Just returned from a short stay at the Fairmont Royal Pavilion and had a nice stay overall.
1) room:
Stayed in an ocean front room on the second floor. Room is nicely decorated in bright colours, has a king bed, two chairs, a coffee table and a small desk. Bathroom is very nice with separate walk-in shower and bathtub. Room itself is nothing extraordinary, but the private balcony (which has a large table, two chairs, and two comfortable loungers) and the views of the ocean which is 25-20m away are AMAZING. Being so close to the ocean and being able to hear the waves when waking up/falling asleep is a great bonus you donīt get at most other beach hotels.
2) check-in experience:
Iīd requested an early 2p.m. check-in. My flight was slightly delayed, so I arrived a little later and was told I couldnīt check in until 4p.m. Not particularly impressed as early check-in is supposed to be a guaranteed Plat benefit and I surely donīt think a 2p.m. check-in is an unreasonable request.
Check-in was otherwise friendly, comp. drinks and wet towels were provided.
3) welcome amenity:
Welcome amenity consisted of a large plate of sliced fruit and a bottle of white wine (unfortunately no champagne as mentioned in a post above, but still pretty nice).
4) food:
Overall I found the food quality to be very good. Priced are somewhat steep, but not untypical for high-end resorts. Only aspect I wasnīt too impressed about was the cocktails. Tried two cocktails and both were mixed quite badly.
5) service:
Staff were friendly overall, but a lack of attention to detaill and a pretty inconsistent level of service were somewhat prevalant, e.g.
- were kept waiting for 20min (along with some other guests) at breakfast until being seated even though half the tables were empty (but hadnīt been prepared for breakfast yet)
- one morning half the breakfast order had been forgotten, the other morning they got part of the order wrong
- arrived at the beach at 8.30a.m. one morning and was told all the loungers were reserved
Come on, not enough loungers on the beach (the main selling point of the hotel)?
- attempted to book a tour one morning, but apparently all tours had already left. No problem, enquired about a private tour (the booklet listed various companies offering customized, private tours). Concierge insisted no private tours were available and claimed the only option was to hire one of the taxi drivers waiting outside the hotel. Rate was quite reasonable, but it did make me wonder: Either the concierge made up the story to increase her commission, or she wasnīt very nowledgable or thereīs really not a single company offering private tours despite the brochures stating otherwise (hard to believe, but not impossible)
- I appreciated the bottle of white wine provided as a welcome gift, but it wasnīt chilled and there were no wine glasses in the room (just a minor detail, but drinking warn white wine out of coffee cups isnīt 5* service)
. various in-room amenities were missing (e.g. no hotel directory, in-room dining menu seemed to be missing some pages, iron but no ironing board, no shower gel the first day, mix of Mller Harris and Rose products)
Overall service was still ok, but not up to the same level as at the Kea Lani or the Fairmont Southampton.
6) hotel amenities:
The hotel offers a wide variety of complimentary amenties which is great: e.g. comp. use of sports gear, non-motorized water sports equipment, comp. internet for all guests, comp. afternooon tea etc.
7) public areas:
nice gardens and pool area, spectacular views from the beach (the best feature of this hotel IMO)
8) conclusion:
Overall a very plesant and relaxing stay, the views from the beach are great and the food is good. The only aspect the hotel needs to improve IMO is the service.
As I was using some free night certs, it certainly was good value, but if I had been paying the going rate of $600+ I probably would have been slightly disappointed.
Would I return? Yes, if I happened to be in the area. Does it rank at the very top of my "have to return places" list or my "favourite Fairmont hotels" list? Not really.