Luxury Hotels - FS complimentary internet?

Standard speed internet is now complimentary at all Four Seasons hotels. I think they listened :D

this has not been the case, but vuittonsofstyle is suggesting she has heard a change has happened or will be happening

no PR that i can see yet

Standard speed internet is now complimentary at all Four Seasons hotels. I think they listened :D

Don't you think it's about time? Thanks for the update

Our stay at FS Vegas included "complimentary premium internet access for multiple devices" as part of the Resort Fee.

Ritz Lake Tahoe had free 'standard' internet service for 4 devices and an upgrade to 'premium' internet. I can't recall the 'premium' price. "The daily resort fee of $25 USD per room covers guest room wired or wireless high-speed internet access...".

--Mark

At FS Golden Triangle now. Wifi free here. Stayed at FS NY earlier this week. Still charging rip-off fees there.

FS George V is offering complimentary standard internet. MO Paris and Esprit Saint Germain also offer complimentary internet. Le Meurice still charges a high fee for their internet. Complimentary internet speeds vary from slow to decent.

vuittonsofstyle was saying she has heard about a policy change

anyone else hearing anything?

anyone else hearing anything?

I haven't. I'll be visiting the FS Punta Mita tomorrow morning and will inquire as to whether a new policy has be rolled out regarding free HSIA.

I don't know if "standard speed" include basic wifi. Btw writing this from FS Sharm where I am and wifi (both basic and premium) that we got only after apllying for a router in our room, comes with a fee.
As far as always more people travel with devices that cannot connect to cable I think this should be' revised by hotels

I haven't. I'll be visiting the FS Punta Mita tomorrow morning and will inquire as to whether a new policy has be rolled out regarding free HSIA.

i'm jealous of your punta mita visit... but as of 15 april when i left there it was 14$ per device, per day. However, kids under 5 eat for free, so i was still ahead overall ;)

Is the "basic" internet limited to one device per connection only? If so, it's pretty much useless to me. :rolleyes:

I am currently at FS Los Angeles and the std Internet is complimentary. You pay for higher speed, but so far this has been fine.

Just came back from FS Seychelles, WiFi is not complimentary there

It's about time they move in this direction. My last FS- Lodge at Koele last year, still charged. $12 or $15, i forgot.

To go on a rant, few things piss me off more than a luxury hotel charging a premium for a basic service that other lesser hotels provide for free or significantly less. Why on earth should I be charged $15 or even $20 a day for some crappy internet connection just because of the hotels name? For most things in luxury hotels, you pay a premium for premium amenities and services. The internet is the internet and its just a fleecing IMO. I can deal with $10 for a beer with good service in a nice setting. That's what you come for. I can't deal with $15 for the upscale privilege of checking email in my underwear!
/rant

Hotels - the Mauna Lani, for instance- that include a fantastic array of services and amenities win a very warm place in my heart.

It's about time they move in this direction. My last FS- Lodge at Koele last year, still charged. $12 or $15, i forgot.

To go on a rant, few things piss me off more than a luxury hotel charging a premium for a basic service that other lesser hotels provide for free or significantly less. Why on earth should I be charged $15 or even $20 a day for some crappy internet connection just because of the hotels name? For most things in luxury hotels, you pay a premium for premium amenities and services. The internet is the internet and its just a fleecing IMO. I can deal with $10 for a beer with good service in a nice setting. That's what you come for. I can't deal with $15 for the upscale privilege of checking email in my underwear!
/rant

Hotels - the Mauna Lani, for instance- that include a fantastic array of services and amenities win a very warm place in my heart.

Some hotel they outsourced all the IT department, and provides complimentary internet. As far as I know FS is the only few hotel still keep IT guy on site, so they are able to offer any IT help instantly.

vuittonsofstyle was saying she has heard about a policy change

anyone else hearing anything?

Last week, I was told at FS George V that from now on, standard internet use at FS hotels was free. It certainly was at FS Paris. Whether every hotel has actually implemented this, as yet, is not clear, but the intention is there.

This doesn't seem to be rolled out consistently yet.

As vuittonsofstyle notes, basic Internet is now complimentary in Paris. I also received complimentary basic Internet at the Chicago FS. However, my stay last week at the Silicon Valley property did not include complimentary Internet--basic Internet was being charged at $15 per day. Of course, in the US my 3G card is faster than the basic Internet service anyway, so this wasn't a big loss for me personally.

This doesn't seem to be rolled out consistently yet.

As vuittonsofstyle notes, basic Internet is now complimentary in Paris. I also received complimentary basic Internet at the Chicago FS. However, my stay last week at the Silicon Valley property did not include complimentary Internet--basic Internet was being charged at $15 per day. Of course, in the US my 3G card is faster than the basic Internet service anyway, so this wasn't a big loss for me personally.

Hard to believe that 3G would be faster than basic wi-fi service at that FS East Palo Alto location, although I suppose it's possible that 3G/HSPA+ (which is not widely offered) might be. For 4G/LTE, I'd believe it.

Hard to believe that 3G would be faster than basic wi-fi service at that FS East Palo Alto location, although I suppose it's possible that 3G/HSPA+ (which is not widely offered) might be. For 4G/LTE, I'd believe it.

Admittedly I didn't pull the trigger and pay $15 just to see how slow the basic Internet service was, but I'm guessing from your comment that you apparently haven't used FS basic internet service in places where it's complimentary that much. (It's generally really slow! Good enough for e-mailing, but not much else.)

It's about time - FS Hualalai now has free wireless to all guests for an unlimited number of devices. I believe this was in effect my last visit here - as early as Dec. 2011 or even before, but I'm rally making use of it this trip (May 2012)

I've been clamoring for this for years. After receiving the invite to FS By Invitation, I thought I'd get free Internet as a member only to find everyone else here is getting the same . . . . so much for the By Invitation program.

Palm beach had free basic on last visit in march. FS NY was still charging as of last stay May 21.

I believe FS is moving towards chain wide free internet for suites.... with the balance being up to the hotel's management to decide. Of course this butts up against the current FS Pref Partner offerings so the natural progression for us is comp internet on all room types

Admittedly I didn't pull the trigger and pay $15 just to see how slow the basic Internet service was, but I'm guessing from your comment that you apparently haven't used FS basic internet service in places where it's complimentary that much. (It's generally really slow! Good enough for e-mailing, but not much else.)

Last time I stayed at a FS, about a month ago, I got basic internet service for free through that "By Invitation" program. Logged in two devices, one was just fine and the other a bit more problematic.

My suspicion is that the difference between basic and premium is simply a priority at the router, which means the more premium users there are, the worse basic would get. If that's the case, it sucks as a management strategy; there should be decent bandwidth for all.

FS Singapore has complimentary basic internet for all rooms (up to 2 devices). "Premium Internet" for up to 4 devices costs $25 SGD per day. They begin the clock at 12:00am and it runs until 11:59am the next day, so conceivably you may use the service for almost 48 hours if you log on at midnight.

Apologies for not circling back to this thread earlier.

During my visit to the FS Punta Mita, they mentioned that all FS properties are migrating over to a tiered system -- basic level for free, and a couple of premium options ($$$) that will provide greater speed and capacity.

The Punta Mita property has not yet made the migration.

How can they afford to offer free internet when they are only charging $400-800 a night for a standard room?

How can they afford to offer free internet when they are only charging $400-800 a night for a standard room?

No doubt it will force them out of business.

Was at FS Santa Barbara over the weekend. Still charging for standard and premium Internet connection. Had a suite so the internet was included but didn't know it was only for standard connection. Connected via premium connection but very slow and poor signal. Absolutely no signal in the living room.

Was at FS Santa Barbara over the weekend. Still charging for standard and premium Internet connection. Had a suite so the internet was included but didn't know it was only for standard connection. Connected via premium connection but very slow and poor signal. Absolutely no signal in the living room.

Yes, we had free standard internet in suite at FS Santa Barbara this year. Worked OK for emails.

I stayed in Four Seasons many times and got exceptional services. The internet is good all the time. The staff is friendly and you get luxury services by paying extra dollars. The room services are more pricy than they should be for simple items. Typically Four Seasons has high standards, exceptional services but one thing which I always found is the sleep quality.

There does not seem to be any plan to roll out free internet chain-wide. :td: :(

This is from the WSJ interview with Kathleen Taylor- CEO of FS:

WSJ: I’ve been to some Four Seasons where there was an extra charge for an Internet connection. Why not include it in the rate and deem it complimentary?

Ms. Taylor: It depends on the market. We have a number of hotels that offer it free. The vast majority of hotels where it is not free are doing two-tiered level of access: a lower charge for basic email service and a slightly higher charge for streaming, downloading, TV-watching and movies and music. Not everyone uses streaming. So it really depends on what the customer needs. Tailoring the amount you deliver to them based on the amount they use.
------------

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2012/06/05/qa-four-seasons-ceo-juggles-global-expansion-wifi/

Ciao!

Was just at Beverly Wilshire this past weekend and, though it's included in my offers, basic Internet is NOT complimentary there.

Last week-end in FS Park Lane London standard internet access is complimentary. However you cannot connect as many devices as you want. We had 2 laptops, 2 iPad and 1 iPhone and we still had to pay access after having connected our 2 laptops.

Last week-end in FS Park Lane London standard internet access is complimentary. However you cannot connect as many devices as you want. We had 2 laptops, 2 iPad and 1 iPhone and we still had to pay access after having connected our 2 laptops.

Sounds like a good case for a travel router.

Not complimentary at FSRC Chicago.

jun 8 2012
Not complimentary at FSRC Chicago.
dec 11 2011
the two Chicago Four Seasons also offer complimentary in room internet
may 28 2012
complimentary basic Internet at the Chicago FS
hmm

Not complimentary at FSRC Chicago.

Dear 5khours, it was free when I was staying at the Four Seasons in Chicago three weeks ago. When I looked at the website for both the FS and FSRC, it says, "Complimentary wired or wireless Internet access."

I would talk to hotel management about the charge for internet and I am sure they will remove it.

All the best.

Ciao!

I asked about it at FS Bosphorus, Istanbul, in relation to our upcoming stay and was told they have several options for Wifi, one of them (I did not get any details, but assume it is the slowest one which is normally OK for me) was free.

http://www.fourseasons.com/chicagorc/accommodations/
Complimentary wireless Internet access

from old site
http://www.1.fourseasons.com/chicagorc/value/
At the Hotel - High-speed wireless Internet service in the guest rooms and lobby, with IT assistance
In your room - Wireless Internet access

re speed, cairofr (free basic) says "384 Kbps" = 48K = 21 seconds per megabyte

OP >
I was told at FS George V that from now on, standard internet use at FS hotels was free
2nd report >
During my visit to the FS Punta Mita, they mentioned that all FS properties are migrating over to a tiered system -- basic level for free

Free! Yes :) for the slow internet

Although the faster internet would cost you 29 Euro's per day (yep! 29 Euros! NOT Dollars).

Although my suite had the faster connection for free

Just visited Prague and Milan, and both FS properties had a complimentary Internet tier.

The 384Kbps claim strikes me as a bit optimistic. I tried to download a big file in Prague and was getting maybe half of that.

Fs Istanbul at bosphorus offers free Internett for one device per room. It is supposedly slower than the option you can buy, but mote than ok for me.

There really is no excuse for a luxury chain to even have slow internet service, free or not. 384kb/sec is 10 years behind the times. Shame on you, FS!

Add FS San Francisco to the list of places that does not offer any sort of complimentary Internet for non-suite reservations.

Free at Hualalai for basic which was fast enough to watch a movie!

Just returned from FS Bora Bora and, although it was included in my benefits, it was not free. The lower level (which is the one I used) was very speedy, though.

Just returned from FS Bora Bora and, although it was included in my benefits, it was not free. The lower level (which is the one I used) was very speedy, though.

Every FS I have been to this year in US has free (slow) internet option, but fast internet is $13 a day.

If the FS you are in has an Executive Center, fast internet in your room is free, if you pay for access to Executive Center.

Got my confirmation for FS Santa Barbara. Internet is free for Suite bookings

Marrakesh offers complimentary internet as well!

Marrakesh offers complimentary internet as well!

Yes and no. There is a standard (slower) complimentary internet for emails etc. and a premium version that you have to pay for. We were in a suite, thus also not for suite bookings it was completely free.