s about the little things, the attention to detail.

“We offer hair straighteners, not all hotels offer hair straighteners in room for women.

“We’ve got beautiful in-room amenities. We use Grown Alchemist which is one of the top-tier amenity ranges in Australia at the moment. We’ve got a fantastic pastry kitchen that just goes above and beyond in terms of its creativity.”

Sometimes that service is showcased with an experience neither guest nor staff had imagined or planned.

“A guest arrived recently stressed, overwhelmed, they’d come from interstate, they’d had a bad day, a bad run, their car was quite dirty and they got out of their car and just wanted to get into their room.

“The concierge team obviously looked after them, took their bags, made sure they were settled in the room, made them some tea just to relax.

“And then what the concierge team also did was to get the car cleaned and fully detailed inside and out.

“The next morning (the guest was) leaving, and when they came down and saw their car was immaculately clean, they were just absolutely wowed and they couldn’t thank the team enough.

“They sent me an email thanking the whole team for the overwhelming experience and said that they couldn’t have ever imagined our hotel could put things at ease for them.”

It’s the product of the hotel’s customer service “Eos Extraordinary” training programs that revolve around five key pillars including personalisation, distinctive service, unexpected experiences, indulgence and magnetism - the desire for house guests to resonate and be drawn toward staff.

“We look at personalised welcome amenities - we try to get as much information as why customers are staying with us, what they’re here for to really make sure that we’re tailoring their stay and giving them an opportunity to experience the rest of the precinct as much as possible.”

And while the experience enjoyed by guests allows them to indeed “Live, Extraordinary”, the hotel’s mantra, Eos delivers that experience with sincerity rather than exclusivity.

“It’s not about that 5-star stuffy, it’s more about warm, genuine service,” Jodi said.

“South Australians are naturally down to earth people and I think that’s the expectation that the service throughout South Australia is going to be warm and genuine, caring, empathetic so that’s what we’ve tailored our training program around.”

Delivering a memorable experience, Jodi says, should be the ambition of every hotelier striving for repeat customers and growing their business.

“I don’t know any hotelier who is not at least thinking about that needing to be a focus particularly post-Covid. Everyone’s had it tough, everyone’s going through tougher times and it’s the experience that’s going to remain with people once they leave the hotel.”