Originally Posted by italpisces

I was a Royal Ambassador for many years. Unfortunately, due to the economic slowdown, I lost it since my travel had to be curtailed. Now, I am trying to regain the momentum. Hopefully soon, I will see you all back in Club Level.

However, I can say that the RA program is not greeted with the same sense of achievement at each hotel. The IC in Bangkok and in Panama City, Panama are indeed excellent examples as to what such a program should deliver to those with RA status. Service, rooms and the sense of being welcome while away from home were important parts of their program. I simply can not say enough about each.

Other hotels that try to deliver but can't, due to their hotel design limitations are such places as Lusaka, Zambia, in Sao Paulo, Brazil or the Amstel in Amsterdam.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are such hotels as the IC in Frankfurt who restricted RA entry into the Club Lounge to only those who paid to be on the Club Level. Their check-in was attrocious as was the attitude of management. It was a lot of flare but minimal substance. It is certainly not on the same level of service, attitude or professionalism as others.

There are also such cases where aging IC hotels, such as Bogota (which is now a Crown Plaza) should have been put out to pasture years ago. Even though the Hotel staff was truly exceptional, they were severely limited by an aging and deteriorating building.

Either way, I would recommend the RA program to all and I am, without hesitation planning on recapturing that status this year.

Regards to all,

Larry
240-651-933