Vancouver: Shangri-La and other hotels (consolidated)
Feb 14, 2012, 10:03 am
#76
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 95
Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Due to time constraints, I will use point form format.
-Hotel has 3 entrances. Door staff and bellmen only at main entrance / port cochere but guests arrive from all entrances, as did we. No one to help with luggage if you needed any assistance.
-Staff seemed a little cold. No warm greetings or smiles, like Le Bristol in Paris. Perhaps it is service culture of Rosewood?
-Main issue was with quality of Food and Beverage (F&B) from In-Room dining to Hawksworth. Simply put, the food is not very good. Hawksworth serves tiny portions of food for the price but also, rather unfortunately, healthy portions of attitude and pretention.
-In room dining burger was overcooked and patty was 2.0 inches in diameter. Fries were crispy but were plain shoestring fries. Burger was so overcooked there was no taste to it.
-Also ordered chicken fried steak. Batter was falling off when it arrived and was sitting a pool of oil. Meat was tough, stringy and sandy with no taste. Fried soggy due to the oil.
-Room service attendant forgot the gravy for the fried steak, never addressed us by name (not even greeted us, just wheeled the food in), uncovered the food and basically left. Only one ketchup was provided and they forgot the carafe of water we asked for.
-Made a special request for french onion soup. Was told that it was not on the menu. I asked if they would be able to make it. Room service agent simply replied, "I don't know." Had to ask her to ask the chef. She reluctantly went to ask and they were able to honor my request. While I appreciate that they were able to do so, a small bowl came filled with luke warm broth sparsely populated with onions with a small gruyere covered toast. Not quite what I had expected but I applaud the kitchen for trying to honor my request. Too bad service was barely reactionary and not proactive.
-Welcome amenity from the hotel was a small plate with 3 chocolates on it.
-No newspaper delivered following morning.
-Hotel does have probably the finest room product in the city but room dimensions are small. Heated bathroom floors are A+ during the winters.
-Toiletries are Ohné and are contained largely in pumps so you couldn't take them home with you if you wanted them. They smelt horrible so no loss for us.
Following this stay, we tried Hawksworth for dinner with friends. It was a terribly disappointing meal.
-kitchen will not work with you if you have allergies or want changes made to the dishes. In instances where they are willing to make changes be prepared for upcharges.
-If you want bread, there is a $4 charge. No idea if that is per person or per table -- to shocked to ask.
-There is a decent selection of wine by the glass. However, glasses of wine are poured in the wine room and the staff never show you the bottle, nor pour it in front of you.
-portions are small for what you pay for. The 48 hour braised beef I ordered consisted of 3 one inch by half an inch pieces of braised beef. Not as tender as you would expect and aggressively seasoned with salt on 2 pieces and none of the 3rd.
-theme of stinginess carried through to the main courses. My fish was overcooked. Friend's fish, which was thicker, was cooked to perfection. Took so long for main courses to come out, and the fact our waiter never returned to check up on us, I ate my fish as I was hungry. When a Manager came to check up on us at the end of the meal, I informed her of the overcooked fish. All she did was to promise she would tell the kitchen.
All of us left hungry and wanting. The menu featured many supplements so to get the full experience of what the chef wanted you end up paying much more.
YEW, at the Four Seasons across the way, and even Mosaic, in the Hyatt Regency, are superior restaurants. And they both don't charge for bread.
All in all, a disappointing experience at the Rosewood.
For room quality, the Rosewood is best in the city. But it lacks severely in service and in food and beverage.
-
-Hotel has 3 entrances. Door staff and bellmen only at main entrance / port cochere but guests arrive from all entrances, as did we. No one to help with luggage if you needed any assistance.
-Staff seemed a little cold. No warm greetings or smiles, like Le Bristol in Paris. Perhaps it is service culture of Rosewood?
-Main issue was with quality of Food and Beverage (F&B) from In-Room dining to Hawksworth. Simply put, the food is not very good. Hawksworth serves tiny portions of food for the price but also, rather unfortunately, healthy portions of attitude and pretention.
-In room dining burger was overcooked and patty was 2.0 inches in diameter. Fries were crispy but were plain shoestring fries. Burger was so overcooked there was no taste to it.
-Also ordered chicken fried steak. Batter was falling off when it arrived and was sitting a pool of oil. Meat was tough, stringy and sandy with no taste. Fried soggy due to the oil.
-Room service attendant forgot the gravy for the fried steak, never addressed us by name (not even greeted us, just wheeled the food in), uncovered the food and basically left. Only one ketchup was provided and they forgot the carafe of water we asked for.
-Made a special request for french onion soup. Was told that it was not on the menu. I asked if they would be able to make it. Room service agent simply replied, "I don't know." Had to ask her to ask the chef. She reluctantly went to ask and they were able to honor my request. While I appreciate that they were able to do so, a small bowl came filled with luke warm broth sparsely populated with onions with a small gruyere covered toast. Not quite what I had expected but I applaud the kitchen for trying to honor my request. Too bad service was barely reactionary and not proactive.
-Welcome amenity from the hotel was a small plate with 3 chocolates on it.
-No newspaper delivered following morning.
-Hotel does have probably the finest room product in the city but room dimensions are small. Heated bathroom floors are A+ during the winters.
-Toiletries are Ohné and are contained largely in pumps so you couldn't take them home with you if you wanted them. They smelt horrible so no loss for us.
Following this stay, we tried Hawksworth for dinner with friends. It was a terribly disappointing meal.
-kitchen will not work with you if you have allergies or want changes made to the dishes. In instances where they are willing to make changes be prepared for upcharges.
-If you want bread, there is a $4 charge. No idea if that is per person or per table -- to shocked to ask.
-There is a decent selection of wine by the glass. However, glasses of wine are poured in the wine room and the staff never show you the bottle, nor pour it in front of you.
-portions are small for what you pay for. The 48 hour braised beef I ordered consisted of 3 one inch by half an inch pieces of braised beef. Not as tender as you would expect and aggressively seasoned with salt on 2 pieces and none of the 3rd.
-theme of stinginess carried through to the main courses. My fish was overcooked. Friend's fish, which was thicker, was cooked to perfection. Took so long for main courses to come out, and the fact our waiter never returned to check up on us, I ate my fish as I was hungry. When a Manager came to check up on us at the end of the meal, I informed her of the overcooked fish. All she did was to promise she would tell the kitchen.
All of us left hungry and wanting. The menu featured many supplements so to get the full experience of what the chef wanted you end up paying much more.
YEW, at the Four Seasons across the way, and even Mosaic, in the Hyatt Regency, are superior restaurants. And they both don't charge for bread.
All in all, a disappointing experience at the Rosewood.
For room quality, the Rosewood is best in the city. But it lacks severely in service and in food and beverage.
-
and charging for bread is asinine!
Feb 23, 2013, 4:42 pm
#80
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Asheville, NC
Programs: Virtuoso, FSPP, STARS, MO FAN Club, PEN Club, Bellini Club, Dorchester Diamond Club, Travel Leaders
Posts: 1,854
IIRC, the 1 BR Suite is rather broken up ... the result being that the individual BR and LR seem constrained.
Apr 18, 2013, 9:23 am
#83
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Geneva, IL (ORD)
Programs: United 1K (GS Refugee), Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, Avis Chairman's Club
Posts: 93
oh no luxury, sounds just awful. my recent visit was delightful due to our warm interaction with the front of the house people and the fabulous rooms (corner suite and interior jr suite). the missing piece was, as you've stated, food. we had to eat elsewhere. the one visit we made to hawksworth was late afternoon prior to our departure and we were interested in a light fare. we could not be accommodated so we got up from the table and left. i would also add, we are casual travelers/not chavvy and we were not comfortable in the restaurant, very pretentious staff and guests, although the waiter was NOT and understood why we were leaving !
and charging for bread is asinine!
and charging for bread is asinine!
Apr 22, 2013, 9:08 am
#84
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Helsinki
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 406
I need to decide where to stay during my trip to Vancouver next July. I am hesitant between Rosewood Georgia and Fairmont Pacific Rim. Tradiotional Rosewood would definitely be more my preffered style, but as it will be summer, maybe Pafific Rim would offer more in terms of natural light, view, outdoor swimming pool etc. Any thoughts - which one to choose?
Apr 22, 2013, 10:41 am
#85
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: YVR
Programs: Hilton*D, Marriott*LG, Hyatt*G
Posts: 6,268
The FS is offering a 3rd night free promo during your stay period and if you book through a FSPP agent, upgrade is at booking (if available, and excludes upgrades to the Royal and Prime Minister suites), for the remainder of 2013.
I also think YEW is a far superior restaurant to Hawksworth -- far more accommodating and they most certainly don't charge for bread. The place is anything but pretentious.
Apr 22, 2013, 12:29 pm
#86
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Canada
Programs: Virtuoso TA, Four Seasons Pref Partner, Rosewood Elite TA, Ritz Carlton STARS TA
Posts: 4,737
The PacRim is one of the best Fairmont's in the chain. It has the view, light and pool you mention. Also outdoor space from several room & suite types
Apr 28, 2013, 2:22 pm
#88
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, FB Plat, AS Gold, Marriott Gold, Fairmont Plat, BA wannabe
Posts: 684
Another thumbs-up here for the Pac Rim as the better all-around choice including food, service and ambience. You won't regret it.
Aug 27, 2013, 10:59 am
#89
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: VCE
Posts: 14,165
Very average
I completed a four night stay here [Rosewood] in August and was quite disappointed.
Checkin/Arrival: No one to help with bags. Checkin clerk at first said "we have been expecting you" and then followed with "actually I have no details at all of your reservation". Very poor overall checkin process- nothing explained. Had to ask for each point (like pulling teeth). To be fair the bellman who escorted us to our room was very nice. Two times I had been asked (and sent) a pre-arrival dossier- two which they said "we must not have received it"- even though the concierge had responded to it! I gave a business card with my details for registration- at checkout they were not there- the gentleman checking me in was the same gentleman checking me out- and when I pointed this out to him he literally had no response.
Room: Looking into the windows of two office towers. Only one window. Very little natural light. Room itself extremely small due to oversized bathroom. On top of an extremely loud outdoor lounge owned and operated by the hotel. Asked to be moved to another room- not possible. Just simply "I am sorry we are fully committed". Forget about a Virtuoso upgrade here by the way. We received possibly the worst room of the category booked in the entire hotel as it was (and we checked in at 19:00). Internet connection just OK (quite slow)- I used my mifi hotspot rather than pay the $17 CAD per day for the "upgrade" in internet connection speed. Only two small drawers and a very poorly designed for space closet- we had to keep our things in our bags and shift them in and out. Bathroom is very nice but stupid design.
In Room Dining- We did test it out one day and it was excellent. The only problem is no space in the room for this (had to sit on the bed).
Restaurant dining- Disaster. Wrong orders. Poor Service. Request three times to get the bill. Servers at best dis-interested.
Checkout- Billing errors. Data from checkin not input. Queue (EVERYONE in front of us arguing about billing errors) to checkout). No help or offer of assistance for help. When I was asked about my stay I replied "Barely OK at best" to which the staff replied "I am very happy to hear that". Nice.
Service Recovery- I completed quite a lengthy survey (much more than this review)- and indicated I would not stay at this hotel again. Actually after the second night of the loud music from the terrace I started looking for hotels in Vancouver but due to the marathon and a number of conferences plus cruise ships there was literally nothing available. When we checked out a friend of mine graciously lent us their condo as they were going out of town. I was sent back on the completion of a survey a form letter apparently from the managing director.
This is the worst combination of service and hard product I have had in Vancouver since the former IC closed back in 1990. Really really poor and terrible value at $450 per night. Stay somewhere else.
Checkin/Arrival: No one to help with bags. Checkin clerk at first said "we have been expecting you" and then followed with "actually I have no details at all of your reservation". Very poor overall checkin process- nothing explained. Had to ask for each point (like pulling teeth). To be fair the bellman who escorted us to our room was very nice. Two times I had been asked (and sent) a pre-arrival dossier- two which they said "we must not have received it"- even though the concierge had responded to it! I gave a business card with my details for registration- at checkout they were not there- the gentleman checking me in was the same gentleman checking me out- and when I pointed this out to him he literally had no response.
Room: Looking into the windows of two office towers. Only one window. Very little natural light. Room itself extremely small due to oversized bathroom. On top of an extremely loud outdoor lounge owned and operated by the hotel. Asked to be moved to another room- not possible. Just simply "I am sorry we are fully committed". Forget about a Virtuoso upgrade here by the way. We received possibly the worst room of the category booked in the entire hotel as it was (and we checked in at 19:00). Internet connection just OK (quite slow)- I used my mifi hotspot rather than pay the $17 CAD per day for the "upgrade" in internet connection speed. Only two small drawers and a very poorly designed for space closet- we had to keep our things in our bags and shift them in and out. Bathroom is very nice but stupid design.
In Room Dining- We did test it out one day and it was excellent. The only problem is no space in the room for this (had to sit on the bed).
Restaurant dining- Disaster. Wrong orders. Poor Service. Request three times to get the bill. Servers at best dis-interested.
Checkout- Billing errors. Data from checkin not input. Queue (EVERYONE in front of us arguing about billing errors) to checkout). No help or offer of assistance for help. When I was asked about my stay I replied "Barely OK at best" to which the staff replied "I am very happy to hear that". Nice.
Service Recovery- I completed quite a lengthy survey (much more than this review)- and indicated I would not stay at this hotel again. Actually after the second night of the loud music from the terrace I started looking for hotels in Vancouver but due to the marathon and a number of conferences plus cruise ships there was literally nothing available. When we checked out a friend of mine graciously lent us their condo as they were going out of town. I was sent back on the completion of a survey a form letter apparently from the managing director.
This is the worst combination of service and hard product I have had in Vancouver since the former IC closed back in 1990. Really really poor and terrible value at $450 per night. Stay somewhere else.
Last edited by TRAVELSIG; Feb 5, 2014 at 9:07 am Reason: added hotel name for clarity, updated with correct hotel name