Wealth Blog | Captain’s Bar outs best customers

It’s dimly-lit. It’s cosy. You sink into the red leather sofas for a late nightcap and feel pleasantly incognito in a rather glamorous 1960s James-Bond sort of way. You are in one of Hong Kong’s best-loved oases, the Captain’s Bar in the flagship Mandarin Oriental in Central. The singer warbles away, but few listen. Three types of highly savoury nibbles arrive in a silver tray to make you thirsty and drink more. Of course, Dominic and the other bartenders know your name, because they see you so often, but you fondly imagine that apart from discreet nods from staff and the other regulars, you slink in and out unnoticed.

The big reveal  

But now, tralalala, if you are one of their 50 biggest customers, you’re going to be awarded a silver martini glass with your name inscribed on it. Remember all those nights you said you were working late? Now there’s nowhere to hide. It’s all part of the hotel’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Ten years ago the Captain’s Bar’s 40 biggest boozeliers got inscribed silver tankards. This time it’s martini goblets, I suppose you’d call them. Bit chunky to be called glasses.

First of all, you chaps who got tankards last time, don’t worry, they are safe.  “Their silver tankards will always belong to them,” said a Mandarin spokesman soothingly.  “We will not take it back and give it to someone else. It is just that we will select a different batch of VIPs for our 50th anniversary celebrations in regard to giving away some new silver martini glasses and silver tankards.”

In case of confusion, the hotel also sells plain silver tankards in its kiosk. “Therefore, quite a lot of people have these silver tankards, apart from those VIPs who got one for hotel’s 40th anniversary.” If the guest already has a silver tankard, he will receive a silver martini glass.

So let’s be clear. If the Mandarin awards you a silver martini mug, it’s very nice. But it also means you’re being branded a mega drinker, does it not? At least these Mandarin Oriental guys have a sense of humour. “Yes, probably! ” came the reply.