Street Ambassador

Meet George Karageorgis Our Grosvenor House Street Ambassador

Street Ambassador George Karageorgis is a very important part of the operation at JW Marriott Grosvenor House. He ensures that the external areas of the building are clean and tidy which translates to all guests and residents who pass by on a daily basis.

A Greek-Cypriot born in Larnaka, George worked as a Gardener in his native Cyprus before moving to the United Kingdom in 1971. When he arrived in the UK, George found various Gardening roles, often in run down areas of London. George to this day is an active volunteer in his community and always willing to help where he can.  George lives in East London, a short bus ride from Grosvenor House.

George is very unique in that he does not own a television, so he spends most of his time listening to records or reading books (mainly historical fiction or detective/crime novels), which he collects from charity shops in his local area. George has hundreds of records in his collection and as a result is rapidly running out of space! George’s favourite genres of music are Classical and Jazz and his favourite composer is Mozart.

To get to know George a little better, we spent some time with him and asked the following questions:

What does your job at Grosvenor House entail?

My job is to keep the areas surrounding the hotel clean and tidy. I also clean the canopy and change the flags of the main forecourt entrance on Park Street. I also change the flags within our colonnade on Park Lane and do this every two weeks.

How long have you been the Street Ambassador?

I started in September 2004.

How many times a day would you say that you walk round the building?

At 06:30 I do my first walk around the building. I start at Park Street and make my way around the entire building, cleaning both sides of the road. I then walk around the building every hour to ensure that it is looking in tip top condition for our guests and residents. I am especially busy in the autumn, as there are a lot of trees shedding their leaves on Park Lane.

What do you enjoy about your job?

I love working outside. I was a Gardener previously so I am used to working in the great outdoors. I like to move around and really like the people I meet and the conversations that I have whilst I am going about my work.

What is your favourite time of year in London?

I like springtime, when the buds start to appear on trees and the new leaves appear on the trees.