Last year the Prince de Galles hotel in Paris had a mistake rate of 52 euros per night (they intended to load a 520 euro rate). It was only available for up to 4 nights, the week of Thanksgiving. I’ve just returned from the hotel, and had a lovely stay. On check-in I was upgraded to a deluxe room on the top floor with a large balcony looking out over Paris (and if you crook your neck and look right, a view of the Eiffel Tower). I did check availability, figuring that the hotel wouldn’t provide much of an upgrade – as a result of the rate and of this being Paris, after all. The hotel wasn’t offering any suites at all online, for any of the four nights of our stay. And they were…
Hotel Report 2009
Tag Archives for Hotel Report 2009.
The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond
Nearly all of my hotel stays are with a major chain. I have status, I earn and burn points. It’s rare that I stay outside ‘the system’. That also means I don’t usually experience the very very best luxury properties, most of which also exist outside of the traditional mainstream system. Although they frequently have affiliations, whether Leading Small Hotels of the World, Tablet Hotels, or just participation in American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts or Virtuoso. But this weekend I needed to be in Richmond, and everything downtown was priced extraordinarily due to the Marathon. I could have stayed on a cheap rate at the Westin, but that was 6 miles from where I needed to be. And with the race traffic was going to be a nightmare. The Jefferson, though, was priced pretty…
View from the Wing Goes Home
Home, for me, means the Westin Diplomat. It’s not the single most modern property, the single best service, the most intimate. But as an all around hotel experience it delivers, consistently. And no other property delivers as good a value in terms of elite status recognition. Sometimes the property is very busy, but a combination of off-season and the economy means poolside chairs were much easier to come by (people do save chairs starting around 8am). Alternatively they offer pay cabanas and ‘beach cabanas’ which are covered chairs on the beach. Some folks don’t like to pay, but when there’s a shortage I do appreciate having the options. This is not a small, intimate property. But when ensconced in a suite, and visiting the club lounge frequently, it actually feels as though it is. There…
W San Diego – Extreme Wow Suite
I spent last weekend at the W San Diego, which has been in the news lately because the property is being take back by its mortgage lenders. Like many hotels, occupancy and rates are down. This one was acquired at the height of the real estate boom, fetching a real premium, and the owners decided it didn’t make sense to go on making the interest payments. So apparently they believe it’s now worth less than the $65 million they owed on it, despite having paid about 50% more than that three years ago. At the same time, with recent rates as low as $119 the hotel becomes an exceptional value. I had my own special rate, and when I checked in on Thursday night the clerk at the desk informed me that I was going…
W Seoul Walker Hill
Hotel: W Seoul – Walkerhill 21 Gwangjang Dong, Gwangjin Gu Seoul 143 708 Korea Phone: (82)(2) 465 2222 Fax: (82)(2) 450 4989 Cash & Points Rate There wasn’t much traffic out of Incheon and I was hopeful, but I was leaving the airport around 6pm on a Friday and that couldn’t possibly yield a quick trip. On the other hand, I was heading into Seoul and not out, I thought perhaps that would help. And indeed it did, the traffic in the other direction was worse, but while the freeway was pretty clear for the first part of the trip once we crossed the river we were pretty much in a standstill. In all, the drive took about 100 minutes. Someone was immediately available to assist with our bags, and I walked up to the…
Sheraton Annapolis, Not So Much…
I checked into the Sheraton Annapolis yesterday afternoon. I turned up at 2:40pm, was told they had me in a club room with two double beds. Umm, my wifeand I are still only a few years into our marriage, could we have one bed? 😉 This place was busy, busy, busy. They told me they had no king rooms available, sorry. Could you downgrade me off the club floor and give me a king? “Nothing’s ready, you know it isn’t even check-in time yet.” Ok, when could I have a king? “Check-in time is at 3pm sir, please come back in 20 minutes. I will block you into a king room on the 5th floor.” I return at 3:30pm. They had me in … a club room with 2 double beds. I mentioned that I…
Novotel Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok Airport Hotel)
Hotel: Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport 999 Suvarnabhumi Airport HotelMoo 1 Nongprue Bang PhliSamutprakarn – 10540 BANGKOK – THAILAND Tel : (+66)2/1311111 My recollection from past stays was that the airport Novotel had a representative outside of door 4. This time as we headed over there two Thai ladies were at a desk inside the door, checking guests against an arrivals sheet. She asked my name but I wasn’t on the list. I showed her my printed confirmation for my prepaid rate, and we invited me out the door to the waiting hotel shuttle bus. We pulled up to the front of the hotel, grabbed our bags, and went upside. One of the staff members was ready to assist me, and it turns out that I walked in just in time because a sleuth of guests queued…
Le Meridien Chiang Rai – Part Four of Four
Here are just a few more photos to leave you with. Resort from the river Pool view from our room Various views around the resort
Le Meridien Chiang Rai – Part Three of Four
Having everything ready “just in case” seemed to be a major theme of the property. They seemed fully staffed, with more employees available at all times than guests anywhere you went. They have an activity schedule of such things as archery, Thai boxing, ball exercise, Batic Art (I admit, I had to look it up) and Yoga. Guests almost never showed up, but the staff members were prepared and in place – just in case anyone did. The same is true for the pool, and the gym. The fitness facility is lovely, with a large supply of bottled water and towels and a nice bathroom to accompany the brand new machines with built-in TV (I didn’t notice if there was internet, but don’t think there was) and weight machines as well as ample free weights.…
Le Meridien Chiang Rai – Part Two of Four
There weren’t enough towels in the room, just a couple of bath towels at a time, and the toiletries weren’t refreshed except for the shampoo on the fourth day. I had run out, and was about to ring up for some, when housekeeping appeared apologetically for having forgotten to replace the shampoo. (They didn’t bring other items, but none were needed, apparently they replace only those which are virtually used up.) For a brand new hotel, and a stylish one at that, I was disappointed that the bathroom had a standard shower head and not something more interesting. We ran into a couple of snags shortly after our arrival. First, a bug infestation in and around the sugar packets that accompany the in-room coffee. We rang the desk and the sugars were replaced while we…
