Sofitel Warsaw
Jan 19, 2015, 8:52 am
Normally use Hilton, but decided to try it for one night
Great stay. I booked Opera Suite, checked in after moving from Hilton at 12:00, room was ready, granted hotel was desserted!
I was given Prestige Suite, shame for just one person, huge! Living area, dining table, kitchen, bedroom, walk in wardrobe over looking main square with Tomb to Unknown Soldier.
The suites are not renovated yet, but I like them, old world feel, but with all the modern tech
Wifi is painful slow.
Drinks vouchers given, and welcome plate for fruit
No lounge which did surprise me, they said they never had one, I think one may come as part of renovation.
Nice gm/pool
Breakfast was excellant, they have done a great job.
This was free as I asked in lieu of not having lounge
Staff are great as well.
Was a great change from Hilton.
Will post some photos soon
Jan 19, 2015, 8:59 am
Jan 19, 2015, 9:06 am
Jun 15, 2015, 3:39 pm
So I gave up and took it as no lounge.Surprising how many Sofitels in Europe (even some really nice ones e.g. in Munich) don't have club lounges, while many Novotels & Mercures in Asia have (sometimes quite nice!) lounges.
Feb 1, 2016, 4:18 pm
Sofitel Warsaw Victoria
Krolewska 11 Warsaw, PL 00-065
Review Sofitel Warsaw Victoria (29 Photos)
Sofitel Warsaw Victoria
First time stay at this hotel (2 nights) which celebrates this year its 40th birthday. I was quite satisfied with this stay, but unfortunately I had to face once again some unnecessary reluctance to grant a Le Club Platinum benefit (room upgrade). It was rapidly solved, but why on earth do we still have to face this...
I was spending the week-end in WAW for an AF-KL-AZ Flyertalk Do. Among the participants, 2 other members of FT having status were staying also at the Sofitel. They both checked-in before me and were upgraded without question, so I believe the problem I will describe below is not due to an hotel policy, but I still don't know what to think...
Check In
I had booked a Prestige Suite. Before boarding my flight to WAW, I checked wether the upper room categories were available (Opera suite and Imperial suite) and they were. I checked-in around 11 pm and the front desk agent told me "we have prepared a nice Prestige suite for you". This is the room category I booked, so no upgrade available ? "Sorry sir, but the upper category, the Opera suite, is fully booked so not available". Oh, strange, 3 hrs ago it was available. "Sorry, but no it's not"
OK, here we go again....it was obvious she was lying but I could not prove it yet, having not yet internet access, I decided to go to the room and study this a bit more. An envelope was given with a welcome letter, the drink voucher and a premium wifi code.
Below are pictures of the reception area.
Room
The Prestige suite was nice (55 m2). The furnitures are a bit dated for their style but still in good condition. It is important to mention that the hotel has started a complete refurbishment of their rooms and it looks nice. But the suites are apparently not yet done. The view was lovely on the main square on which the hotel is located. You can see below pictures of the Prestige suite.
So I connected to the wifi and confirmed what I saw in CDG : the 2 upper room categories were available for the 2 nights. Went down again and showed my iPad to the same lady who checked me in.
Why are you telling me the Opera suite is not available while it is ?
She was obviously very annoyed by my demand
"Let me see" - some keyboard typing - "it is indeed available, but it was eventually blocked for somebody else. If this is sooo important for you, would you like to be upgraded in this room ?" I want to precise that I'm quoting her exact words here and the way she said "sooo important" was somewhat ironic. It was obvious she was not happy that her lies or poor excuses were discovered. I asked her if the room had the same view on the square. The answer was yes, so I took it.
The Opera suite is very large (83 m2), with first a little entrance with a toilet cabinet for guests, then the very large living room, a kitchen ! the bedroom, the wardrobe and the main bathroom. There is a Nespresso machine and a Bose speaker. Toiletry products are unfortunately Lanvin and not Hermes. A plate of sliced fresh fruits was placed on the table. Mineral water was given during the turndown service.
The only weird thing was this very ugly and old chair in the bathroom facing the shower :-))
View from the room:
Premium wifi works very well. Late check-out was granted without problem (4 pm).
Dining
The bar has a very modern and pleasant design. The drink voucher was valid for soft drinks, beers, wine. Not for champagne but Prosecco was OK.
The breakfast restaurant (different from the main brasserie restaurant) is also very pleasant and the breakfast buffet is very good with a large selection of cold and warm items.
Location
The location in town is perfect for visiting (100 m walking to the old town) and it is also convenient for the business district. It is only a 20 min drive from the airport.
Overall
Overall, if you except the problem at check-in with the employee obviously lying, I had a very good stay. But, to Accor people if you read this, please tell your hotels that the customers have some ways to check what we are told and the false excuse of "the hotel is full" is unacceptable when not the caseand way too frequent (this forum is full of reports of this problem). In my case, this is the 2nd time in 2 months.
Feb 1, 2016, 6:29 pm
This time I didn't ask for an upgrade but they automatically put me in the only renovated prestige suite. I usually send an e-mail to the very friendly Guest Relations Manager, and everytime that I've asked for an upgrade I've recieved it (before last weekend I had never booked a suite though).
I noticed the bigger suites were indeed occupied last weekend so maybe that's why they didn't upgrade me (plus I'm not a platinum member of course).
Feb 2, 2016, 12:21 am
This time I didn't ask for an upgrade but they automatically put me in the only renovated prestige suite. I usually send an e-mail to the very friendly Guest Relations Manager, and everytime that I've asked for an upgrade I've recieved it (before last weekend I had never booked a suite though).
I noticed the bigger suites were indeed occupied last weekend so maybe that's why they didn't upgrade me (plus I'm not a platinum member of course).
Thanks for sharing your experience as well. I very much look forward to see the pictures of the renovated suite !
Feb 4, 2016, 11:04 am
Feb 4, 2016, 12:51 pm
I never check upper room availability, I never expect upgrades. So, 3/4 of the times, I get a good surprise at check-in.
I scarcely use the drink voucher. I never touch the fruit basket. I only require a big bottle of water at reservation stage and it is indeed always prepared as a complimentary gesture. And quite often, I get extras without asking. Last time was a box of macarons.
Of course, I have my way, you have your way.
For your reference, I spend 70/80 nights per year.
Feb 4, 2016, 1:28 pm
My room was very nice, refurbished with a view of the square and on the top floor. I used my drink voucher for a glass of prosecco and eventually proceeded with drinking a bottle in the course of an evening.
Feb 4, 2016, 10:04 pm
I never check upper room availability, I never expect upgrades. So, 3/4 of the times, I get a good surprise at check-in.
I scarcely use the drink voucher. I never touch the fruit basket. I only require a big bottle of water at reservation stage and it is indeed always prepared as a complimentary gesture. And quite often, I get extras without asking. Last time was a box of macarons.
Of course, I have my way, you have your way.
For your reference, I spend 70/80 nights per year.
Feb 5, 2016, 12:46 am
I never check upper room availability, I never expect upgrades. So, 3/4 of the times, I get a good surprise at check-in.
I scarcely use the drink voucher. I never touch the fruit basket. I only require a big bottle of water at reservation stage and it is indeed always prepared as a complimentary gesture. And quite often, I get extras without asking. Last time was a box of macarons.
Of course, I have my way, you have your way.
For your reference, I spend 70/80 nights per year.
If you stay in hotels who are reluctant to provide the benefits, and worse are lying to you : fine no problem I can give my business to another hotel chain. There are plenty who are taking good care of their loyal customers.
I don't deserve any "special treatment", I think I just deserve what I am entitled to as per the program rules, knowing that I spend a very significant amount of money at Accor every year and this for many years. We certainly do not have to face lies, reluctance for poor reasons and we shouldn't have to beg for things. And unfortunately, this is still way too frequent.