Originally Posted by
vuittonsofstyle
The last time I had an anywhere near decent stay at a Shangri-La was in the 1980s - once in the Valley Wing Singapore (after having screamed at the dismal, dowdy, dark suite they first showed us and demanded to be moved) and in Makati, Philippines, which was, at the time, the best there was and I was pathetically grateful that they had a decent bottle of wine in all-day-dining.
Since then, I feel as though Shangri-La has been hell bent on making my life as difficult and uncomfortable as possible. A suite in Bangkok looked as though it dated from Chairman Mao's era, with dozens of chairs ranged around the walls, as though waiting for an audience with the great one. Food was inedible, so I starved for 2 days, apart from dinner at the next-door Oriental, which restored my sanity for a while.
Then there was the Shangri-La in Abu Dhabi......but honestly, I am still so distressed by this experience that I can barely talk about it, and although I filled in their on-line questionnaire after our stay, I never heard a thing back. Why? Because they don't CARE!
Shangri-La is truly hit or miss.
Beijing --- I first encountered them in their first property in Beijing about 10-15 years ago. That property was absolutely fantastic by any international standards and heads above everyone else in Beijing. The manager - Swiss, I believe - was known to be a surprise guest in the rooms in order to make sure room service was performing well... I now prefer the Grand Hyatt while in Beijing --- great location and GREAT gym/pool !!!
Hong Kong Island --- very nice rooms but a very busy and crowded atmosphere overall... Sharing space with Marriott is a no-no...
Bangkok --- I'm surprised you'd ever have stayed at the Shangri-La Bangkok. It's an absolute dump comparted to the Oriental. I won't go into details as I think my views are well known...
Singapore --- that's truly the star of the chain as far as I've experienced. We stay in the Valley Wing regularly and find it absolutely fabulous in every way. They renovated the Valley Wing during SARS but even before that I thought the place was great... Ran into Lee Kuan Yew there once...
To their great credit, they are the only top-end hotels to offer complimentary Internet access in all their properties as far as I know...
Looking forward to their property in Paris...