In The Media
Click the logo to read the latest review on the CoventryLive news website or click the icon to read the newspaper version
Click the photo at left to read a fantastic review by
David Carrington, Celtica Radio in the UK
Click the logo below to hear him read one of the funny bits!
Click the logos to read the articles
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New review!
Readers' Reviews
"Just love reading about your exploits! Nigel has the hard copies and I have them on Kindle. Identifying with Miss Bean's draconian school and being whacked with the ruler for writing under each of my Sums: is it right? Are they all right? And they weren't, so guess what? Whack, whack whack.... But in those far away days, you didn't dash home to blab to parents as they would have added to the punishment, because of the shame. Brilliant book! And of course, I had the privilege of working with your father in Lloyds Bank Swanage in the late 1950s and 1960s."
Gillian Humphries, UK
"This is definitely an author to read! Patrick, I hope you are very well - you have always been the essence of what the hospitality industry is about."
Max Cooper, Director, Savills Hotels, QLD
"Excellent books…I highly recommend them especially for those where hospitality and service is a calling rather than a mere profession."
Paul Gardner AM
"His engaging trilogy spans his life growing up in post war England to his time running elite five star hotels, and with the Orient Express Global chain. The books provide an enjoyable read as we are introduced to an array of international celebrities and taken to some of the most exotic destinations in the world. We love #FawltyTowers but this is the real deal!"
Bill Healey, ex CEO, Australian Hotels Association, Sydney, Australia
"Patrick, having had the pleasure of working for you many years ago and subsequently us remaining friends ever since, your book offers plenty of laughter and wonderful memories! You’ve a legend in the industry. A fantastic read! Pick it up and you won’t want to put it down!"
Jane Hudson, Gloucester, UK
"Patrick Griffin’s trilogy, The Grand Life, is the best laugh I have had since reading my all time favourite, David Niven’s The Moon’s a Balloon - Like Niven's story, these books are full of nostalgia, humour, and famous and infamous people who crossed his path over the fifty years of his career. A brilliant well written book!"
Rosa Cameron, Perth, Western Australia
“Been meaning to write saying how much I enjoyed your trilogy of books, what an amazing job in getting all the information together and putting it down so eloquently, very impressed!"
Rob Young, Managing Director, Exclusive Travel Group, NZ
"'The Grand Life: Confessions of an Old School Hotelier' is a fantastic read. I highly recommend it to anyone in the industry."
Brendon Granger, Technology 4 Hotels, Sydney, Australia
"In the film ‘Pretty Woman’ I imagine Patrick to be the benevolent autocrat manager of the Beverly Hills Hotel portrayed in this movie and whenever I think of Patrick, I will see the face of this guy!"
David Carrington, Celtica Radio, UK
“A really great fun read. A lot of laughs out loud, and for me, it was a witty and nostalgic look back at the sixties and just how much has changed in our world!”
V. Harwood, Wahroonga, Australia
“I laughed my way to sleep last night with the first 52 pages! Only another 1,000 to go!"
Peter Rand, Warwickshire, UK
“Patrick’s journey through life, the events and the famous people who cross his path, put his memoirs up there with Forrest Gump. An entertaining read, hard to put down.”
M. Milic, Sydney, Australia
“A revealing and hilarious account of his adventures through childhood and the highs, lows, plus ultimate success within the hospitality industry. As a writer, Patrick delivers what most only promise: a compelling drive to keep reading.”
Brett Morell, Cambridgeshire, UK
“The beginning brought me to tears as it was so beautifully written, thank you so much. I have just started reading the start of your career after Amsterdam and being at the Castle Hotel in Norwich, it is going to be very difficult to put this book down...
I have finished the second volume and thoroughly enjoyed it...Well done to you, you have a winner on your hands.”
Lorely Ellis, Eastbourne, UK
“He has written a wonderful, hard to put down record full of anecdotes and laughs as he rose in the hotel industry over the years from Plonger (washing the dishes) to Regional Managing Director of Orient-Express Hotels.”
Jill Tweed, Chichester, UK
“The Grand Life is about the life and times of a traditional hotelier. Patrick is a natural raconteur, bon vivant and gifted storyteller. He offers the reader a fascinating insight into his personal journey from 1950’s English schoolboy to becoming a visionary hotelier in what is fast becoming a bygone era. It is a cultural and historical record told lovingly with his trademark English charm, wit and humour. Only a person with Patrick’s life experience could pen such a highly readable, fascinating and historically significant tale.”
Christine Whyte, Sydney, Australia
“I found it an easy informative read with some delightful reflections on your personality. All the way through from Norwich to Coventry there seemed to be a career plan although not always under your control, the De Vere Senior Management structure was often too set in its ways. Luckily this did not frustrate your drive, ambition and enthusiasm. You were happy to take ‘risks’ or initiatives to ensure the success of the business.
The trilogy is aimed at readers from within the hospitality industry who I feel sure will relate to it. Readers outside the industry might start to understand the fascination of the industry where no day is ever the same and different challenges arise, usually out of the blue, that have to be met with a calming smile and a solution. Those daily different challenges, whether its dealing with celebrities or a plumbing leak, are what the industry is about. This book captures those and brings them to light, in an entertaining way...
A fascinating insight into the world of international travel and luxury hotels - Patrick's stories spell out the trials and tribulations of opening not one but two luxury hotels, in a different country. He tells how his management philosophies about the hospitality industry were sometimes challenged but he stood firm. His encounters with royalty, celebrities and guests, as well as protesting locals, provide a colourful portrait of how the hospitality industry differs every day. A very entertaining read!
Alan Willis, Nottinghamshire, UK