I love this property! As a matter of fact I will be going there this Monday for a week.
Rooms are excellent (every room is 800 sq ft plus). Service is up to FS quality. Pools are great including adult only pool wth swim up bar (rare for Hawaii). On site restaurants are excellent. OK fitness centre. Beach is quite good. Weather is fantastic in this part of Maui. Golf and tennis facilities are great.
The average room rate is North of $450 per night. I actually like the Fairmont Orchid (Big Island) just as much and their average rate is @ $300 per night. Two great choices if you ask me. You will love it.
Thanks for your reply!
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
Thanks for your reply!
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
One way to improve your odds of a renovated room is to become a FPC member. If you are Platinum you will definatly receive a new room. Premier and Club members probably will be placed in a new room as well. I am not sure if you are a member or not. I am off to Hawaii in a few hours here and will report back to you when I can.
My husband and I recently stayed at the Fairmont Algonquin for 3 nights in mid August 2005. We booked through the Fairmont web site and got a "One Way Summer Rate" with a $50.00 food and beverage credit on checkout for payment using American Express. Don't forget that you will have an HST tax added to your bill at check out (it was $45 CAD for us per night), which you can get refunded if you are not a Canadian citizen, but must fill out the paperwork and send back to Canada.
The Algonquin is located on the Bay Of Fundy in the small resort town of St. Andrews. The hotel itself consists of the original hotel and the newer wing, where we stayed. We had a Queen deluxe room, which was a nice size and had two queen beds, a sitting area, and a small kitchen area with a sink, microwave, refrigerator, table and chairs, and assorted kitchenware. The bathroom was medium sized. We had air conditioning (which is only available in the newer wing), a view of the Bay and the grounds in front of the hotel. High speed internet access was available in our room and the hotel had a number of public access terminals with internet access scattered throughout the hotel for free guest use. Parking is free (!); valet parking is $10.00.
The room was clean enough, but like other Fairmonts where we have stayed, the housekeeping staff is a bit lax. On the second day of our stay, we were out from 8 am to 4 pm and on our return to our room, it still had not been cleaned.
The hotel has a small number of activities available for guests, including a spa, which we did not use. There is an outdoor pool and playground area, as well as several dining options. The dress is pretty casual, except for dining in the Passamaquoddy Dining Room, which asks that you do not wear jeans.
The hotel is a short walk to the main street of town, where there are a number of restaurants, coffee shops, small shops, a liquor store and a grocery store. You can book whale watching tours down on the Town Wharf.
This hotel is a great spot for a quick getaway if you just want to relax. It would be great for families with young children, however, teenagers will likely be very bored.
Thanks for your reply!
I heard that this hotel have renovated and not renovated rooms. about 50 and 50.
I am planning on booking the ocean view deluxe suites. any idea if this type of accomodation has been renovated?
Maybe during this upcoming trip you can find out. I was advised to ask for a renovated room when checking in. Not sure how the lay out works and what type of suites have been renovated and which not.
Have a great trip in Maui
My stay at the Kea Lani was spectacular! I did stay in a renovated ocean view room. In my opinion the new rooms are no better than the older rooms. If push comes to shove hold out for the view suite over a newer suite. The property is truly world class and in my opinion Wailea is the best spot to be on Maui.
My stay at the Kea Lani was spectacular! I did stay in a renovated ocean view room. In my opinion the new rooms are no better than the older rooms. If push comes to shove hold out for the view suite over a newer suite. The property is truly world class and in my opinion Wailea is the best spot to be on Maui.
Great that you had a good time at the resort!!
I booked a deluxe ocean view suite. I was told that it has oceant front views and it is located in the top floors.
Programs: Double Platinum Queen Bee-Buzzing around somewhere at 30K feet and building a diamond hive at Hilton
Posts: 9,166
Quote:
Originally Posted by christianj
Since we are trying to make one review thread.....Here's a review I posted in Feb. about the Scottsdale Princess:
Trip Report - Fairmont Scottsdale Princess
Recently returned from a 3 day conference trip to the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. Since I could not find a lot of information on this resort on FT prior to my departure, I wanted to fill others in on my experience. Sadly it rained the whole time I was in Scottsdale but this is a review of the property and not the weather.
Arrived 2/16/05 and took a cab from the airport to the resort. Cab fare was $58 with a tip. I will give information later on the correct way to get to and from the airport.
Greeted by the bellman by name which was a very nice touch. I assume he got the information off my luggage which he had gotten out of the trunk of the cab. Check in was quick in the Fairmont Premier line. I had previously called the resort to request a suite upgrade using one of my vouchers and this request was met and I was given a Casita King Suite. FYI, the resort charges a one time $12 luggage handling fee and a $2 a day cleaning fee. I thought this was high but it never actually showed up on the bill when I checked out.
Taken to the Castita by a golf cart, since the Casitas area is all the way at the back of the property. Casita had a living/dining room area with sofa, chair, table, fireplace, dining table with 4 chairs and an entertainment center with tv, mini bar, coffee and tea service. There was also a patio with a table and four chairs overlooking the golf course. Bedroom area was very spacious with a king bed, entertainment center and a bedside Bose like CD player. Great mattress!! Bathroom included a seperate closet, toilet area, double sinks, a huge tub and a wonderful large tiled shower. Amenities included Fairmont bath products, fresh fruit, chocolates and slippers. One nice touch was that there was even bath salt and a natural sponge incase you wanted to take a bath. Casitas area has its own pool and hot tub so you do not have to use the main facilities. The main pool was also very nice and directly behind the main building on the lower level. In my opinion the gym could have used more equipment but this is something common in most hotels and resorts.
Since I was there for a conference and the weather wasn't great, I didn't use the pool or play any golf. I did take advantage of the Willow Stream Spa and had a 1.5 hour massage/treatment. If you schedule a spa service, you get to use the spa area for the whole day. All I can say is WOW!!! What a great facility!! There are seperate men's/women's areas containing locker rooms, private showers, lounging area, steam room, hot tub, cold dip pool, sauna and a massage jet shower area. Common areas include a rooftop pool, a waterfall pool and a seperate gym. Services are not cheap but I would say they are worth every penny!
Departed on 2/19/05 and took a car service to the airport. Evidently this is the way to go in Scottsdale. Cost was $50 plus $10 tip so it was only a little more than the cab on my way in. Evidently you can also call the hotel and they will schedule a car pick-up for you when you arrive. Riding in a Lincoln Town Car is definitely much nicer than riding in a crappy cab.
Overall I would recommend the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess to anyone. The Willow Stream Spa is a must!!! Believe me as a guy I was a little hesitant at first but there were a lot of other men in there having services done. Only negative thing during the stay was that I had asked for a late check out, since I am a Fairmont Premier but they said the resort was full and I thus had to check-out at 12. Hope this review helps others looking at the Fairmont. Oh...the regular rooms looked nice and spacious too. Evidently there are regular rooms in the main buildings and then there are also King Casita Rooms. A co-worker had a King Casita room and it was a very large room with a sitting area, fireplace and a huge bathroom.
Have stayed at this property also, both in the Casitas and in a "regular room". The service is always great, the property is amazing. There are 5 pool areas (one includes a mini-water park), at night at the main pool they have "dive in" movies (drive in size movie screen pool side and everyone on floats in the water). There are two golf courses (one used for PGA). Everything is top notch. There is horse back riding and tons of other activity options. Recommend it both for vacations and a place to hold a conference. We did find having a rental car cheaper and more convenient than taxis for transportation.
The previous poster on the property did hit on the one down side, it is not the greatest property to be at in the rain (as one building doesnt connect to another and the room walkways are outside, although covered by balconies.
Book your spa appointments ahead of time if you can. They can get busy.
__________________
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the Devil says "Oh crap, she's awake!"
Location: MSP (and will only fly NWA in re-routes if I HAVE to)
Programs: AA EXP (4.5MM), hotel programs as needed
Posts: 5,802
FAIRMONT CHÂTEAU LAURIER - Ottawa
Just got back from a WONDERFUL (again) weekend at the Fairmont in Ottawa.
Took the YOW Shuttle from the airport to the hotel (and back) .. decent timing and not bad ride.
Hotel. Small checkin area and a roped off line for President's club ... the Concierge and Bellmen share a desk on the right.
Got an 'upgrade' to a deluxe room courtesy. Room 600. WAY at the end of the halls (several turns) and wondered if it was worth the walk. YES YES YES!!! A corner room (bed and sofa and work desk) facing the lake and the canal/Parlinment building. The desk was in the 'turret' area of this top floor room and had two long narrow windows again facing the lake and canal. FABULOUS VIEW and could not complain on the room at all!!
Bathroom decent sized .... the tub was strange that its bottom seemed lower than the rest of the floor ... kinda a step down into it... but plenty of hot water and pressure!
Room service was nice .. and fast. No complaints there.... tho should have ordered the Table De Hote menu vs a sandwich!
Concierge made suggestion of Gray Line tour .. city by hop-on/off bus and then a lake cruise tour. There was not much other choices .. the 'ducks' looked a bit confining (no open deck space). The stops that were available were nice and interesting enough, but you had to dedicate one hour to the process as the bus dropped you then the next bus an hour later came by again. If you wanted to do two tours it was a long day tho I understand the tour purchase allowed you two days of bus access. Did not do anything else .. a bit of shopping!
The hotel recommended an Indian restaurant (my choice and there were MANY other ethnic choices as well as seafood) in the historic area (historic=touristy) that was VERY VERY good. The rest of the area did have street markets (veg and clothes) as well as many trendy shops.
Hotel was VERY good by Fairmont standards .. GREAT staff and wonderful location. No Fairmont doggie tho!
A word the the Cross-Border travelers (back to the US) about the airport tho. You pre-clear US Immigration/Customs at YOW and then are in a secured area... the gates (like 1-12). There is ONLY one restaurant in that secure area (ok bar and carry out) and the food was POOOOOOR. I had seen a Tim Horton's (ok I am a tourist but like it) on the way in at the airport (must have been the arrivals side) and wanted breakfast there. No such luck .. and not a decent breakfast! If you want food .. DO NOT check your luggage in at the airline as they said once you check in with the carrier you MUST go thru Immigration.
Off to the Royal York in Toronto next month as a tourist .. and will report back. Stayed there for months on business (ok slept there working 10-12 hour days) so need to see the 'real' side of the hotel.
Programs: Air Canada Elite, Continental Gold, IC Royal Ambassador, SPG Gold
Posts: 453
Quote:
Originally Posted by JGR01
Off to the Royal York in Toronto next month as a tourist .. and will report back. Stayed there for months on business (ok slept there working 10-12 hour days) so need to see the 'real' side of the hotel.
When you stayed there, did you have much luck with upgrades as a plat? I have a booking with a suite cert for november, hoping for a big suite!
Location: MSP (and will only fly NWA in re-routes if I HAVE to)
Programs: AA EXP (4.5MM), hotel programs as needed
Posts: 5,802
Quote:
Originally Posted by eastcoastcan
When you stayed there, did you have much luck with upgrades as a plat? I have a booking with a suite cert for november, hoping for a big suite!
I was a 'regular' .. I was there every week for perhaps 4-5 months.. so um .. when I checked in the President's desk staff all knew me and had normally pre-assigned an upgrade. My luggage spent the weekends in the bellman's storeage and I traveled with clean underwear in my carryon! My luck was 'will it be this suite or that suite or are your plain full tonight?' Yea near Christmas I got a regular room with bed and chair and desk... but it was Fairmont QUALITY bed!
They have several levels of suites (and rooms). Let me give a bit of advice....
The hotel is shaped like an 'E' with the long edge facing the train station and the water.
The middle part of the E contains the main(old) elevators. The bottom half of the E near the bottom 'leg' is much longer and at the east end of the hotel .. and has the East (new) elevators.
Towards the 'new' end . .the rooms are also newer and kinda plain. I was in one 'executive' room that was HUGE (2-3 rooms wide) but all open. I was in another corner room there that was a junior suite with small living room and adjoining bedroom area .. no door.
Personally .. the West end of the hotel DOES have fabulous views of the CN tower and dome stadium .. but I do not like that side. With the 'E' layout .. the corners of the legs (not the middle leg) all are VERY VERY near to other buildings. Across the street on north and west (or east and north) side of a corner suite with multiple windows... you face an office building. Toronto is wierd in that they KEEP their office towers light on all night long (supposedly to keep the birds from flying into them!).. and I found that annoying. I normally try and request a Train Station view or a Center section (the middle of the E) by the main elevators.
In the 'old' part of the hotel are the classic rooms. One was called a 'parlor' room with tiny living room but doors to the bedroom that closed and two bathrooms. Most suites tend to be on the end or corner of a section.
The 'true' suites with separate bedroom (closing doors) tend to be in the old wing .. and are fabulous. I have had a couple with non-working fireplaces and huge dining tables. One even had a huge shower with about 5 nozzles! Second bathroom or bar will vary based on the room.
This is an OLD hotel with the classic neat features of old hotels . different layouts on different floors and various room layouts based on renovations over the years. I cannot recall any specific room numbers .. sorry.
I cannot comment much on the room service menu/service as I walked from the office at BCE Place (underground) and most evening tried to stop for carryout food (Marche is very decent carryout) there or even at the connected train station (the hot dog vendor has GREAT sausages!). I brought food back most evenings or ate then stayed at work.
When you 'reserve' your suite upgrade, I have learned they will try and reserve you a Junior Suite. You can 'request' at that time instead the get a true ONE BEDROOM Suite! (Banff tried to give me a 'cute' junior suite that by the description - spiral staircase to upstairs - I knew from the web page was the bridal suite! I got a full one bedroom instead!). They may not 'like' it that you know you can request a larger upgrade, but hey .. at least TRY for it!
Toronto is a great city! And the Royal York a GREAT hotel. I would probably FAX the hotel manager a week prior to your arrival .. reconfirming the suite upgrade, request that the suite be a one bedroom, request that it be one with a fake fireplace if possible. See what happens!
........ And the Royal York a GREAT hotel. I would probably FAX the hotel manager a week prior to your arrival .. reconfirming the suite upgrade, request that the suite be a one bedroom, request that it be one with a fake fireplace if possible. See what happens!
I agree with this comment.The Presidents Club people are very good at this location.What you describe worked for me exactly as written.
We will be staying for a week over the upcoming x-mas holiday. If anybody has any comments or suggestions, I would love to hear from you. Either way, look for a review shortly after the first of the year.
Programs: VIA Rail - Premier, Fairmont - Premier,Cunard - Gold, AC - Mere mortal
Posts: 160
Quote:
Originally Posted by took
Has anyone stayed here fairly recently? We're planning a visit soon and will be staying on the Gold Level. Will we like it?
Well, I can't say for sure that you will like it, but my wife and I like it very much as does everyone we know who has stayed there. The Gold section, as of our last stay, occupies part of three floors at the south end of the building. The check-in and Gold lounge is on the second floor. I have heard that there may be part of a fourth floor added to Gold. I should know soon as our next visit is in a fortnight.
The Gold lounge overlooks the Inner Harbour. Generally the non-harbour view rooms are larger than the rooms with a view, but as with all old hotels nothing is consistent. I wouldn't bother paying extra for a guaranteed harbour view. There is a good chance you will get a room with a view anyway. On two occasions we were upgraded to a corner junior suite.
The Empress Room is fabulous and no more expensive than any other fine Fairmont restaurant. Kipling's offers a buffet (at least it did last year) for evey meal as well as a menu. The Empress is famous for its afternoon tea, which is a ridiculous price in the summer season. It is about half-price in the off-season. The Gold lounge provides tea, coffee and goodies all day long.
We will be staying for a week over the upcoming x-mas holiday. If anybody has any comments or suggestions, I would love to hear from you. Either way, look for a review shortly after the first of the year.
This is another great property under the Fairmont flag. If you can use a suite upgrade cert. The suites are large and face the Pacific. Pool facilities are fantastic, as is the Willow Stream Spa. The fitness center is alright. Golf course is good.
If you are looking for a quieter resort try the Fairmont Pierre Marquis right next door. Less families there.
The only complaint I have about both Acapulco Fairmonts is that the restaurants are not up to par compared to other Fairmont properties. They are not bad, just not great. In town there are several fantastic restaurants. My favorite is called "El Cabrito" and is about $15 away by taxi. If you enjoy authentic Mexican food this is your place.
Lake Louise (Chateau Lake Louise)
FAIRMONT CHÂTEAU LAURIER - Ottawa
