Originally Posted by
WasKnown
There are some OK Conrad properties in the US but it is definitely not a given that a Conrad will be better than the Marriott/Hyatt Regency/Hilton in the area. For example, the Conrad in Miami and the midtown Conrad in Manhattan are pretty bad hotels. Free market prices Conrad way closer to a Hilton than it does to a Waldorf Astoria. The Conrad Downtown in Manhattan is a reflagged Embassy Suites that underwent some renos lol. There are limited service hotels in NYC with better hard and soft products than the Conrads.
By most accounts, Conrad New York Midtown offers a nice hard product. There were some frankly over-the-top complaints about service here and on TripAdvisor shortly after the property rebranded, but those isolated criticisms don't make for a "pretty bad" hotel. And yes, Conrad New York Downtown was previously an Embassy Suites, but the renovations were rather substantial and again the hard product is nice. In my experience, service there is fine for NYC. What limited service hotels are better? Seems like quite an exaggeration.
I don't have any experience with Conrad Miami, but admit that it looks a bit underwhelming, even after renovations.
Originally Posted by
WasKnown
I am saying that Conrad is not even in the same class of hotel as St. Regis which is itself a below-average luxury hotel brand. This is why critically Conrad is not a luxury flag. Even St. Regis is on the lower end of the luxury spectrum as it does not really compete with brands like Four Seasons.
Agree there should be a distinction between the very best luxury brands and those accessible with points. Most FlyerTalk participants are more concerned with the latter, of course, and I think these hotel brand 101 threads are geared toward that audience. So while Conrad doesn't compete in the top end of the luxury market, in my view it acquits itself just fine in the points-accessible luxury pool.
Originally Posted by
WasKnown
IMO Hilton has destroyed Waldorf Astoria even more than Marriott has destroyed Ritz Carlton. Some of the rooms in the WAs in Boca Raton were, frankly, motel quality from a hard product perspective. Even the "flagship" WA New York was only a Forbes 4 star hotel. I'm not even sure this will change after it finally reopens with all of the renos.
I'm convinced that Hilton would not have flagged some of the current and former U.S. properties under Waldorf Astoria had the collection brands existed fifteen years ago. It's baffling that the San Juan, Boca Raton, Key West, Boulders, etc. properties soldiered on for so long when they were so clearly not up to standard.
But I'm hopeful that New York, given its dramatically reduced footprint and yearslong renovations, will be top quality upon reopening, along the lines of Beverly Hills.