Kagehitokiri

and cannot forcibly remove a guest that quickly, let's say incoming guest with prior guest having confirmed late checkout

DavidO

which is why hotels hate the FHR guaranteed 4 p.m. late check-out

Kagehitokiri

and some do not even feel required to do it (FHR)

but they have no problem selling guaranteed late checkout...

DavidO

A sales manager once described American Express as the elephant in the (luxury hotel industry's) living room. They get so much business from their FHR contract that they feel they cannot live without it. But they don't like working with FHR!

Kagehitokiri

hotels will also negotiate free guaranteed things with clients and agents
hotels' perception of FHR varies by hotel/location and FHR country/plat/cent

ritz looks like >
13 / 15 suites sold individually, not as category
(2 of 15 suites not loaded online)
71 rooms - superior, exec, deluxe, grand
56 suites - jr, exec, deluxe
anyone (agents) known room counts?

i agree with Pierre&Cedric i would prefer ritz sold these other 4 individually.
few if any other hotels sell as many as 15 suites individually (only 5 at FS paris)
considering that, perhaps there is (more) hope that ritz will add those other 4.
and the hotel did only just reopen on june 6, only two and a half months ago.

on trisara's latest website/reservations, they now sell 10 residences individually.
that's the only other hotel coming to mind with similar number, and it's a change.

there are examples discussed on forum at other hotels of 'special' rooms within a room category, that have some kind of unique special feature (sometimes substantial) that should be requested in advance. room "requests" in general have come up here fairly frequently.

also lots of quotes from hotels as well as travel agents, saying certain rooms (within categories) are the "most requested"

there may be a possibility that in some of these kinds of situations, the special rooms are usually given to certain guests/owner/etc.

for example casino properties will take rooms (especially top rooms) away from paid guests to give to gambling guests.

interesting ritz loads all individual suites online, while FS/etc keep taking more and more offline >
feltrinelli >
villa - 13 rooms in 3 categories
rustica - 3 rooms in 1 category

Palais de la Méditerranée >
9 to 12 suites in 4 categories
panoramic suite is 2nd best

does ritz sell different bedding, with limited number of rooms per category having certain bedding? may help book special 4

of course room categories and the rooms in them can also change anytime, or be renamed, etc, so have to keep updated

but operations wise, ritz is not hundreds of rooms per category. some FS (paris) have 100+, most (FS) have dozens per.

Pierre&Cédric

Cap Rocat did not confirm one specific Suite Del Mar because we did not ask, at that time actually I did not know that they had 2 in this category. To me #90 is the best
Palais de la Médiettrannée has only 1 panoramic suite. The best suite of the hotel (with also a huge terrace) is called the 'penthouse suite' but the lay out is not so great.

If the Ritz is what you call a 'good hotel' because they are not able to confirm a specific room (again, there are 4 rooms in this particular area among which 3 have a private rooftop garden, three!) then I prefer to stay in not so good hotels like Aman, FS, MO, etc. And it's not the Ritz GM who replied, it was the 'deputy guests relations manager', a truly kind but absolutely inefficient lady with the now already so typical condescending Ritz Paris approach. I'm French so I'm supposed to know what arrogant means In this way I can tell that Ritz Paris is definitely the 'frenchiest' Paris hotel

I guess it's the same with all programs guaranteeing a 4pm late check out including Virtuoso. And this 4pm late check-out is precisely the main reason why I like FHR. All the rest can be purchased easily or negotiated or already included in promotions by making a reservation directly on hotels websites.

Anyway, sorry for digressing and let's come back to the Ritz Paris. I hope others will have better experiences and will actually stay there Or may be just like the Pen 2 years ago they need more time to iron out all current issues.

Kagehitokiri

again, what hotels guarantee within a room category? (not category with only 1 room in it, like 15 ritz suites..)

seem to recall discussion of not getting 'best' room in category at certain amans (kila ocean suite for example)

'guaranteed' late checkout or anything else just means better compensation / negotiation if they do not deliver

stimpy

It sounds like the communication was not handled well. But as you say, these things will hopefully get ironed out in the coming months. However the basic point of a favored guest wanting to extend their stay happens at all top hotels. And if you have a guest who spends a million per year with the hotel, versus you or I who only spend a few thousand, who will get the most attention from the hotel?

Indeed. And Centurion FHR is especially good in that we can confirm our upgrade at time of booking with most hotels. Over the years it has happened to me a couple times that I've arrived at the hotel to find that my pre-upgraded room was no longer available. So I was further upgraded to a higher level room. No complaints from me!

DavidO

Virtuoso amenities are MUCH better than FHR:

• Guaranteed upgrade at time of booking
• No set check-in/check-out time (hotel must be advised of estimated arrival time)
• Daily full breakfast, for up to two in room guests (valid at restaurant or in-room)
• Complimentary two-way private airport transfer (with VIP meet & greet at the airport on arrival)

Can you convert AX points to gift cards?

KEnsor

Not 100% sure. Not at a good rate I'd imagine, if you could. Sounds like Im not staying at The Ritz unless I drop a grand. Ha.

DaveChapin

I've decided to split my Paris stay next summer between the Ritz and the FSGV. The attention to detail in the renovation seems too well executed to miss. Hopefully by then a number of the "opening soon" hotel features will have arrived. They include:"The Gallery and Concept Store", at least part of the Spa as "Chanel au Ritz" carries this moniker, and the "at home" boutique.

One question I have is about the cooking classes they have here. Apparently they have been quite a tradition at the Ritz. Anyone ever taken one?

offerendum

Cooking class in Paris? I have millions of things to do in Paris, a cooking class wouldn't come to my mind.

chinmoylad

I wonder how strictly true that is in a world with so many alternatives. Surely guests keen to stay at a hotel would find a way to stay there regardless of whether it had a FHR contract or otherwise - seeing as other affiliations offer very similar benefits (*cough*Virtuoso*cough*)?

KatW

Some folk prefer an all-online experience when booking for them, FHR fills a need. I use both FHR and Virtuoso.

stimpy

It's true because Amex has direct access to everyone with one of their cards. Which is pretty much everyone in the world that has enough disposable income to matter, save a few distinct markets like Japan. FHR do a good job of marketing these hotels which makes the hotels happy and gets them lots of business. Outside of the Flyertalk Luxury forum, very few people have ever heard of Virtuoso or they have heard of it in the same context as a dozen other such schemes. I've been a full time traveler for 20 years and this is the only place I ever hear about Virtuoso. I've never received anything in the mail from Virtuoso, even back when mail mattered. That doesn't make it a bad program, but it means it is a whole lot less relevant than FHR.

You are right that if any of us wanted to stay at a hotel that wasn't FHR, we would find a way. But how would we have found out about the hotel in the first place if it hadn't been marketed to us? Word of mouth only goes so far.