My years of service for the Dorchster A-list

But Peter Sellers wasn’t sleeping.

The actor’s weak heart, which had plagued him since a near-fatal coronary some 16 years earlier, had finally given up at the age of 54.

For Paul Geal, the young receptionist who had joined the ranks of The Dorchester hotel just six months

earlier, the morning of July 24, 1980, would stamp a sombre watermark in a career that saw him serve, protect and befriend some of the biggest names in showbusiness and society.

In an illuminating insight into one of the world’s most exclusive hotels, he revealed how his five years at “The Dorch” saw him dance with Gene Kelly, smuggle a drunken Richard Burton past waiting reporters and even act as mediator for a squabbling Mr and Mrs Rod Stewart.

But it is to one guest in particular that Paul’s memories first stray.

Sellers had been a regular fixture at The Dorchester for decades, joining so many of the world’s most prominent celebrities, tycoons, politicians and royals in preferring its sophisticated modernity to the more traditional opulence of the Savoy and The Ritz.

It was there, in 1964, that the Goon met his third wife, the Swedish actress Britt Ekland, and promptly wooed her by buying every single bloom at the hotel’s extensive florists.

And it was there that he spent hours squirreled away in the communications suite, telexing her successor, Lynne Frederick, 15 years later.

“He was quite obsessive about certain things – he would tear every single sheet into tiny strips before leaving

the telex room,” recalled Paul 59, from his home in Struminster Newington, Dorset.

The gifted but troubled film star was known for his sudden mood swings, and staff became accustomed to expect the unexpected from him. But one act – on the evening before his death – will stay in Paul’s mind forever.

“I’d seen him countless times, but on that evening he suddenly came up to me at reception, and threw something on the desk, saying in a fed-up tone, ‘I suppose you’ll want this.’

“When I looked, I saw it was a signed photograph of him. I hadn’t asked for it and I’ve always wondered why he gave it to me. But, considering what happened the next day, it’s something I will always treasure.”

Recalling that fateful morning, Paul described how the alarm had been raised by Sellers’ secretary when she went to his suite.

He recalled: “We got the call at around 8am from his secretary to say something was terribly wrong upstairs, and I ran up with the oxygen tank.

“When I entered Suite 411 he almost looked like he was sleeping until you saw his face, which was absolutely ashen.

“All I could do was stare – I honestly thought he was dead, and I’d never seen a dead body before.” The actor was pronounced dead in hospital shortly afterwards.

The Dorchester was built in 1931 by Sir Malcolm McAlpine, whose use of reinforced concrete made possible cavernous rooms without the need for support pillars.

Its features included luxurious Turkish baths in the basement and Italian marble baths, claimed to

be the “deepest in London”, in every room.

Already established as one of the world’s leading hotels by the end of the 1930s, its solid construction made it the safe haven of choice for Cabinet ministers and those who could afford it during the Blitz by the Luftwaffe.

When General Eisenhower came to London to plan the invasion of Normandy, The Dorchester was the logical choice. Winston Churchill ordered a wall to be built to add privacy to his balcony and it still stands today.

The engagement between Princess Eliz­abeth and Prince Philip was announced there in 1947, and it was also there that Philip chose to hold his stag party, echoed 34 years later by Prince Charles.

In 1981 it was the site of a rare reunion – “more a war summit” – when a grieving Yoko Ono met the remaining Beatles after John Lennon was assassinated.

The Dorchester keeps a comprehensive index of clientele, where every like and dislike is noted, from preferred types of flowers to favourite tipple.

"It doesn’t matter if they don’t return for 20 years – when they do we’ll know exactly what they want,” said Paul.

“And the house porters are

second to none. It doesn’t matter whether you need a villa in Marbella or a yacht to be delivered to a certain port by a certain time, the house porter can make it happen.

“When they retire, they actually sell on their contact books to their successors. That attention to service extends to protecting guests in all manner of ways. Once I was forced to grab the attention of a prominent industrialist – whom I won’t name – as he was having an intimate dinner with his mistress.

“He wasn’t best pleased, until I told him that his wife had just arrived. Let’s just say I received a rather large tip that night,” said Paul.

Diplomacy, according to Paul, was always the biggest policy.

“Shirley Bassey was once woken at 7.30am by loud drilling outside her window, and it was me who had to go to her room and take the full heat of her anger,” said Paul. “I didn’t blame her – she’d had little sleep and it’s just part of the job.

“And I remember being in a lift with Rod Stewart and his then wife Alana Hamilton, and they started to get into a heated argument. I think it started over something trivial like clothes and then escalated. Suddenly Rod turned

to me and said, ‘What do you think Paul?’

“Rod and I are of quite average height, and Alana towered over us both. She was not happy and quite foreboding. I managed to squeak a safe reply and got out at the next floor.”

A more audacious act, however, involved Richard Burton. “I think it’s quite common knowledge that Richard liked a drink or two, and one night we saw him stumble in through the revolving doors,” said Paul.

“What he didn’t know was that a gossip columnist was waiting for him in the foyer. Quick as a flash, the house porters called him over to distract him while two of us helped to sneak him through and almost carried him to his suite.”

But perhaps Paul’s fondest memory is of the “classiest” of guests, Gene Kelly.

“I will never forget the night when I walked him up to his suite. I realised I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I asked him if he’d care to dance.

“He immediately agreed with a big smile, and we did a two-step along that corridor until we reached his door. My wife was very jealous. How many people can say they’ve danced with Gene Kelly?”