Originally Posted by
darthbimmer
That's the problem right there. You talk about high-end places but then you start talking price. Expensive is not the same as high-end. I've paid $400+/night plenty of times in NYC for an ordinary, 2.5 to 3 star hotel. The first time or two I was disappointed-- but that came from my unwarranted expectations. "For this kind of money I should be treated like a king!" Wrong. The fact that the same price will buy a posh suite in some other city is irrelevant.
Problem is "expensive" is not definable.
Say, in Siem Reap a hotel $200 is very expensive, given it is 20 times the price of the cheap one I stayed in. That means for a hotel in NYC to be expensive it has to be $2000 (considering a cheap hotel is $100). I'm sure if you think about it, that is ridiculously expensive, even in NYC.
But, as you say, going by absolute amount isn't accurate either, because price depends on location.
So, how do you define your expectations? Reviews on Tripadvisor? Name of hotel/brand?