The Marriott Hotel County Hall on London’s South Bank is the Group’s first UK hotel to have a digital i-Pad-based wine list. The hotel’s flagship bar and restaurant, Gillray’s, has introduced the system, developed with wine supplier Matthew Clark, and reports huge and positive response from diners.

“We’ve been testing the i-Pad system for two weeks now and our guests love it,” commented Jonathan Prescott, Restaurant Manager.  “We have had terrific feedback and won’t be printing any more wine lists. The digital wine list gives diners the opportunity to take an in-depth look at our wines. They can choose by grape, country or region, price or by producer.

“We expect to generate a more varied buying pattern than we have enjoyed previously. There is so much more detail about each wine and we’ve already found that customers who might previously have just taken a cursory glance and chosen a wine they are used to are now really researching the extent of our range. This has to be good for customer satisfaction. The i-pad system is intuitive and doesn’t need to be “taught.” It is really a genuine revolution in involving our guests in the vital task of choosing the right wine to go with their food. All in all it is a win-win system for us.”

Nick Zalinski, Business Director at Matthew Clark, agrees that the sense of adventure promoted by the i-Pad list’s depth of information will reward Gillrays’ customers. “The list features fabulous and sometimes unusual wines that are begging to be discovered and enjoyed, which is one of the pleasures of eating out. I like the way the system allows a diner to explore in depth if they are so inclined or to quickly select one of the recommended wines if they wish to do so.”