President Wilson, Luxury Collection, Geneva, Switzerland [Master Thread]
Dec 23, 2013, 9:07 am
#123
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2000
Location: أمريكا
Posts: 26,763
This is not a five star hotel. Even on SPG.com, only 63% of guests recommend the property.
Stayed a few nights here recently. There were no huge problems, but there were a lot of little issues that wouldn't come up at a five star hotel.
The good:
Good location; walking distance to a lot of stuff, nice to be on the lake.
I arrived on a very early flight from the US and they accomodated an early check-in with no issues whatsoever. At many hotels they either want to charge you extra or the front desk has an attitude about it. Asked about my SPG Gold choice preference, but nothing mentioned about a room upgrade/preferred room (and did not receive any bump up); but at check-in I was more concerned with getting a room quickly than anything else.
Nespresso machine with porcelain cups.
I didn't interact with the staff much, but service seemed good and friendly.
The bad:
Room was dated and totally underwhelming. Room and bathroom could have been any airport three star Sheraton. Plenty of thoguht was put into the lobby and restaurants, but the rest of the hotel - rooms, common spaces, etc. - lack any feeling of luxury.
At check-in they confirmed my newspaper preference; no newspaper was delivered during my three night stay.
Bathtub drains very slowly; standing in eight inches of water by the end of a shower.
Heater blew cold air. Maintenance arrived immediately after I called, banged around in the ceiling for half an hour and declared the problem solved, but it still didn't work. Luckily he turned up the radiator along the windows which kept the room warm enough.
HVAC or some other system made loud banging/crashing noises all the time. Sounded like a door opening and closing or something like that. I asked the maintenance guy to do something about that (the real reason I called about the cold air) and he said he would. It seemed to become slightly more periodic afterwards, but continued.
Elevators were slow - my colleagues on higher floors kept thinking they were out of service; I was on a low floor so I just took the stairs, so I don't know.
Housekeeping left the shower wand pointed out of the shower one day after servicing the room. I suppose I should have checked before turning the water on, but this wouldn't happen at a five star hotel.
TV was from Bang & Olufsen. Very strange setup as it was angled back at a 10 or so degree angle, which didn't make any sense since it was on a cabinet above the bed or chairs. One night TV service didn't work at all; didn't complain; worked OK the next morning. It claimed to have an Ipod dock/option, but couldn't find it.
Gym - Small room with a few pieces of cardio, no real space to do anything else. TV on the elliptical didn't work. Totally insufficient.
Overall fairly disappointing.
Stayed a few nights here recently. There were no huge problems, but there were a lot of little issues that wouldn't come up at a five star hotel.
The good:
Good location; walking distance to a lot of stuff, nice to be on the lake.
I arrived on a very early flight from the US and they accomodated an early check-in with no issues whatsoever. At many hotels they either want to charge you extra or the front desk has an attitude about it. Asked about my SPG Gold choice preference, but nothing mentioned about a room upgrade/preferred room (and did not receive any bump up); but at check-in I was more concerned with getting a room quickly than anything else.
Nespresso machine with porcelain cups.
I didn't interact with the staff much, but service seemed good and friendly.
The bad:
Room was dated and totally underwhelming. Room and bathroom could have been any airport three star Sheraton. Plenty of thoguht was put into the lobby and restaurants, but the rest of the hotel - rooms, common spaces, etc. - lack any feeling of luxury.
At check-in they confirmed my newspaper preference; no newspaper was delivered during my three night stay.
Bathtub drains very slowly; standing in eight inches of water by the end of a shower.
Heater blew cold air. Maintenance arrived immediately after I called, banged around in the ceiling for half an hour and declared the problem solved, but it still didn't work. Luckily he turned up the radiator along the windows which kept the room warm enough.
HVAC or some other system made loud banging/crashing noises all the time. Sounded like a door opening and closing or something like that. I asked the maintenance guy to do something about that (the real reason I called about the cold air) and he said he would. It seemed to become slightly more periodic afterwards, but continued.
Elevators were slow - my colleagues on higher floors kept thinking they were out of service; I was on a low floor so I just took the stairs, so I don't know.
Housekeeping left the shower wand pointed out of the shower one day after servicing the room. I suppose I should have checked before turning the water on, but this wouldn't happen at a five star hotel.
TV was from Bang & Olufsen. Very strange setup as it was angled back at a 10 or so degree angle, which didn't make any sense since it was on a cabinet above the bed or chairs. One night TV service didn't work at all; didn't complain; worked OK the next morning. It claimed to have an Ipod dock/option, but couldn't find it.
Gym - Small room with a few pieces of cardio, no real space to do anything else. TV on the elliptical didn't work. Totally insufficient.
Overall fairly disappointing.
Apr 1, 2014, 8:26 pm
#124
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: europe
Programs: EX²-*wood platinum, EX-hyatt diamond, sixt platinum, hilton silver, leaders club, esselunga verde...
Posts: 2,048
After waiting for roundabout five months since I have contacted the hotel directly with help of platinum concierge hotline I am still not able to add SNAs for my upcoming stay. Nothing is done by the hotel not even the promised email was sent. That is poor customer care! So I cancel right now the upcoming stay.
Apr 13, 2015, 8:55 pm
#125
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Toronto
Programs: AC SE MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,101
Fire Code / Room with Children
Anyone had experience with toddlers here?
My assistant called to ask if my 3 year old could stay in a crib and they said yes, no problem. How much is a crib? Free, or an extra charge (not sure how much) if they are out of cribs and need to order one
They said a Superior room was a bit small and I might want to upgrade one category up although that category shows as the same size online
I thought that was weird so I asked her to call back and check again. Now the person says there is an extra charge for a toddler but isn't sure how much.
So I ask her to call back one more time and speak to the manager if the story isn't clear.
This time they say the child is free. She asks for the manager (apparently it was the GM) anyways to confirm and now it gets interesting:
"He stated that in some circumstances they have allowed small child to occupy a Superior Room with parents. He said that this was an exception to their rule and only allowed it in special circumstances. The extra charge is associated with the special exception “when granted”. He told me that Swiss Fire Codes are strict and that they followed them very closely (his exact words). he did mention “if the hotel is not full, and I have been consulted in advance we can probably make an exception for a very short stay, two nights, if the hotel was very full I would not have any latitude to allow you to stay in such a small room with 3 people because it was not safe, in case of fire."
So they are OK contravening the fire code for a short stay but not a long one? And there is an extra charge for violating the fire code?
On the hotel's policy page:
Family Plan Policy
Children who are 12 or younger sleep for free in the existing bedding of a room shared with a paying adult. Rollaways, child rollaways and cribs may incur extra charges.
Lurkers any guidance? Am I safe to assume that my 3 year old is allowed in the room given that Family Plan Policy or does that not really apply if there are already 2 adults staying?
My assistant called to ask if my 3 year old could stay in a crib and they said yes, no problem. How much is a crib? Free, or an extra charge (not sure how much) if they are out of cribs and need to order one
They said a Superior room was a bit small and I might want to upgrade one category up although that category shows as the same size online I thought that was weird so I asked her to call back and check again. Now the person says there is an extra charge for a toddler but isn't sure how much.
So I ask her to call back one more time and speak to the manager if the story isn't clear.
This time they say the child is free. She asks for the manager (apparently it was the GM) anyways to confirm and now it gets interesting:
"He stated that in some circumstances they have allowed small child to occupy a Superior Room with parents. He said that this was an exception to their rule and only allowed it in special circumstances. The extra charge is associated with the special exception “when granted”. He told me that Swiss Fire Codes are strict and that they followed them very closely (his exact words). he did mention “if the hotel is not full, and I have been consulted in advance we can probably make an exception for a very short stay, two nights, if the hotel was very full I would not have any latitude to allow you to stay in such a small room with 3 people because it was not safe, in case of fire."
So they are OK contravening the fire code for a short stay but not a long one? And there is an extra charge for violating the fire code?
On the hotel's policy page:
Family Plan Policy
Children who are 12 or younger sleep for free in the existing bedding of a room shared with a paying adult. Rollaways, child rollaways and cribs may incur extra charges.
Lurkers any guidance? Am I safe to assume that my 3 year old is allowed in the room given that Family Plan Policy or does that not really apply if there are already 2 adults staying?
Apr 13, 2015, 9:31 pm
#126
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Singapore
Programs: SPG
Posts: 4,002
Anyone had experience with toddlers here?
My assistant called to ask if my 3 year old could stay in a crib and they said yes, no problem. How much is a crib? Free, or an extra charge (not sure how much) if they are out of cribs and need to order one They said a Superior room was a bit small and I might want to upgrade one category up although that category shows as the same size online
I thought that was weird so I asked her to call back and check again. Now the person says there is an extra charge for a toddler but isn't sure how much.
So I ask her to call back one more time and speak to the manager if the story isn't clear.
This time they say the child is free. She asks for the manager (apparently it was the GM) anyways to confirm and now it gets interesting:
"He stated that in some circumstances they have allowed small child to occupy a Superior Room with parents. He said that this was an exception to their rule and only allowed it in special circumstances. The extra charge is associated with the special exception “when granted”. He told me that Swiss Fire Codes are strict and that they followed them very closely (his exact words). he did mention “if the hotel is not full, and I have been consulted in advance we can probably make an exception for a very short stay, two nights, if the hotel was very full I would not have any latitude to allow you to stay in such a small room with 3 people because it was not safe, in case of fire."
So they are OK contravening the fire code for a short stay but not a long one? And there is an extra charge for violating the fire code?
On the hotel's policy page:
Family Plan Policy
Children who are 12 or younger sleep for free in the existing bedding of a room shared with a paying adult. Rollaways, child rollaways and cribs may incur extra charges.
Lurkers any guidance? Am I safe to assume that my 3 year old is allowed in the room given that Family Plan Policy or does that not really apply if there are already 2 adults staying?
My assistant called to ask if my 3 year old could stay in a crib and they said yes, no problem. How much is a crib? Free, or an extra charge (not sure how much) if they are out of cribs and need to order one
They said a Superior room was a bit small and I might want to upgrade one category up although that category shows as the same size online I thought that was weird so I asked her to call back and check again. Now the person says there is an extra charge for a toddler but isn't sure how much.
So I ask her to call back one more time and speak to the manager if the story isn't clear.
This time they say the child is free. She asks for the manager (apparently it was the GM) anyways to confirm and now it gets interesting:
"He stated that in some circumstances they have allowed small child to occupy a Superior Room with parents. He said that this was an exception to their rule and only allowed it in special circumstances. The extra charge is associated with the special exception “when granted”. He told me that Swiss Fire Codes are strict and that they followed them very closely (his exact words). he did mention “if the hotel is not full, and I have been consulted in advance we can probably make an exception for a very short stay, two nights, if the hotel was very full I would not have any latitude to allow you to stay in such a small room with 3 people because it was not safe, in case of fire."
So they are OK contravening the fire code for a short stay but not a long one? And there is an extra charge for violating the fire code?
On the hotel's policy page:
Family Plan Policy
Children who are 12 or younger sleep for free in the existing bedding of a room shared with a paying adult. Rollaways, child rollaways and cribs may incur extra charges.
Lurkers any guidance? Am I safe to assume that my 3 year old is allowed in the room given that Family Plan Policy or does that not really apply if there are already 2 adults staying?
My understanding on the family plan policy indicates that children aged 12 and below will be allowed to share the existing bedding with 1 paying adult without further charges. If there are 2 adults staying, there is a possibility that charges due to a rollaway or crib may be applied.
Unfortunately I do not have full details of your reservation so I would avoid committing further or comment on the responses from the hotel. If you like, we can reach out to them on your behalf but I would also like to know in detail, your concerns, be it charges imposed on you due to violation of fire safety regulations or the charges for a crib/rollaway.
[email protected]
Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd
Last edited by Starwood Lurker II; Apr 13, 2015 at 9:48 pm Reason: Grammar mistakes
Apr 14, 2015, 12:06 am
#127
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Toronto
Programs: AC SE MM, Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,101
Hi Thyetus,
Thanks for the quick follow-up! I was about to confirm my reservation based on the initial positive answer that yes, I could have a child in the room, but now am wary to do so as it's non-refundable and don't want to have to deal with a stressful situation upon arrival.
I guess I would like a concrete answer to the following - this would be a 6-night stay:
1) Are young children (3 years old) allowed as a third occupant in the basic rooms? (non-suites)
2) Is there a fee for having a child (3rd occupant in the room) in general
3) In addition to the fee (#2), is there a fee for a crib?
Thanks for the quick follow-up! I was about to confirm my reservation based on the initial positive answer that yes, I could have a child in the room, but now am wary to do so as it's non-refundable and don't want to have to deal with a stressful situation upon arrival.
I guess I would like a concrete answer to the following - this would be a 6-night stay:
1) Are young children (3 years old) allowed as a third occupant in the basic rooms? (non-suites)
2) Is there a fee for having a child (3rd occupant in the room) in general
3) In addition to the fee (#2), is there a fee for a crib?
Apr 14, 2015, 12:23 am
#128
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
You will have no issues. First of all as Plat you will be upgraded to a larger room that has plenty of space for a 3rd person and isn't in violation with any fire codes. I have done countless nights in Euro hotels with a baby, toddler, small kid and have never ever had a problem. No need to contact the hotel in advance. Just show up and you will be taken care of.
Apr 14, 2015, 1:34 am
#129
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Singapore
Programs: SPG
Posts: 4,002
Hi Thyetus,
Thanks for the quick follow-up! I was about to confirm my reservation based on the initial positive answer that yes, I could have a child in the room, but now am wary to do so as it's non-refundable and don't want to have to deal with a stressful situation upon arrival.
I guess I would like a concrete answer to the following - this would be a 6-night stay:
1) Are young children (3 years old) allowed as a third occupant in the basic rooms? (non-suites)
2) Is there a fee for having a child (3rd occupant in the room) in general
3) In addition to the fee (#2), is there a fee for a crib?
Thanks for the quick follow-up! I was about to confirm my reservation based on the initial positive answer that yes, I could have a child in the room, but now am wary to do so as it's non-refundable and don't want to have to deal with a stressful situation upon arrival.
I guess I would like a concrete answer to the following - this would be a 6-night stay:
1) Are young children (3 years old) allowed as a third occupant in the basic rooms? (non-suites)
2) Is there a fee for having a child (3rd occupant in the room) in general
3) In addition to the fee (#2), is there a fee for a crib?
May I invite you to drop me an email with your contacts so that the hotel can reach out to you directly with their answers?
Alternatively, you may heed stimpy's advice with a leap of faith but YMMV.
[email protected]
Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd
Apr 15, 2015, 9:29 am
#130
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: JAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, AA Gold MM, Marriott LTT, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,770
You will have no issues. First of all as Plat you will be upgraded to a larger room that has plenty of space for a 3rd person and isn't in violation with any fire codes. I have done countless nights in Euro hotels with a baby, toddler, small kid and have never ever had a problem. No need to contact the hotel in advance. Just show up and you will be taken care of.
The only European hotels that I had to pay 3rd person charge were St. Regis Florence and Westin Milan, both charged 80 euros per day for roll away bed.
I would go ahead and book and not worry. The worst case scenario is the hotel charging fee for a crib.
Apr 19, 2015, 1:38 am
#132
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
Location, location, location. It is surrounded by super expensive luxury hotels. And it's a bit better than a Sheraton although it needs a refurb. There are plenty of better hotels in town, but not with Starwood of course.
Apr 19, 2015, 7:04 am
#133
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
I might be staying at the IC then. If the SPG hotel isn't that nice that is...
Apr 19, 2015, 10:07 am
#134
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
It's not horrible we should be clear. But the IC was recently renovated and is indeed a vastly better hotel. The IC is up the hill a ways, but it's closer to the airport and there is a bus stop right outside the door which takes you to the center. And they give you a free bus pass for your stay. If you have elite status you'll get an excellent room with a great view from on high. I usually stay at the IC, but I need to be near the UN.
Apr 19, 2015, 12:03 pm
#135
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: MAN and LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC LT Gold, HH Dia, MR LT Plat, IHG Diamond Amb, Amex Plat
Posts: 13,771
It's not horrible we should be clear. But the IC was recently renovated and is indeed a vastly better hotel. The IC is up the hill a ways, but it's closer to the airport and there is a bus stop right outside the door which takes you to the center. And they give you a free bus pass for your stay. If you have elite status you'll get an excellent room with a great view from on high. I usually stay at the IC, but I need to be near the UN.
In contrast the PW is discreet and understated and much better located. I have always had good rooms and the pool area in summer is excellent. I rather like the PW.