Some hotels provide this as part of the package. My last stay at the Pen Shanghai is an example. I remember that transfer being the slickest I have ever seen. The guy immediately identified me as I left customs, whisked me into the limo with my baggage. At arrival I was taken directly to the room. The baggage was in the room before I got there. In room check-in took the better part of 30 seconds. Completely seamless. After you have stayed in 100+, 5* places it is a little hard to be shocked. The ease at which I got from the airport to my room shocked me.

At some hotels you don't have a choice. Amanyara is an example. I guess you could hire a cab to take you from the airport to the resort, but that seems dicey as much of the road is dirt and the resort is very isolated. Our transfer was handled by the resort and was thoroughly botched. After we exited customs, the driver was nowhere to be found. A driver from another resort helped us track him down. I forgot whether he was drunk, napping, trying to score, or all three. But he was irritated that we weren’t the first people off the plane. I didn’t press the issue with the GM, as it became immediately clear he had other, much larger problems. This is delicate to state, but during our stay there were two sides to Amanyara. One side, operated by the employees imported from 'Pulo ran Aman-level: fine, efficient, and friendly. The other side, operated by locals, didn't run at all. Service from this second side, if we got it at all, was provided with a sneer.

Some hotels are clearly getting kickbacks from the transportation company or just don’t care. Thurnhers Alpenhof Zurs is a possible example. The hotel provides a list of transportation options and the cheapest option started at >500 euro. ‘Bentley or helicopter’ seemed to be the only choices. I was coming from a trade show in Nuremberg and had to pick up my SO in Munich. The train was about the only reasonable method. I had to figure it out on my own, as the hotel was less than forthcoming (read: mean, hostile, and pissy) about options not on the LIST. We arrived at the St. Anton train station Friday evening and wandered into chaos. There were multiple fistfights as the drunks fought over infrequent taxis. We called the hotel as asked for help. We interrupted the GM at her Friday party with the owner – THAT was a mistake. She refused to help us get to the hotel via hotel car. To put an exclamation point on it, she refused to even help call us a taxi.

I let the hotel handle the transfer airport->hotel in China and India. In China I find that even with a taxi card depicting the exact location of the destination, I get pushback or blank stares. I find it puzzling that a taxi driver in Shanghai needs to ask for directions to the original FS Puxi, but that has happened twice. In China I find the taxi drivers often just don’t want to go where you want them to go and act dumb. Also, in Beijing without explicit maps, directions, GPS, et al, you have no chance of getting to Aman Summer Palace.

In India, I’ve gotten scammed by an airport taxi so I let the hotel handle the transfer. Even that is dicey. The hotels in India charge exorbitant rates for the transfers, so I do my own going hotel->airport. It is also easier to get an honest taxi in that direction.

Generally I prefer getting to/from the hotel on my own.