Just finished up:
- Hotel Kamp, Helsinki (A+, favorite hotel in Scandinavia. Lovely upgrade to a park facing Jr. Suite)
- The Merrion, Dublin (B, service has gone WAAAAY downhill, gym is horrible, food is mediocre, rooms are nice...required hassle of arguing before being given the agreed upon upgrade, and despite promising early check-in, was not honored)
- The Lanesborough, London (B, again, service has gone way downhill. They showed me the smallest room i've ever seen in 10+ years of staying there and tried to tell me it was an upgrade from what i'd booked. Took an hour of arguing with people with a tenuous grasp of the English language before the asst. manager popped in, apologized and put us in a lovely room. Location still great, new gym/spa are excellent and food pretty good)
- Melia Grand Fenix, Madrid (B-/C+ feels tired, not particularly nice. Upgraded room was still tiny. Location seemed good, was only there overnight connecting and the rate was very cheap, so it's ok for the $).
Currently at: Andaz West Hollywood: So far...B. They've given me a lovely, spacious suite, but the hotel is trying too hard with trendy "enhancements" like no proper check in desk, just some staff awkwardly standing around an unmarked island in the lobby. Housekeeping hasn't been in to my room in like two days even though i've been out most of the time. Reasonable value for the money, gym, bar, restaurant, location and roof top pool keep it at a B.
Coming up:
Sofitel Hamma Garden, Algiers
Ritz-Carlton, Moscow
Hilton, Columbus Ohio [Haha]
TBD, Tulum
Hotel Kamp, Helsinki [Again]
Intercontinental Tverskaya, Moscow
Grand Hotel, Stockholm
JW Marriott, Hong Kong
Some dump, Koh Samui
The Peninsula, Bangkok
Intercon JNB Airport, Johannesburg
Kempinski, Accra
TBD, Sao Tome & Principe
TBD, Cape Town
TBD, Walvis Bay
The Strand, Swakopmund
Little Kulala, Sossuvlei
TBD, Windhoek
Open to suggestions on the TBD spots!