Originally Posted by
BlissWorld
I am not comparing IC Ambassador with SPG Platinum. I am sharing MY experience. Upgrades and free minibars aside, IC service and room amenities are subpar.
Don't forget, Platinums are golds once, and even when I was gold, Starwood still provided SUPERIOR service than this particular IC.
Moreover, for a hotel who charges $400 a night (as in some Ws, St Regis, and Luxury Collections) Platinums or GM, the level of service should reflect the level of price. @:-)
High hotel occupancy rates in recent years have allowed all hotels to charge significantly higher rates than previous years without any change in level of service. This is especially true in major cities such as Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, etc. The posts on NY Starwood properties do not make me want to visit NY anytime soon. Supply and demand alone has driven the room rates upward. Service improvements are not necessary to keep the rooms full at the exhorbitant rates, so a lot of hotels have not bothered to change the level of service. High rates plus low level of service (low cost) equals high profit margins.
Until the hotels have to really compete for business, I don't see this getting any better. The only thing we can do is to give our business to hotels that offer service and value and stay away from the ones like the IC Boston you just described. This problem is most acute in the US. OTOH, just think about what you can get for $400 in Asia.