Originally Posted by
Often1
At the front desk and immediately. When you check-in, checkout the services you care about, make sure they're OK and if there's a problem, change then and there (or have it fixed).
There's not a lot that bugs me that they'll know about at the desk, though there are some things I can tell before I walk in the door. Others, I can't.
The one thing to forget about is the coffee maker. Unless it's one of the new ones which brews individual cups from an individual packet, they are rinsed by the cleaning crew, rarely run through a commercial-grade dishwasher and you are dealing with the last guy's problems.
If you want in room coffee, bring Starbucks Via and a heating coil.
We had this discussion here before. I usually wash out the coffee maker before I use it. No problem there, but those cheap one-cup makers simply don't work. I always try and haven't found one that does.
Lastly, you simply have to adjust expectations. You can't expect the Four Seasons for Hilton prices.
Four Seasons suggests luxury. Hilton, or Courtyard, or Hampton, or even Comfort Inn suggests home-like functionality and that's what I expect. And I'm sure that there are some non-functional rooms at a Four Seasons, too. I've never stayed at a Four Seasons, but I found, when I was traveling on someone else's nickel and could afford Hiltons and Marriotts and Embassy Suites now and then, I found bum rooms in all of them. Sometimes I could get something better, sometimes I couldn't.