Originally Posted by
cbn42
Many people here are mentioning lounge access. I personally have no concept of a hotel lounge. To me, an airline lounge is used so you can get away from the masses of people in the terminal and have a quiet place to work or relax, but why would you need that at a hotel where you already have your own private room? Other than perhaps free food, what is the attraction of a hotel lounge?
In most hotels the lounge is on the same floor as the executive level room. This means that in the morning you can just paddle down to the lounge, grab a paper and a real cup of real coffee and sit at a real table. There's usually breakfast of some sort - varies wildly - so you can get a little nosh without having to go out or order into your room and pay through the nose.
In the evening when you're back after a long day you can dump your stuff in your room and then go for a drink and/or a little nosh. On those days when you're by yourself and are beat the nosh can even BE your dinner. Or, if you want to go out there's generally a staff member there who can advise you, make a dinner reservation, whatever. All very civilized.