Originally Posted by
GUWonder
Even when staying in a luxury hotel in a big city, why limit yourself to anything at the hotel? An American audience usually has more limited paid vacation than a British or German audience has. And when time is more limited for exploring and you're in a major city with lots of options outside the door that perhaps provide much better value for money, it seems like the order of the day would be to get out and stop wasting time in the hotel room, right?
And many a hotel restaurant, even a luxury one in the broader discussion, rather cruises along on a presumed somewhat captive audience that wants an easier option and isn't necessarily on par with the independent restaurant in a similar tier or type down the road.
I'm not much of a fine dining person but the time we do, it's very unlikely to be at a hotel restaurant.
As for 'act like you've been there before', I've actually had good luck over the years going the other direction, and very politely saying we don't usually do X, but if you wanted something special, what would you do. Seeming humble is apparently enough of a novelty for someone who usually gets been there-done that crowd that they'll give me good advice just for the heck of it.