I have been quite fortunate in that I have always developed a sort of friendship and trust with the celebrities who came to stay at the Lanesborough Hotel. I was lucky enough to meet a few stars during my time as a bartender there: Courtney Love, Val Kilmer and Kevin Spacey, just to name a few.

Courtney started to come to the Lanesborough around 2000, I can’t remember exactly when. She would come to the bar and ask for a martini which she must have really enjoyed, as she began to request them up in her room. She would conduct a lot of meetings in her room, you see. It was routine that, if she called, I would bring up drinks for her, her management and anyone she was talking to.

‘Courtney,’ I said, ‘do me a favour and please put some clothes on’

No one could go into her room during her stay, only me. She is an exceptionally strong woman, a very strong character and she could snap at you. She could be quite a handful for room service or anyone who had something to say to her. You just had to read between the lines and understand that you should speak to her only when she spoke to you.

On one such day, before anyone had arrived to meet with her, she called downstairs, “Can I have a martini? I really fancy a martini, will you bring it up?” This wasn’t out of the ordinary and, of course, I said OK. I made one of my famous martinis, went up the stairs and knocked on her door.

What you need to understand about Courtney is she had always been quite free in her dress code during her stays. That day was no exception and when she answered the door she was topless. It wasn’t something she had thought about, that was her character, her manner. She was free.

So as you can imagine it was very difficult to play it cool in that situation, especially for me as an Italian man. She’s a very attractive woman and, I have to say, although it wasn’t intended, my martini that day was in danger of being shaken, not stirred – and I always stir my martinis.

“Courtney,” I explained, “do me a favour, my heart cannot take this, it’s easy on my eyes but not my body. Please put something on.”

Courtney just laughed and tied a robe around her. She was such a fierce woman. After a while this became a joke between us. I never really knew what I would encounter when she called me.

Salvatore Calabrese, with his sons Gerry and Jon, have set up the Mule Bar at the Holy Birds (theholybirds.com)