Originally Posted by
s0ssos
Anybody else find that with high-end places one usually is disappointed? Because one has paid so much and has such high expectations (or the reviews posted here are so great) and they just don't meet that.
Whereas my $11 hotel room in Siem Reap is great. Included airport shuttle, breakfast (admittedly just toast and eggs), front desk people were very hospitable when I arrived, showed me a map with the places to eat around town, room was bearable and had no bugs!
I do find that the ratings systems are usually pretty broad and generally unstandardized. I tend to go by the Michelin ratings.
That said, the expectations tend to be higher so the disappointments are more common.
I have been surprised by some chains. Hyatt in particular. I once stayed in a high end Hyatt in Denver. The toilet paper was 1 ply, my lamp was broken and the tub wasn't draining properly. That room was 243 dollars a night. Meanwhile, over in Oklahoma City I stayed at one of their lower end properties, a Hyatt Place. Everything was perfect, clean and well equipped. That room was 110 a night.
The really high end places such as exclusive resorts tend to deliver what they promise, provided you are prepared for ridiculous fees tacked on. The rooms are great, the bedding is comfortable, the service is wonderful. Still, you have to wonder why a 400 a night place cannot provide free, fast wifi while a whore-ridden 40 dollar a night Days Inn by the airport can.
I tend to be most pleased with the mid-high places that offer all around clean , modern rooms at reasonable rates. I guess you could call them 3 stars. The new model Holiday Inns are pretty good.